Gaming

Introductions The intersection between gaming and violent extremism remains understudied and, often, its conclusions tend to be prematurely and problematically drawn. The overused tropes that gaming leads to violent behaviour or that all gamers are extremists, are just a few. This is not to say that the gaming space is without fault. Violent extremists are ...

As one of the fastest growing entertainment sectors in the world, online video gaming has garnered far more attention of late – both positive and negative. In light of the exploitation of gaming and gaming-adjacent platforms by (violent) extremist actors and the gamification of violent extremism, there continues to be increasing concerns over threats of ...

On 2 May 2022, First Monday published a Special Issue exploring societal resilience to online polarisation and extremism, co-edited by Amy-Louise Watkin (VOX-Pol and USW), Vivian Gerrand (Deakin University), and Maura Conway (VOX-Pol and DCU). The seven articles in this special issue were selected from those delivered at a series of workshops undertaken by the ...

By Linda Schlegel Over the last two years, the potential nexus between gaming and extremism has received a lot of attention. Researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and international organisations such as the EU and the UN have all declared the topic to be a key area of concern. However, surprisingly little is known about how and why extremists ...

By Christian Vorre Mogensen Incels – people living in ‘Inceldom’ – define themselves by their inability to engage in romantic or sexual relations, despite strong wishes to do so. A true Incel is someone who has not, and never will, engage in any such activities or relationships. People referring to themselves as Incels are mostly ...

By Suraj Lakhani 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 ...

By Ross Frenett and Joost S  Video games have been stigmatised for many years, linked to many social ills including loneliness and terrorism. Not only is this often based on misguided prejudices and a misunderstanding of the gaming community in 2021, but this view risks robbing practitioners of one of the most exciting emerging methodologies ...

Want to submit a blog post? Click here. By Helen Young and Geoff Boucher On 26 February this year, members of the extreme-Right group Atomwaffen Division in the United States were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism. Alongside plans for the intimidation of journalists, including death threats, the group aimed to ...