Fedpol reports around twenty cases of minors manipulated online in Switzerland

Behind seemingly harmless social media profiles lie networks that manipulate girls and boys into committing acts of self-harm, often filmed and shared as trophies. The more extreme the act, the greater the prestige it earns within the online community.

Authorities in several countries have been warning about a phenomenon known as “nihilistic extremism”: a term pointing to the absence of any real ideology, where violence becomes an end in itself. Since 2020, international networks have grown on social media and messaging platforms, known by names such as “The Com,” “764” and “1414,” the latter also reported in Switzerland and linked, according to investigators, to codes associated with the far right.

Switzerland's Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) confirmed, in an investigation by SRF and Tages-Anzeiger, the identification of around twenty cases in the country, a figure that may represent only part of the actual phenomenon. About two-thirds of the cases involve victims, almost always girls between 12 and 18; the remaining third involves suspected perpetrators, often only slightly older and in many cases still minors. The phenomenon affects all of Switzerland's language regions.

Trust built to extort

According to Fedpol spokesperson Berina Repesa, perpetrators operate mainly on widely used platforms such as Instagram or Snapchat. In an initial phase, they build a relationship of trust, sometimes pretending friendship or a romantic relationship, while gathering personal information about victims: family, school, friends, photos. Some compile detailed dossiers, later used to apply growing pressure and blackmail.

Demands can escalate to intimate images or degrading acts. Abroad, even more extreme cases have been documented, in which victims were reportedly pushed to torture or kill pets, attack passers-by with a knife, or film their own suicide. Investigations in Switzerland involve offences such as coercion, defamation, incitement to suicide, serious bodily harm, and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Among the pressure tactics is also swatting, false emergency reports that trigger a police intervention at the victim's home.

Because victims and perpetrators often have links abroad, Fedpol coordinates investigations while criminal proceedings remain the responsibility of cantonal authorities. Several cases came to light thanks to people close to the victims who alerted the authorities; those affected receive psychological support.

The phenomenon raises questions about whether schools, families and support services can detect signs of distress in time, in online spaces that remain largely outside adult oversight. It also raises the question of how much more social platforms, where perpetrators operate almost unhindered, should do to identify and block these networks.

Anyone who suspects a dangerous situation can contact the police on 117. Counselling is also available through 147, Pro Juventute, Child Protection Switzerland, clickandstop.ch and victim support services.