Children as young as 11 are being manipulated into carrying out vile tasks by a shadowy online network called ‘The Com’.

Police have flagged concerns over the network, where entry and then progression are determined by children being willing to carry out despicable acts.

Often young British boys are encouraged to commit deeds of sexual violence against girls and upload them to The Com, which operates on encrypted sites such as Telegram and Discord.

It is made up of many sub-groupings including the Maniacs Murder Cult, the No Lives Matter Cult, Brotherhood of Blood and the Cult of White Misanthrope.

They are mostly targeted at boys aged 11 to 17.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has raised the issue with ministers, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to be concerned.

Young users are given entry after being coerced to carry out sick ‘initiation’ requirements such as committing criminal damage within their communities, or violence against younger siblings, classmates, pets, stray animals or themselves. 

The groups then ascribe status based on the willingness of participants to engage in shocking and harmful behaviour.

Police have flagged concerns over the network, where entry and then progression are determined by children being willing to carry out despicable acts

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has raised the issue with ministers, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to be concerned

It is made up of many sub-groupings including the Maniacs Murder Cult, the No Lives Matter Cult, Brotherhood of Blood and the Cult of White Misanthrope who mostly targeted at boys aged 11 to 17 (stock image) 

A source said: ‘For alphas in the network, new entrants are just fodder to be persuaded to commit acts of violence, to generate more unique content for the group – some of which can be sold on to other networks – and ultimately, to be extorted for money.’

The Netflix show Adolescence – about a boy arrested for killing a classmate – is helpful in raising awareness of how bad online networks can be, the source said.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Many parents will have been watching Adolescence and asking: how real is this?

‘What the experts in the Home Office warned me was that The Com is one of the biggest threats facing young boys in our country: a loose affiliation of online networks operating in the encrypted shadows of social media and instant messaging platforms.’

The NCA is working with law enforcement agencies around the world, including in the United States, the Philippines and New Zealand, to prevent material being shared and to tackle the perpetrators. The Government is also urging social media companies to clamp down on the groups.

Former deputy mayor of London and champion of women’s rights Baroness Jones said: ‘This is a very distressing account of practices that harm the boys themselves, as well as the animals or people who are targeted.

‘It is exactly the sort of online material that needs banning immediately and the organisers prosecuted, for the possible later crimes of blackmail and extortion, but also for the crime of damaging young minds.’

Campaigner Joeli Brearley, who co-hosts the podcast To Be a Boy, said: ‘It is really terrifying. It makes you feel sick to the stomach as a parent, and I feel a constant fear about where this is heading.

The Netflix show Adolescence – about a boy arrested for killing a classmate – is helpful in raising awareness of how bad online networks can be, the source said

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Many parents will have been watching Adolescence and asking: how real is this?’

‘Ninety-nine per cent of parents are completely unprepared and naive – they have no clue what their children are doing online.’

She urged parents to be vigilant, and to keep watch on their children’s activities if they allow them access to the internet. 

‘You can’t stop kids seeing things online, but it is important to have those conversations with them about what they are seeing, make them feel like they can come to you. And never judge them when they do – or they will stop talking to you.’

She added that more needs to be done to prevent boys feeling ‘lost’: ‘Boys are feeling not championed. These sites give them a sense of community, trick them into thinking this is what it means to be a man. We need to be better at filling their void.’