Video games have always been a big part of Alex Newhouse’s life.
“They are a place for creative expression, a place to recognize what your personal identity is in a positive way,” Newhouse said.
Newhouse is the Deputy Director of the Center for Terrorism, Extremism, and Counter-Terrorism at Middlebury Institute.
Newhouse is one of the leading researchers looking at how extremist groups, such as white ones, are using video games to recruit new members or radicalize those who are vulnerable.
Video games are no longer a game for players, many are just like their social networking sites where players communicate, play with each other, and build meaningful relationships.
“They have become these places where people live important parts of their lives,” Newhouse said.
According to the Anti-Defamation Association, 10% of young players admit to experiencing the concept of white supremacy while playing with others on the line. That is about one and a half million people between the ages of 13 and 17.
“What will happen is we will see two or three hard-core extremists entering these areas and using extreme racist insults or other extremist language that is basically looking for positive responses from others in the hall,” he said. Newhouse said.
Newhouse says you can easily find hate, racist, and hateful content in several online games with easy search.
Stopping hate speech is difficult for mediators.
“It’s very difficult because, for example, let’s say the technology companies, themselves, wanted to stop this. What they can do are things like content banning, content mediation, accounting cessation, etc. What we’ve seen is. “Every time they do something like that, they push things underground to like the dark web or push into unused areas, so. It’s hard to monitor,” said a professor at Carnegie University. Melon Kathleen Carley, who studied how extremist groups navigate the internet.
Newhouse points to studies that have found no link between video game violence and real-life violence.
He said he is working with technology companies to create ways to combat hate speech.
He also said it is up to parents to get involved and find out who their children are talking to online because bad actors are throwing a wide net in the hope that someone will join them.
“They’re not looking to radicalize anyone they interact with, instead, they’re just looking for cuts that they might be interested in,” Newhouse said.
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