Breivik glorification among young extremists in Norway has increased over the past seven years, according to the Norwegian Police Security Service (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste, PST). The agency says the terrorist behind the 22 July 2011 attacks is increasingly presented as a heroic figure in online communities frequented by boys aged between 12 and 17.
The warning comes ahead of the 15th anniversary of the attacks in Oslo and on Utøya, in which Breivik killed 77 people. PST says his name, image and actions now appear regularly in extremist propaganda, memes and videos designed to reach younger audiences.
Breivik glorification has grown since 2019
According to PST, Breivik has become a source of inspiration in many of the agency’s cases involving young people attracted to right-wing extremism.
The trend intensified after a series of far-right terrorist attacks and attempted attacks in Western countries from 2019 onwards. Several perpetrators referred to Breivik or adopted elements of the methods and visual language used during the 2011 attacks.
Online communities have since transformed some terrorists into symbolic figures whose attacks are discussed through rankings, memes and references borrowed from gaming culture. This process can reduce acts of mass violence to statistics, images and competitive narratives, removing the victims and the consequences from view.
PST describes the development as a growing celebratory or “saint-like” status for Breivik in some extremist environments.
Algorithms can lead children towards violent material
The security service is particularly concerned about boys between 12 and 17 years old. Young users may initially encounter provocative jokes, violent videos or memes rather than explicitly political material.
Recommendation algorithms can then expose them to increasingly extreme content. PST says digital platforms remain the main environment for recruitment and radicalisation because users can easily connect with international networks and circulate extremist material across borders.
The agency’s National Threat Assessment 2026 notes that a fascination with violence can sometimes precede ideological radicalisation. Some young people are first drawn towards graphic or transgressive material and only later adopt far-right ideas that appear to justify it.
This makes the radicalisation process more difficult to identify. A young person may move between violent online subcultures, extremist propaganda and communities built around social exclusion without belonging to a clearly defined organisation.
Minors are increasingly involved in far-right terrorism
PST assesses Norway’s current terrorism threat level as moderate. It considers it possible that right-wing extremists will attempt to carry out an attack in the country during 2026.
The agency also reports a sharp rise in the involvement of minors in far-right terrorist activity across Western countries. In 2025, minors were involved in almost half of recorded attacks and disrupted plots, compared with about one fifth in previous years.
Most potential attackers are expected to operate alone or in small groups. However, their ideas, practical knowledge and motivation can develop inside international online communities where previous terrorists are glorified and users are encouraged to carry out new attacks.
These forums can also distribute information about weapons, tactics and attack planning. PST believes this content can strengthen both a person’s willingness and their practical capacity to commit violence.
The struggle over the memory of 22 July
On 22 July 2011, Breivik detonated a bomb in Oslo’s government district before travelling to Utøya, where the Labour Party’s youth organisation (Arbeidernes ungdomsfylking, AUF) was holding its summer camp. Eight people were killed in Oslo and 69 on the island.
The attacks targeted the Norwegian Labour Party, political participation and the country’s multicultural democracy. They remain Norway’s deadliest acts of violence since the Second World War.
Fifteen years later, the growing circulation of extremist content has made the public memory of the attacks part of Norway’s efforts to prevent radicalisation. Survivors, researchers and institutions working with the legacy of 22 July have repeatedly stressed the importance of explaining both the political motives behind the terrorism and its human consequences.
PST’s warning shows that remembrance is no longer only about preserving the historical record. It is also about preventing images and narratives created around the attacks from becoming recruitment tools for a generation born after 2011.
