ASIO warns on child radicalisation as Stefanovic in court fight

Australia's domestic spy agency has issued a fresh warning about the radicalisation of children, identifying online video games as an emerging pathway used to draw young people toward extremist ideologies.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation says gaming platforms, with their built-in chat functions and social networks, are increasingly being exploited by those seeking to influence impressionable minors. Unlike traditional social media, gaming spaces often escape the same level of scrutiny from parents and guardians, giving extremist content and recruitment tactics room to spread largely unnoticed.

Security officials say the trend reflects a broader shift in how radicalisation is occurring in Australia, with children being targeted at a younger age and through channels once considered purely recreational. The warning is expected to renew calls for gaming companies to strengthen moderation tools and for parents to take a more active interest in who their children are interacting with online, even during seemingly harmless play.

Child safety advocates have long flagged the risks posed by unmoderated in-game chat and voice communication, and ASIO's intervention adds national security weight to concerns that had previously centred mainly on bullying and predatory behaviour. The agency is understood to be working with other authorities to better understand how extremist networks identify and groom young targets through gaming communities.

In an unrelated development making headlines, former Today show host Karl Stefanovic is now engaged in a Supreme Court legal battle connected to the podcast venture that preceded his departure from Nine. Stefanovic, one of Australian television's most recognisable faces after more than a decade fronting the network's flagship breakfast program, left the role amid the fallout from the podcast project.

Details of the court proceedings remain largely under wraps, but the dispute is understood to centre on issues arising from the circumstances of his exit and the commercial arrangements tied to the podcast. The case has attracted significant media attention given Stefanovic's high public profile and his long-standing association with Nine, the network he joined as a cadet decades ago before rising to co-host Today.

Neither Stefanovic nor Nine has offered detailed public comment on the specifics of the legal action, and the matter is expected to proceed through the courts in the coming months. The outcome could have implications for how media companies structure exit arrangements and outside commercial ventures for high-profile on-air talent in future.

Both stories underscore very different but pressing issues facing Australians today: the evolving tactics used to radicalise children in digital spaces, and the legal reckonings that can follow high-profile departures in the media industry.