Corriere.it reports that true crime communities on Telegram are pulling in adolescent followers and, in some cases, steering the most vulnerable of them toward violence. The Italian newspaper describes chats that it says turn fragile young users into aggressors, and links the same phenomenon to what it calls "personal terrorism" in Italian schools.
According to Corriere Roma, a shared pattern runs through these cases: an interest in true crime, live streaming, and the use of blades. The two Corriere outlets frame the school incidents and the Telegram groups as connected parts of one trend rather than isolated events.
The reporting, published on 20 September 2026, does not name specific groups, victims, or schools, and offers no figures on how many teenagers are involved. What it does describe is a pathway — online communities built around crime content that, per corriere.it, recruit the emotionally weakest members and push them toward real-world violence.
The coverage points to a broader question about how crime-focused online spaces moderate their members, particularly when those members are minors. It also raises the issue of how schools detect and respond to threats that may originate in private messaging apps rather than on open platforms.
Watch for follow-up reporting from Corriere and other Italian outlets on specific investigations, any responses from Telegram, and whether Italian school or law enforcement authorities announce measures targeting these communities.