'Researchers' in online extremism claim gaming companies aren't doing enough to combat the 'growing threat'

Fresh off claims that the fitness industry is a breeding ground for white supremacy, a new batch of experts are warning that gaming communities are rife with racists and extremists.

Axios reports that "researchers" have found that "extremism in-games is 'a growing threat.'" This from Alex Newhouse, who makes his living searching for extremism per his role as deputy director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism.

Newhouse, speaking at a Games Developers Conference, said that "Games are becoming increasingly social... those social hooks provide the structures and the infrastructure for extremists to organize, mobilize and spread their hateful and extreme ideologies."

Games are becoming more social, as Newhouse suggests, with gamers able to interact in game, make friends, and share experiences across platforms. Axios reports that it is in these games that "extremist groups spread abusive messages and foster relationships."

Game studios keep player data under wraps, meaning that the researchers cite a "lack detailed knowledge of which games or platforms extremists use most for these activities," and studios aren't forthcoming with gamers' data.

Rachel Kowert, director at Take This and host of YouTube channel Psychgeist about "the science of the era" and "the science of games," also spoke at the conference, along with Newhouse, saying that "The more time you spend immersed in gaming culture, the greater the likelihood you are exposed to extreme ideologies, or opportunities you have to internalize those beliefs and endorse more extreme behaviors."

She went on to tell Axios that even if it's only "a small number of players," these extremists are a "very hardened, very influential, very dangerous group of people" who face no real-life consequences for their in-game behavior.

Additionally, it's not so much the number of extremists in gaming communities, but the lack of transparency, meaning that these researchers don't even know the extent of the problem they are trying to magnify.

"I don't think it's been recognized as something important, worth their time, worth their money," Kowert said of game developers' lack of interest in investigating extremism in gaming.

The talk given by Newhouse and Kowert at the Game Developers Conference was intended to speak to "Studio leadership; trust and safety, management, marketing, branding and PR leaders; data analysts; and thought leaders throughout the industry. No prerequisite knowledge is needed."

The most recent data cited by Axios was from 2019, and they added that "the lack of current data keeps solutions from emerging, as the EGRN report found most research on games and radicalization was conducted on "now antiquated games."

A report from the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN) stated in 2021 that the efforts to combat in-game extremism were "nearly undetectable."

"Apart from content moderation, there have been no comprehensive efforts to counter and inoculate gamers against violent radicalism and extremist propaganda," they said. "Innovative P/CVE programming in gaming spaces
is nearly undetectable apart from ad-hoc, low-budget games, and individual country-level efforts. Still, as this review demonstrates, the potential to foster resilient communities through engaging games and gamer communities is both real and exciting."

They also said that most of the effort needs to be done in the Asia-Pacific region, where online gaming is a much bigger industry than in Europe or the US.

The report done by ERGN was done by looking at articles on the subject, particularly those that had been peer-reviewed, as opposed to collecting new date from gaming platforms themselves. The result was an analysis of other analyses.

"Given the limited academic literature on the niche subject of P/CVE and gaming, we chose to examine articles from both the academic sector and grey literature," ERGN wrote. "We placed preference on peer-reviewed journal articles and formal research publications, but ultimately cast a wider net. This report covers 76 articles published from the early 2000s to August, 2021. This analysis will inform readers and members of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network on the gaps that may be bridged via research and potential programmatic interventions to gaming and radicalization."

They further state their analysis of the analyses they analyzed.

"In reviewing the academic literature and publicly accessible research, we find that most peer-reviewed research articles on gaming and radicalization and/or violent extremism are outdated and fail to tackle current developments in the field. Most relevant academic texts were published between 2010-2012, and based on research conducted in the years prior. Apart from some emerging literature on far-right extremism, the majority of texts, in keeping with US-centrism in the CT and P/CVE fields, focus on jihadist and takfiri jihadist extremism, particularly ISIS and its counterparts’ use of strategic gaming and gamification."

Researchers into in-game extremism compare it to extremism on social media, saying that video game companies must undertake efforts to root out extremism just like the big social media platforms do.

But gaming platforms say they do work to combat extremism, and when they see it, they ban it. Discord told Axios that they have a "zero-tolerance policy toward hate and violent extremism of any kind," and a VP at Roblox said they take "swift, proactive steps" to eliminate extremist content on the platform.

Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism is located at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, and works with students in the "Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies" degree program, launching new researchers into the field.

The research conducted via this collaboration "informs private, government, and multilateral institutional understanding of and responses to terrorism threats."

Kowert holds a PhD and makes her living studying "the uses and effects of digital games," writing, and talking about it. Newhouse "specializes in tracking coalitional, insurrectionary accelerationism, an apocalyptic movement that has an entrenched and increasingly dangerous presence within video game communities."