Teenager who planned terror attack in Sydney tells court he was radicalised online and used AI to strategise

A teenager who admitted to planning a terrorist attack in Sydney in 2024 has told the court he was radicalised online after first seeing extremist material on TikTok and used ChatGPT to form his plans.

The 16-year-old, known under the pseudonym as RK due to his age, pleaded guilty to acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. In a sentencing ruling on Monday, he avoided jail time, with the New South Wales supreme court ordering him into a three-year community corrections order.

RK had just turned 14 when the offending occurred in 2024. He told the court he was first exposed to extremist material on TikTok.