SINGAPORE — With terrorist content proliferating rapidly through social media, Singaporeans can help detect and prevent radicalisation of individuals by reporting terrorist material found online to the authorities. Parents can also keep a close watch for signs of radicalisation among their family members.

The call for the community to be the eyes and ears for counterterrorism efforts was made by security experts and Senior Minister of State (Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli at a security conference yesterday, amid concerns of self-radicalised individuals finding inspiration from the Islamic State extremist group’s materials that have gone viral on the Internet.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Security Asia 2015 conference, Mr Masagos said members of the community, such as parents, can help watch for signs of radicalisation among their family and friends.

…Describing social media as the Islamic State’s “most powerful weapon” for spreading ideas and recruiting followers, conference chairman Dr Rohan Gunaratna said it is paramount for governments and their community partners to counter the threat in cyberspace in addition to existing efforts.

“Governments and their community partners should, on a minute-by-minute basis, counter the online and offline threats. Online, the Islamic State has invested significant resources to politicise, radicalise and militarise vulnerable segments of our community,” said the professor of security studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.