Research reveals extremists infiltrating gaming communities through Discord, Twitch, and Steam platforms
In a recent study published under open-access terms by the Psychological Defence Research Institute at Lund University, six key ways extremists exploit games and related technology were identified. These platforms, such as Discord, Twitch, and Steam, are increasingly being used for recruitment and radicalization, particularly among young and impressionable gamers.
The study, available in Frontiers in Psychology, highlights the gaming domain's insufficient policies and mechanisms to cope with information influence campaigns. Key factors enabling extremist recruitment on these platforms include direct access to young gamers, relatively weak moderation, and funneling tactics that guide users from mainstream social media to less-regulated gaming-adjacent platforms.
The variety of extremist content includes far-right ideologies, Islamist extremism, and "extremist-adjacent" material glorifying violence. Far-right extremism, including white supremacy, neo-Nazism, antisemitism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, and conspiracy theories such as QAnon, are the most common forms found on these platforms.
Researchers and experts recommend strengthening moderation systems, updating platform policies, cross-platform coordination, and raising awareness among users and moderators to address this issue. Strengthening moderation systems, both AI and human, is proposed as a solution to address the issue of extremist content in gaming platforms.
Dr William Allchorn, a senior research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, stated that these platforms offer extremists direct access to large, often young and impressionable audiences. However, little progress has been made in addressing this issue, and many users are unaware of how to report extremist content or feel their concerns are not taken seriously.
The study's authors, including Jesper Falkheimer, foresee that we don't know the severity of the situation and lack the means to find out. They also indicate a lack of avenues for researchers, journalists, and the industry to understand the extent of gaming platforms' exploitation by extremists.
In summary, gaming-related platforms' unique mix of real-time chat, livestreaming, and private channels with comparatively weak content moderation makes them effective tools for extremist recruitment. Tackling the problem requires improved detection technologies, policy updates, and coordinated efforts across platforms to prevent these spaces from becoming safe havens for radicalization.
- The study in Frontiers in Psychology reveals that gaming platforms, such as Discord, Twitch, and Steam, have insufficient policies and mechanisms to handle information influence campaigns, making them attractive for extremist recruitment, particularly among young gamers.
- Far-right extremism, including white supremacy, neo-Nazism, antisemitism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, and conspiracy theories like QAnon, are the most common forms of extremist content found on these gaming platforms.
- To address this issue, researchers and experts suggest strengthening moderation systems, both AI and human, on these platforms, as well as updating their policies and raising awareness among users and moderators.
- Despite the concerns raised by the study, little progress has been made in addressing this issue, with many users being unaware of how to report extremist content or feeling their concerns are not taken seriously.
