The Development of Video Game Representations of the Middle East
September 16, 2024
This article critically explores the historical representation of the Middle East in video games until 2002 and following the 9/11 event. Using thematic analysis, we identify four main themes and discuss how this representation shifts with time, offering a brief overview of the broader context. I argue that there is a clear association between political ...
Digital media use, depressive symptoms and support for violent radicalization among young Canadians: a latent profile analysis
September 16, 2024
Background Despite the prominent role that digital media play in the lives and mental health of young people as well as in violent radicalization (VR) processes, empirical research aimed to investigate the association between Internet use, depressive symptoms and support for VR among young people is scant. We adopt a person-centered approach to investigate patterns ...
A Dataset for The Study of Online Radicalization Through Incel Forum Archives
September 16, 2024
The incel (involuntary celibate) community is an extremist online community that practices intense misogyny, racism, and that glorifies – and sometimes practices – violence. Work to understand the dynamics within incel communities has been hindered by the fact that these communities are spread over many platforms and many of the more popular forums of the ...
Image Content Indicators of Extremist Group Evolution: A Comparative Study of MENA-Based and Far-Right Groups
September 16, 2024
Policymakers, researchers, and responders alike focus on the evolution of terrorist and other groups associated with political violence. This study offers a comparative analysis of the images of ISIS and U.S. far-right groups’ use of flag images, as such emblems contribute to community building, heighten emotional responses, and have political import. It adds to previous ...
Media framing of far-right extremism and online radicalization in esport and gaming
September 16, 2024
Gaming adjacent platforms have created an expanding ecosystem of online gaming, esport, and social media actors sharing online space, content, communication tools, and users. Esport, in particular, has grown beyond all expectations and is now a global leader in sport fandom and spectatorship. At the same time, the online infiltration and influence of far-right extremism ...
“You Took That From Me”: Conspiracism and Online Harassment in the Alt-Fandom of The Last of Us Part II
September 16, 2024
The reception to 2020’s The Last of Us Part II was a maelstrom of misleading marketing, unprecedented leaks, and a vicious fallout characterized by prejudiced online harassment and sprawling conspiracies. Through an in-depth analysis of Part II‘s reception, this article seeks to apprehend the increasing frequency of such controversies in popular culture as a distinct transformation of online ...
Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature
September 16, 2024
Hate speech, harassment, and an increasing prevalence of right-wing extremism in online game spaces are of growing concern in the United States. Understanding trends in how and to what extent extremist groups utilize online gaming spaces is vital in taking action to protect players. To synthesize the current state of extant research and suggest future ...
New school speech regulation as a regulatory strategy against hate speech on social media: The case of Germany’s NetzDG
September 15, 2024
A review of relevant empirical literature shows that many features of social media platforms actively promote or encourage hate speech. Key factors include algorithmic recommendations, which frequently promote hateful ideologies; social affordances which let users encourage or disseminate hate speech by others; anonymous, impersonal environments; and the absence of media ‘gatekeepers’. In mandating faster content ...
From fan citizenship to ‘fanspiracies’: Politics and participatory cultures in times of crisis?
September 14, 2024
Fan practices and behaviours have increasingly moved beyond fan communities into the political, economic and cultural structures of every day life. The proliferation of social media platforms has allowed both the progressive and reactionary aspects of fandom to converge in the public sphere, drawing on similar techniques, pleasures, and practices in order to interpret the ...
Recommending Toxicity: The role of algorithmic recommender functions on YouTube Shorts and TikTok in promoting male supremacist influencers
September 14, 2024
This study tracked, recorded and coded the content recommended to 10 experimental or ‘sockpuppet’ accounts on 10 blank smartphones, 5 on YouTube Shorts and 5 on TikTok. On each platform, we set up 5 types of accounts: one 16-year old boy and one 18-year old boy who sought out content typically associated with gender-normative young ...