Com groups: nihilistic and sadistic violence in anonymous chat groups

What is meant by nihilistic violence?

Nihilism is a philosophical school of thought based on the idea that life has no fixed meaning or value. In other words: 'nothing matters'. This school of thought in itself has nothing to do with violence.

The term nihilistic violence is used to indicate that the violence has no objective, message or ideological motivation. It is solely about the violence itself: the shock effect, the damage it causes, the attention or the sense of power it can provide.

This differs from other forms of extremism, such as political or religious extremism, in which violence is used to express a conviction or achieve an objective.

What is meant by sadistic violence?

Sadistic violence involves deliberately causing or witnessing pain, humiliation or fear, with another person's suffering as the objective. Sadistic violence differs from nihilistic violence because the violence does have an objective: causing suffering.

What are Com groups?

The Com is a collective term for closed online chat groups where images of extreme violence, self-harm, humiliation and sexual abuse are shared. These chat groups are found on platforms such as Discord and Telegram and are often not visible to outsiders.

Within Com groups, members are encouraged and blackmailed into hurting themselves and later others, and sharing images of this. Examples of Com groups include 764, No Lives Matter and Maniacs Murder Cults.

How do Com groups operate?

Com groups often have their own culture, rules and hierarchy. Within the hierarchy, status is very important: young people who share extreme, violent or shocking material often gain more respect. The more extreme the content, the higher their position within the group. As a result, some young people feel pressured to create or forward increasingly extreme images. Some young people are also blackmailed.

Young people who are initially victims of blackmail or manipulation may gradually start directing others themselves or passing on assignments. This does not happen because they want it to, but because social pressure, becoming accustomed to extremity and the need to belong to the group gradually draw them further in.

Those who do not participate risk being excluded or mocked, or being put under pressure again. The shame or fear that shared information will be distributed makes it especially difficult to ask for help or leave the group.

How do children and young people end up in Com groups?

Most children and young people do not come into direct contact with Com groups. They are often approached through online platforms such as Discord, Minecraft or Roblox, where they can play games and chat with strangers. What starts as an innocent conversation can quickly develop into a relationship of trust. For example, a child may receive many compliments and a lot of attention, be offered help with a game or be given free items. Once trust has been established, they are encouraged to share personal information or photos. This material is then used to blackmail them and draw them into Com groups. This is similar to grooming and recruitment methods.

Children and young people are approached not only through games, but also in online self-help groups. Groups about personal problems, such as eating disorders, self-harm or depression, attract children in vulnerable situations who feel lonely or misunderstood. This makes them easier to influence.

Why do some young people remain in Com groups?

Once young people have ended up in a Com group, it is often difficult to leave. Blackmail plays an important role here: shared images or personal information can be used to exert pressure and force them to participate. At the same time, there are also children and young people who gradually become more active themselves. They create or share increasingly extreme images, and some in turn approach others. How does this happen?

Status, recognition and belonging

Status and recognition connect with children's and young people's need to be seen and to belong somewhere. Young people who feel lonely, excluded or insecure in particular may consequently feel that they have significance within the group.

For some children and young people, a dependent relationship develops. The attention they receive within the group can become an important part of their self-image. To maintain this connection and strengthen their position in the hierarchy, they may start participating themselves. The need to belong and be seen then becomes stronger than their doubts or discomfort.

Desensitisation and emotional outlet

Repeated exposure to extreme images shifts what is experienced as 'normal'. What is initially shocking may feel less intense over time. For some young people, viewing or sharing this material also functions as a temporary outlet for frustration, sadness or boredom, or as a way to feel something during periods of emptiness or depression.

Com groups often use specific terms such as lorebook, cut sign/fan sign, gore and clout chasing.

Lorebook

A lorebook is a digital dossier in which information about someone is stored. This may include messages, photos or assignments that the person has previously carried out. Within Com groups, such a dossier is sometimes used as a means of extortion: anyone who does something wrong or refuses to cooperate risks having personal or embarrassing information from the dossier made public.

Cut sign/fan sign

A cut sign, also known as a fan sign, means that a young person carves someone else's name, word or initials into their own skin. Usually, these are the initials of the person who is pressuring or exploiting them, or sometimes of someone they greatly admire within the group.

Within these communities, this is seen as a kind of 'proof' that someone is loyal to a perpetrator or to the group. It is a form of control and coercion, in which young people feel intense pressure to show that they belong or must obey.

Gore

Gore refers to extremely violent, bloody photos or videos. These images are often shared to evoke shock, tension or horror.

Clout chasing

Clout chasing means that someone seeks online popularity or attention. In the context of Com groups, it means that young people try to move higher in the hierarchy within these violent online communities by sharing extreme, shocking or bloody images. Self-made images bring additional status in some groups, encouraging young people to push their boundaries further and further.

How big is this problem in the Netherlands?

The police and the Public Prosecution Service have now reported that Dutch children and young people have come into contact with extremist violence in online Com networks.

However, most children and young people never come into contact with these groups. It concerns a small but worrying group of users, often young and socially vulnerable. It is clear, though, that the online world is increasingly filled with extreme or shocking images. Children and young people may encounter these through social media, games or chat platforms. Even when they are not actively looking for them. Such images can be confusing or harmful. Read more on the page Disturbing online images: what can you do as a parent?

Questions or concerns about Com groups

If you suspect that a child is becoming involved in harmful online groups, that a child is being pressured online or is experiencing transgressive behaviour online, you can consider the following steps:

• Keep evidence of what is happening online. Offlimits explains here how to do this.
• Report what is happening, for example to:
  • The police (0900-8844).
  • The helpline of Offlimits: for advice and support with online transgressive behaviour.
  • The Offlimits reporting centre: when sexual images of minors are shared.
• Seek help from a professional, such as a youth worker, GP or psychologist.
• Chat with Fier: you can share your story anonymously with a counsellor here. This chat is for people of all ages. The staff will listen to your story, provide you with information and help you if you wish.
• At the National Extremism Support Centre (LSE): for accessible advice when you are unsure whether a child is being influenced by extremist or radicalising online influences. They help you understand what is happening and what steps you may be able to take. (088 – 20 80 080, [email protected]) They have also published a guide about Com groups.