Danish police monitor online groups coercing youth into self-harm and suicide

Danish intelligence services are tracking extremist online networks where children and teenagers are blackmailed into self-harm, abuse, and in some cases suicide, public broadcaster DR reports.

The groups, known as NVE (nihilistic violent extremism) networks, have now emerged in Denmark, according to authorities. Participants—often minors—are pressured through threats, manipulation, and live-streamed acts of violence to escalate harmful behavior, including taking their own lives.

The phenomenon has drawn scrutiny from Denmark’s domestic security agency, which classifies the networks as a growing extremist threat. Investigators warn that the groups exploit digital anonymity to radicalize vulnerable youth, using psychological coercion to enforce compliance.