Violence and Extremism OnlineNihilistic Violence Communities on the Internet: What Parents and Educators Should Know

What are nihilist violent groups?

The term “nihilistic violent groups” refers to loosely organized online communities. These groups are characterized by the glorification of and incitement to violence. Often, these groups promote a worldview according to which life has no meaning and moral boundaries are meaningless.

This distinguishes these groups from “traditional” extremist groups, which generally follow a clear political or religious ideology. For nihilistic violent groups, the focus is rather on hopelessness, cynicism, and a fascination with violence, power, and control over others.

These groups organize primarily in hard-to-access areas of the internet and on platforms that enable anonymous communication, such as Telegram. They are internationally networked and constantly evolving. For this reason, it is difficult to determine their exact size. In the case of the so-called “Com Network,” the FBI estimates there are several thousand active or former participants. These individuals vary greatly in their level of activity and behavior. As partof Europol’s “Project Compass,” approximately 180 perpetrators have been identified to date. From June 2025 to May 2026, the Center for Monitoring, Analysis, and Strategy (CeMAS) monitored the activities of approximately 560 Telegram channels and groups that could be linked to nihilistic violence. In the process, they identified approximately 12,000 accounts that actively participated by posting in these groups.

Even though such violence-oriented communities are not, to the best of our current knowledge, a mass phenomenon, they can pose a significant risk to individual young people. For example, some groups specifically target young people who feel lonely, are struggling with mental health issues, or are seeking recognition and a sense of belonging. Often, the goal is not so much to recruit new members to a particular ideology. Rather, they attempt to make the victims emotionally dependent and, through manipulation, persuade them to harm themselves or others. The creation of sexualized or degrading images or videos can also be a motive for the perpetrators.

How do children and adolescents become victims of such violence?

Online groups use various strategies to reach children and adolescents. The first step involves specifically searching for vulnerable individuals, building trust, and obtaining personal or intimate information. This information can then be used to blackmail the victims and exert increasing control over them.

Targeted search for vulnerable individuals: Perpetrators systematically scour social media for signs of loneliness, mental distress, or self-harm. To do this, they use relevant search terms or hashtags, for example. Posts about suicidal thoughts or other personal crises can also catch their attention. Thus, perpetrators often do not search for victims at random but specifically attempt to contact particularly vulnerable individuals.

Numerous Attempts to Make Contact: The search is sometimes conducted on a large scale. Analyzed guidelines from the “764” group show that perpetrators deliberately contact a large number of people. For example, one “guide” examined described receiving 10 to 15 pieces of intimate content per 200 people contacted as a success.

Trust and Deception: After making contact, the perpetrators may, for example, feign a friendship or a romantic relationship, or pose as a trustworthy helper. They tailor their profiles and approach to the specific target group. In this way, they attempt to obtain personal information or intimate images.

Blackmail and Control: Once compromising material is in their possession, it can be used as leverage. For example, the perpetrators threaten to share images or other information with family and friends. This forces the victims to take further actions. These may include self-harm, violence against other people or animals, and the creation of additional sexualized content.

Platform shifts: The various steps often do not take place on the same platform. Initial contact may occur, for example, via Instagram, Roblox, or Reddit. Victims are then redirected to messaging platforms such as Discord or Telegram.

The consequences for victims can be severe. The pressure can be sustained over a long period and does not necessarily end when contact is severed. Some victims are also coerced into blackmailing or abusing other people. As a result, it can become increasingly difficult to separate the victims from those involved.

How do children and adolescents become involved in Com networks?

Children and adolescents are not only at risk of becoming victims of such groups. Some are coerced through blackmail or manipulation into harming others themselves. Others participate of their own accord, for example, because they hope to gain recognition, status, or a sense of belonging.

One possible scenario begins with the victim being blackmailed themselves. This pressures them to contact other people or obtain intimate content from them. In this way, they themselves can become part of the exploitation of further victims.

For others, however, the desire for recognition within the group takes center stage. Some groups post “ads” to recruit new members and initially demand that they perform certain actions to prove their loyalty. These may include blackmail, property damage, violence, or animal cruelty. The demanded actions can become increasingly extreme: members try to outdo themselves or outdo others in order to solidify or elevate their status within the group.

As described above, the lines between victims and perpetrators can be blurred. A young person may simultaneously be a victim of extortion and exploit others. Conversely, however, not every instance of involvement can be traced back to prior extortion.

The case involving the defendant known as“White Tiger”illustrates just how complex these dynamics can be. He is accused of more than 200 criminal offenses against over 30 victims. Among other things , he is alleged to have of his victimsto influence a teenager in the U.S. The teenager later died by suicide. The case shows that, under the influence of such groups, victims themselves can be manipulated into participating in the harm of other young people.

It is therefore important for parents and professionals to know: Even if a young person has harmed others, he or she may still need support and protection.