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Children as young as 12 are getting radicalised in Europe, Wegter says

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 740 words · By Sasha Vakulina
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What to know about Children as young as 12 are getting radicalised in Europe, Wegter says

European teens are in danger of radicalisation and recruitment online, the EU counter-terrorism coordinator warns, saying children as young as 12 are being targeted.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

European teens are in danger of radicalisation and recruitment online, the EU counter-terrorism coordinator warns, saying children as young as 12 are being targeted.

Why it matters

Radicalisation in Europe has been on the rise, especially among young people, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter told Euronews, with Europe's security services now dealing with cases involving children as young as 12.

Common ground

“We're talking about minors (and youth) aged between 12 and 20 years old,” Wegter told Euronews' 12 Minutes With, adding that a huge challenge for law enforcement is that young people radicalise very quickly.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/03/23/children-as-young-as-12-are-gettin…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 6
info Single Source 3
schedule Pending 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
help
Claim 1: “Violent extremist ideologies in Europe combine elements of different ideologies, forming 'salad bar ideology' that leads to nihilistic extremist violence.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries defining or discussing 'salad bar ideology' in the context of European extremism.
info
Claim 2: “We're talking about minors (and youth) aged between 12 and 20 years old”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provides general information on radicalization and online threats to minors (via web search regarding Pakistan's vigilance), but it does not contain multiple independent sources confirming the specific age range of 12 to 20 years old being targeted in the context of European terrorism arrests.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Conversion therapy is a term used to described medical, spiritual and psychological treatments and practices that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_therapy_in_the_Unit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lewis Minor Carson (August 12, 1941 – October 20, 2014) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._M._Kit_Carson
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos (25 January 1957 – 12 October 2023), also known as La Bestia ("The Beast") or Tribilín ("Goofy"), was a Colombian serial killer, sex offender, pedophile, and necrophile …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Garavito
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “Violent right-wing and left-wing ideologies are surging online, creating 'salad bar extremism' that lures young people into extremist communities.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 4: “Almost a third of them — 133 people — were aged between 12 and 20 years. The youngest offender was 12 and arrested for planning to commit an attack.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries to corroborate the specific figures regarding 133 individuals or the proportion of 12-20 year olds among 449 arrests.
help
Claim 5: “According to Europol, the vast majority of these young suspects were linked to jihadist terrorism, followed by right-wing terrorism and violent extremism.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries detailing the breakdown of terrorism-related arrests by ideological affiliation (jihadist vs. right-wing) for 2024.
help
Claim 6: “According to recent studies, young people spend between five and eight hours per day on social media, with radicalisation and recruitment taking place online in these spaces and without any in-person meetings.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries regarding the specific statistic that young people in Europe spend between five and eight hours per day on social media for radicalization.
help
Claim 7: “Wegter insisted that 'jihadism remains the number one threat in Europe'.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries quoting or confirming Bartjan Wegter's statement that 'jihadism remains the number one threat in Europe'.
help
Claim 8: “The Islamic State (IS) or Daesh has shifted tactics to recruit young adolescents within the EU rather than organizing large-scale attacks from outside.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries discussing a tactical shift by IS/Daesh towards recruiting within the EU.
info
Claim 9: “Radicalisation in Europe has been on the rise, especially among young people, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter told Euronews, with Europe's security services now dealing with cases involving children as young as 12.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results confirm general concerns about radicalization among young people in Europe, but the specific details attributed to 'EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter' regarding rising trends and cases involving children as young as 12 are not independently corroborated by multiple sources in the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police definesradicalizationas "the process by which individuals—usuallyyoungpeople—are introduced to an overtly ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalization
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — During the 19th centuryinthe United Kingdom, continentalEuropeand Latin America, the term radical came to denote a progressive liberal ideology ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_radicalism
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — National and international leaders grew increasingly concerned about the potential foryoungpeopleto fall victim to radicalisation.
https://c4ep.eu/ypcve/
verified
Claim 10: “According to the 2025 European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, 449 people were arrested for terrorism-related offences in the EU in 2024.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists only of general Wikipedia articles about the EU, Mercosur, and EU economy, none of which mention a '2025 European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report' or specific arrest numbers for 2024.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union–Mercosur Partnership Agreement is a signed, but not yet ratified, free trade agreement on which the European Union (EU) and the South American trade bloc Mercosur reached agreement …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU–Mercosur_Partnership_Agreem…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which the three most natively spoken ones are German, French and Italian. Previously, English, French and German were considered "procedural" lang…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Unio…
info
Claim 11: “European teens are in danger of radicalisation and recruitment online, the EU counter-terrorism coordinator warns, saying children as young as 12 are being targeted.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention youth radicalization in Europe and targeting of minors, but the specific claim details (EU coordinator warning, targeting children as young as 12) are not independently corroborated by multiple distinct news sources or authoritative reports provided in the evidence. The evidence is general regarding youth radicalization.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 12 12 12 is an upcoming American heist television series created by Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble. The series stars Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_12_12
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "12 to 12" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sombr. It was released on July 24, 2025, through Warner Records and Sombr's imprint, SMB. Written solely by Sombr and co-produced by him and Tony Ber…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_to_12
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2011–12 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 16th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second-tier club rugby union competition. The tournament began with two matches on 10 November 2011 and ende…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011–12_European_Challenge_Cup
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.