Is it Just a Game? Exploring the Intersection Between (Violent) Extremism and Online Video-Gaming
Author(s):
There has been, especially of late, increasing concern over the misuse of video-games and associated (adjacent) platforms (e.g. Steam, Discord, Twitch, DLive) for the purposes of extremism and violent extremism. Across the European Union (and for that matter globally), policymakers, law enforcement, academics, and counter-extremism practitioners have started to engage more on the topic. In a recent Radicalisation Awareness Network paper, it was suggested that extremists and terrorists, who are often pioneers in the digital space, are afforded new opportunities through gaming and associated (adjacent) platforms. These individuals ‘have introduced innovations faster than we have been able to respond, and as a result, have grown their digital advantage’. Most notably in Europe, there has been particular concern over the digital recruitment tactics of far-right (violent) extremists…