YORKTON, Sask. — The case of a Yorkton-area youth facing terrorism charges following an investigation into the online extremist network known as 764 underscores how violent online communities can reach children in virtually any community and prey on existing vulnerabilities, according to Saskatchewan researchers.
Colleen Bell, an associate professor of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan, said the internet has largely erased the distinction between local and global threats.
“There really is no place that is sort of shielded from the kinds of violent extremist activity that's going on on the internet anywhere,” Bell said. “764 is definitely a transnational organization.”
Authorities in several countries have been tracking the network, which experts describe as a nihilistic violent extremist group that seeks to accelerate social collapse through violence, coercion and the exploitation of vulnerable young people.
Bell said the group's structure resembles other organized networks, with recruitment processes, membership expectations and systems for rewarding participation.
“They are essentially exploiting vulnerability to try to produce a specific outcome,” she said.
Bell cautioned against assuming youth involved in such networks were destined to engage in harmful behaviour on their own.
“Context and structure matters a lot, and children are impressionable,” she said. “They are vulnerable to people who have more power and authority than they do.”
Her assessment aligns with research highlighted by Lise Milne, an associate professor of social work at the University of Regina and child trauma researcher. Milne said vulnerability to harmful online influences often stems from a combination of personal and social pressures.
Those factors can include mental health struggles, social isolation, online bullying, family difficulties, lack of supervision and extensive access to online platforms.
“Decisions to engage in online radicalization seem to stem from a combination of a child or youth's personal situation, their offline world, combined with exposure to violent or radical content in their online world,” Milne said, citing existing research on youth radicalization.
Milne noted that feelings of isolation, alienation and a desire to belong can make young people particularly susceptible to online grooming and recruitment efforts.
“Online forums and exploiters will capitalize on this by providing connection with others and validation,” she said.
Bell said that dynamic is amplified by online spaces where young people spend much of their time, including gaming and communication platforms.
She said networks such as 764 have been known to operate through platforms including Discord, Telegram, Roblox and Minecraft, allowing recruiters to engage with children in spaces designed for entertainment and social interaction.
Parents and educators should watch for significant behavioural changes, Milne said, including increased secrecy around online activity, social withdrawal, hostility, self-harm, excessive time spent online and a growing fixation on extremist communities or violent content.
Other warning signs can include abandoning hobbies, adopting coded language associated with online subcultures, glorifying violence or expressing increasingly extreme views.
While parents play a critical role in prevention, both researchers stressed the issue extends beyond individual households.
Bell argued that responsibility should not rest solely with families.
“It's not an individually solvable problem,” she said. “It's a collective societal problem. It requires a collective solution.”
She said governments and technology companies must play a larger role in reducing harmful content and making platforms safer for children.
Milne agreed that parents often feel unprepared to recognize online risks or know how to intervene effectively. She said prevention resources should focus on practical strategies, open communication and realistic depictions of online dangers rather than relying solely on warnings.
Both researchers emphasized the importance of maintaining strong offline relationships and fostering open conversations with children about their online lives.
Bell said healthy real-world connections remain one of the strongest protections against online exploitation.
“I think healthy relationships in the real world is probably the most significant antidote,” she said.
Families concerned about a young person's online activity can access resources through organizations such as MediaSmarts and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which provide information on digital safety, online exploitation and healthy internet use.
