Extremists are increasingly using platforms related to computer games for recruitment and radicalization of users, especially young and susceptible to influence – scientists informed in the magazine “Frontiers in Psychology”.
According to the authors of the publication from England Ruskin University (Great Britain), although the games themselves are usually innocent entertainment, they are communication environments accompanying thunders – such as chats, forums and live broadcasts – are used by extremist groups to conduct propaganda and recruitment activities.
As part of the study, scientists conducted deepened interviews with moderators of platform content related to games, technological experts and people dealing with counteracting radicalization and violence. They included platform regulations and existing scientific literature.
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They determined that they were not just computer games, but communication services used by players, such as Discord, Twitch and Steam, create a fertile ground to spread extremist content. It is primarily about platforms enabling chatting, commenting and live broadcasts, on which direct contact between users occurs.
Researchers emphasize that militarist games and the aesthetics of hypermanship, especially shooters from the first person perspective, are particularly popular among extremist groups. Such titles combine strangers around common interests, which makes it easier to establish relationships.
The authors of the study described the phenomenon of the so -called “Funneling”, i.e. deliberate transfer of players from the main, better supervised social media (e.g. Facebook or Instagram) to less moderated websites. This process often begins with seemingly neutral or playful content that contain references to extremist ideologies. Over time, when the interactions move to less supervised channels, users are gradually tamed with more and more radical narratives. Very young users are particularly exposed to such behavior.
The extremist content identified in the study mainly included far -right ideology, including White supremacy, neonazism, anti -Semitism, as well as misogyal, racism, homophobia and conspiracy theories.
Materials related to Islamist extremism appear slightly less often.
There are also content that is not always ideological, but are associated with violence, e.g. glorifying school shootings. All such materials violate the regulations of most platforms, but are often not effectively captured by moderation systems.
The authors of the publication indicated specific cases of using the described platforms in the context of acts of violence. In 2022, the perpetrator of the attack in Buffalo used a private server on the discord to plan the assassination and publish an extremist content. Similar mechanisms were observed during protests in Charlottesville in 2017 (demonstration of the extreme right ended with the death of one person) and an attack in Halle in 2019 (assassination attempt to the synagogue and gastronomic place in Germany) and the assault at the US Capitol in January 2021, during which the broadcast was conducted, among others via the DLIVE platform.
Moderators who took part in the study drew attention to problems related to the enforcement of the rules and the lack of clear content reporting procedures to the relevant services. Some of them feel overwhelmed with the enormity and complexity of the content that they must control. They also indicate the frequent use of hidden symbols and codes by users to bypass forbidden words. Although artificial intelligence can a bit support moderation, it cannot interpret memes, irony and ambiguous language well.
In the opinion of the authors, law enforcement agencies should better understand the way the platforms used by the players of players and the related subcultures related to them. The education of parents, teachers and children themselves about the risks related to online radicalization is also of key importance. Many people do not know how and where to report extremist content, and even if they do it, they often feel that their reports are not taken seriously.
Dr. William Allchorn, a co -author of the study, pointed out that in recent years, the focus has been very strongly focused on improving safety on the largest social media, while the smaller ones, including Games related services were beyond supervision.
Therefore, he calls for strengthening moderation systems, both based on artificial intelligence and people, and to update platform policies to respond to content that is harmful, although technically legal.
“Complete actions bring results, and platforms can do more to reduce the spread of extremism,” he said.
Katarzyna Czechowicz (PAP)
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