New Delhi, September 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are increasingly focusing on online propaganda and radicalisation rather than directly planning attacks, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerging as a powerful tool to expand their reach and target women and children, including in India.
The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), in its latest report, has highlighted how terrorist and violent extremist groups are using AI to produce and disseminate propaganda at greater speed and scale.
The report particularly flags the potential impact of generative AI on gender-targeted propaganda. It notes that AI can enable the rapid production and localisation of material aimed specifically at men, women, girls and boys, allowing extremist groups to tailor narratives to different audiences.
According to Intelligence Bureau officials, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are using this approach in India, with content tailored to different age groups and genders. Officials said the growing focus on women and children is particularly concerning, as extremist groups seek to exploit vulnerabilities among younger audiences and build longer-term networks of radicalised individuals.
The CTED report said girls and young women may be targeted through narratives centred on belonging, protection, identity and relationships, while boys and young men can be exposed to messaging that portrays violence as a source of status, purpose and power.
The report also warned that children and young people are increasingly exposed to terrorist and violent extremist propaganda through digital environments. Social media, gaming platforms and online communities can be used to gradually move vulnerable users from mainstream spaces towards more closed online environments where they may encounter increasingly extreme content.
An Intelligence Bureau official said the Islamic State’s influence continues to be a concern in India, with its audience particularly significant in parts of South India. Officials said individuals involved primarily in spreading extremist ideology may remain less visible to security agencies because their activities do not necessarily involve preparations for an immediate attack.
Officials said the growing inclusion of women and children represents a significant shift in the recruitment and radicalisation landscape. They added that other terrorist organisations, including Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which already have women-focused organisational structures, could increasingly adopt broader digital radicalisation strategies.
With AI enabling extremist groups to reach larger and more diverse audiences, security agencies are expected to face an increasingly complex challenge in countering online radicalisation, particularly among children and young people.
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