The Daily Telegraph

Cyber safety expert Ross Bark runs courses in schools across NSW and had encountered cases of Year 5 and 6 students who were being sent links to violent material on Snapchat by people believed to be extremists.

More than 2400 young people aged 12-17 years old were surveyed by the eSafety Commission for the research, which showed one in three Australian children have been exposed to terrorist propaganda online, with disturbing reports that primary school students are being sent videos of beheadings by jihadis on social media.

The research also showed that one in four young people have been the target of online bullying. Young people from culturally diverse backgrounds were the most likely to be targets of online hate.

“Children are being exposed to violent propaganda and that includes beheadings,” Mr Bark said. “The problem is they’re accepting friend requests from people they don’t know on Snapchat who are sending them links to very violent content.”

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