The arrest of a 14-year-old British boy, alleged to be part of a plan to commit an act of terror in Melbourne could show the pervasive influence of social media propaganda from supporters of Islamic State, an anti-terrorism expert says.
Victoria Police confirmed the boy was arrested by Manchester Police on Saturday after they uncovered communications between the boy and an Australian man allegedly plotting the attack.
Dr Anne Aly says she has never heard of someone so young being arrested in relation to terror offences in a western country and social media plays a massive role in the radicalisation of young minds.
She told the ABC program Lateline on Monday night that it was not the people operating in Iraq and Syria who had all the influence.
Dr Aly said in a way it was people just watching from the sidelines who had proven to be very strong opinion leaders in the social media dissemination of ISIS propaganda.
"So both from within on the front lines, as well as those who are Tweeting and Facebooking and putting up posts from outside, who are cheering on the Islamic State, if you like, are quite influential" she said,
Dr Aly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Science and International Studies at Curtain University in Perth.
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