Portugal's Judicial Police Flag 54 Links to Extremist Content in Online Games, Including Simulated Terrorist Attacks on Schools and a Mosque

The Polícia Judiciária (PJ, the criminal investigation police) has flagged 54 web addresses carrying extremist content in online games, including simulated terrorist attacks on schools and on a mosque, it announced on Tuesday 3 November. The links were found by the PJ's Unidade Nacional de Contraterrorismo (National Counter-Terrorism Unit) during an international operation coordinated by Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency.

According to Lusa, as carried by Notícias ao Minuto, the operation ran from 14 September to 9 October.

What the PJ found in Portugal

The PJ said the 54 URLs were uploaded to the PERCI referral platform and reported to the online service providers hosting them. Most of the material was linked to the "True Crime Community", a loose online scene built around real crimes. The PJ listed:

• simulations of terrorist attacks on schools and on a mosque, staged inside a game;
• content glorifying people who carried out attacks;
• downloadable maps for the virtual reality game Bonelab, made to recreate those scenes;
• avatars with a militant Islamist theme in Roblox;
• a Discord invitation urging TikTok users to move to a dedicated community.

"These activities can develop into coordinated efforts to produce and disseminate propaganda and to recruit new members and sympathisers, including young people and minors," the PJ said. By bringing terrorist or violent extremist ideas into interactive games, it added, these communities feed radicalisation.

A Europol action across 16 countries

Europol said its EU Internet Referral Unit ran the Referral Action Day together with Spain, targeting violent extremist and terrorist "live action role-playing" in gaming environments. Specialised units from 16 countries referred more than 9,000 links to jihadist, right-wing, left-wing and anarchist violent extremist and terrorist content, spread across 47 social media and gaming platforms. Inside games, Europol said, these groups recreate the structures, symbols and attacks of terrorist organisations, and players role-play as their members.

Europol said the action builds on a similar referral day against this phenomenon in 2025, and that its 2026 terrorism situation report highlights the use of online gaming for extremist purposes as an emerging threat.

Why it matters for families in Portugal

The PJ has been warning about young people for most of this year. In January it launched a campaign, "Hate online, Kills offline", on the online radicalisation of children and teenagers, which it calls one of the biggest challenges of today. Its prevention material says that in 2024 about 29 percent of those arrested for terrorism and violent extremism offences were minors or young adults, and the youngest was 12.

The case comes a month after all nine accused in the neo-Nazi Armilar Lusitano case were sent to trial for terrorism. The PJ did not link Tuesday's referrals to that case.

The PJ's own prevention guide asks parents to talk to their children and to limit uncontrolled, unsupervised online access. Among the warning signs it lists are social isolation, sudden changes in identity, friends or appearance, heavy consumption of extremist content, growing hate speech, a fascination with violence, and activity on several platforms that parents cannot see. It notes that a single sign may mean little, but several together are a reason for concern.

How to report it

Information about a crime being prepared can be sent to the PJ through its anonymous report form (in Portuguese). The PJ says the form is not for emergencies: in an urgent case, contact the duty officers (piquete) at the nearest PJ office. Parents worried about online grooming can also read our earlier explainer on reporting it in Portugal.