Study: 51% of gamers have encountered extremist activity in video games

Extremists actively use video games to promote their ideology. This conclusion was reached by scientists from New York University, who interviewed 1,128 gamers from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France and South Korea.

According to scientists, 51% of respondents have at least once encountered manifestations of extremism in video games and related communities. These were both racist, sexist and other unacceptable comments in the chat rooms of multiplayer projects, as well as mods that turn characters into terrorists and are used to train criminals.

Scientists noted that gaming companies are trying to fight such content, but they are not doing it well enough.

At the end of last year, the US Department of Security expressed concern about the situation in video games. It has allocated a grant of $699.7 million for research studying how extremists use video games to recruit people.