The Online Gaming Ecosystem: Assessing Digital Socialisation, Extremism Risks and Harms Mitigation Efforts
April 29, 2025
This report provides a review of the research on the exploitation of gaming and gaming‑adjacent platforms by violent extremists and the policies seeking to mitigate the impact of that exploitation. There is increasing interest in the nexus of online gaming and (violent) extremism. This report builds on the work of the Extremism and Gaming Research ...
Gaming The System: How Extremists Exploit Gaming Sites And What Can Be Done To Counter Them
April 28, 2025
This report draws on existing literature; fresh interviews with gamers, gaming company executives, and experts; and findings from a multinational survey of gamers conducted in January 2023. ...
Video Gaming and (Violent) Extremism: An exploration of the current landscape, trends, and threats
April 28, 2025
This paper provides an overview of the intersection between (violent) extremism and video gaming, examining the current landscape, trends, and threats. Analysing existing literature and open-source materials, this paper discusses the types of games, platforms, and services that are vulnerable to this type of infiltration and use; particularly focussing on content, platform features, and overlaps. ...
The Gamification of (Violent) Extremism: An exploration of emerging trends, future threat scenarios, and potential P/CVE solutions
April 28, 2025
Through existing literature and open-source materials – including academic articles, research reports, policy documents, newspaper articles, investigative journalism, government inquiries and previous relevant Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Policy Support (PS) deliverables, etc. – this paper will investigate the following key questions: what is gamification of (violent) extremism, what are the current and future threats it ...
The “Webification” of Jihadism: Trends in the Use of Online Platforms, Before and After Attacks by Violent Extremists in Nigeria
April 28, 2025
The key findings of this report are as follows: Boko Haram, ISWAP and Ansaru previously leveraged popular social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Telegram and Instagram. These platforms were used to promote propaganda and create awareness regarding upcoming attacks. However, all three groups have now had their use of these platforms restricted or banned. ISWAP ...
The Taliban Takeover: The Impact on Extremist Organisations and on EU Audiences At Risk of Radicalisation
April 25, 2025
This report reviews propaganda and social media activities of jihadists and right-wing extremist (RWE) groups and assesses the impact of the fall of Kabul on their narratives. ...
Countering Violent Extremism Online Understanding Adversity And Adaptation In An Increasingly Complex Digital Environment
April 25, 2025
In this report, we have sought to understand how violent extremists behave across an increasingly complex online ecosystem and consider the implications for how online violent extremism (VE) activity can be countered. We interrogated the variety of measures, behaviours and technology platforms that are being used by violent extremists internationally. In so doing, we identified ...
Guns, Incels, and Algorithms: Where We Are on Managing Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online
April 25, 2025
This paper argues that companies’ efforts to deal with TVEC have been hampered at the outset by a tendency to define TVEC extremely narrowly. Still, only a tiny proportion of content that could reasonably be categorized as TVEC is included in most definitions. An outsized focus on pre-identified Islamic extremists and terrorist groups means that ...
Perceptions of Individuals Radicalised Online: Examining the Victim-Perpetrator Nexus
March 25, 2025
This study explored the victim-perpetrator nexus in the context of cognitive online radicalisation. Specifically, we examined if a person’s age and whether they were exposed to extremist content/users incidentally or following active search shape perceptions of victimhood. We further assessed whether and how perceptions of victimhood shape support for distinct criminal justice responses. ...
Threat Surfaces in Games: Challenges and Best Practices
March 25, 2025
Gaming Community of Practice: The Gaming Community of Practice (GCoP) was formed to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation among practitioners in the gaming industry alongside global experts. The group aimed to inform the development of best practices and guidance to prevent terrorists and violent extremists (TVE) from exploiting games, gaming-adjacent services, and the gaming community. ...