Increase in exposure to online radicalisation following Hamas attack

The BBC has reported a 12-fold increase in hateful social media content being referred to specialist police officers since the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Data from the UK's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was shared with the BBC.

More than 2,700 referrals have been received from the public since the 7 October attack.

It has been reported that many of the referrals relate to antisemitic content shared by young people who were previously not on the radar of counter terrorism teams.

Speaking to the BBC, Matt Jukes, head of Counter Terror Policing warned that there was a failure by social media companies to deal with the overall climate of hate created by algorithms.

He said: "The people who in the past needed to seek this material out are getting it pushed to them."

"[Before] you had to go to a place or sites and forums and now material which certainly might meet a definition of hateful extremism is being driven to them."