Online platforms halve time it takes for Singaporeans to be self-radicalised: ISD

Report also highlights trend of tech like AI being used in youth self-radicalisation cases

- David Sun

Before 2015, it used to take an average of 24 months for someone in Singapore to be self-radicalised.

With social media, cases between 2021 and 2025 took an average of just 12 months, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) in its annual report on terrorism released on July 29.

It added that innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) risk complicating the terrorist threat both globally and locally.

In two cases here, AI chatbots were used for terrorism-related activities.

ISD's investigations found that many self-radicalised Singaporeans had unintentionally stumbled upon extremist materials online, as social media algorithms recommended similar content to what they had recently viewed.

Some of this was radical content and resulted in many recent cases taking only a few months to be self-radicalised, said ISD.

It cited a case involving a 15-year-old girl here who was issued a restriction order in February. Her radicalisation took mere weeks.

She had seen ISIS propaganda online in June 2023, pledged allegiance to the terrorist group a month later and wanted to marry an ISIS fighter.