The country has redefined and reinforced a strong commitment to national unity, so much so that the National Police (Polri) declared the country free from terror attacks throughout 2023 and 2025, citing “protective law enforcement.”
Still, there is no reason for the nation to be complacent, especially amid the ever-shifting tactics employed by terrorist and radical groups alike. This view is, to some extent, supported by the fact that the public was left both shocked and mystified by two blasts carried out by a minor at a high school in North Jakarta in November 2025, which injured 96 people.
The Jakarta school bombing, as many have come to call it, should have naturally prompted both the people and the authorities to take a deeper look into the growing tendency of radicalization targeting minors and to recognize that terrorism has never been confined to religious backgrounds.
This is despite the fact that the incident was not officially declared a terror attack—at least at the time this article was written.
Special Detachment (Densus) 88, widely recognized as Polri’s anti-terror backbone, has recently revealed findings indicating that 70 underage citizens were allegedly exposed to extremism spread through the so-called True Crime Community (TCC).
Operating primarily online, TCC is strongly suspected of deliberately intoxicating children and teenagers with ideologies basically alien to Indonesia, such as Neo-Nazism and white supremacy—both of which find their roots in a long history of racial violence and systemic discrimination and, to many people’s surprise, left traces in the Jakarta blasts.
Based on Densus 88’s findings, TCC’s influence is most significant in Jakarta, West Java, and East Java, which, respectively, are home to 15, 12, and 11 of the 70 children exposed to extremism—all aged between 11 and 18, the very period considered most vulnerable for a person to be carried away by new, albeit harmful, life discoveries.
Even more alarming is that the police have confirmed these children—or teenagers, to be precise—have been exposed to extremism beyond mere passive content consumption. Some of them show indications of possessing interest in, and even knowledge about, lethal weapons.
In the absence of an effective response, this trend could pose tangible threats to public security and order, further fueling the hard-to-deny truism that radicalization has infested the digital space—an ever-developing realm that has proven influential in shaping the beliefs, attitudes, and character of individuals in an increasingly digitalized society.
Radius Setyawan, a cultural and media analyst at Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, noted the phenomenon as a reflection of a crisis of value production in the digital space.
As history has shown, radical ideologies such as neo-Nazism and white supremacy have fueled racially motivated violence, most notably in the United States and Europe.
In today’s digital environment, however, the symbolism associated with these ideologies is often stripped of its historical and ethical context.
Extremism increasingly reaches young audiences through subtle and seemingly innocuous media such as memes, sensational narratives, or casual online community discussions.
This dynamic allows extremist symbolism to appeal to children and teenagers without their understanding its ideological origins or historical consequences.
Far from being a neutral space, the digital realm has, to some extent, been weaponized to draw individuals—including minors—into symbolic and, potentially, real-world violence.
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Anticipatory measures
The findings on child radicalization by Densus 88 have revealed a new challenge for Indonesia’s education sector and prompted the East Java provincial government to raise its alert level.
Head of the East Java Education Office Aries Agung Paewai warned that the digital space is pulling children into increasingly complex and fast-changing environments. Without proper guidance, supervision, and digital literacy, he cautioned, the risks of exposure to dangerous content rise sharply.
In response, the office is moving proactively to mitigate the risk of violent beliefs or impulses among senior high school students, including intensified calls for schools to foster safe environments where pupils can grow and develop.
Equally important is the adoption of a reflective digital-literacy approach—ensuring students are not only adept at using gadgets and applications but also capable of critical thinking, contextual understanding, identifying manipulative narratives, and recognizing the broader social consequences of the content they consume.
This effort complements initiatives to strengthen civic education and enhance the role of counseling and homeroom teachers in the early detection of extremist exposure.
Educators are encouraged to heighten their sensitivity to behavioral changes among students.
To reinforce digital boundaries in schools, the provincial government plans to introduce regulations on gadget use, monitor extracurricular activities, examine online communities students engage with, and establish reporting mechanisms that avoid stigmatization.
At the same time, authorities aim to strengthen coordination between schools and families while fostering collaboration with relevant ministries, security agencies, and child-protection institutions—addressing the root causes of radicalization rather than relying solely on reactive or punitive measures.
These initiatives align with the national effort to counter child indoctrination, with Densus 88 reporting five arrests in 2025 and providing assistance to 68 children exposed to violent ideologies.
TCC and similar groups have left deep psychological scars, forcing Indonesia to confront the impact of digital extremism on children’s mental and cognitive well-being.
The episode delivered a sobering reminder of how radical ideologies can infiltrate the digital space under an almost invisible cloak.
In this context, impact-oriented education is expected to nurture a generation of young Indonesians who not only excel academically but also possess reflective reasoning, social empathy, and resilience against violent ideologies.
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Editor: M Razi Rahman
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