Roblox, an online platform which hosts user-generated video games, has frequently been the subject of controversy due to the proliferation of far-right politics on the platform, particularly neo-fascism and neo-Nazism.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Background
editRoblox is a popular online platform which lets users create multiplayer video games in virtual tridimensional worlds and publish them for free for other users' enjoyment.[12][13] As of November 2024, the platform reportedly has 79.5 million daily users and is valued at $38 billion USD.[14] Within the political spectrum, "far-right" refers to the most extreme views of the right wing.[15][16] Fascism is the most prominent example of a far-right movement.[17] As a political doctrine which combines ethnic nationalism and totalitarianism,[18] it has historically included Nazism and Italian fascism.[19]
Julia Ebner, a counterterrorism expert for the United Nations, stated that she does not believe video games are a source of radicalisation, but that extremists have used gamification or video games as a way of recruiting people due to the "big loneliness issue in parts of the gaming community [...] there’s also a certain desire for excitement, for entertainment." She argued for greater intervention programs with psychologists and former extremists.[1]
History
editThe proliferation of far-right politics on Roblox can be traced to...
According to The Weekend Australian, "dozens" of forums exist to show Roblox players how to make Nazi-inspired content without being banned, such as rearranging the colours of the Nazi flag and altering the Swastika, while another on the Roblox forums asked in July 2022 how to create a "real WWII Germany".[2]
The Senate and People of Rome
edit | This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (December 2024) |
Ferguson joined Roblox in 2009 and was interested in military-related roleplaying. He joined a group based on Halo which was owned by Malcolm. Ferguson eventually rose higher in the group, becoming trusted by Malcolm. They performed various roleplays, such as the Sith in Star Wars, the Americans in the Vietnam War and the Nazis in World War II.[1]
Ferguson stated that Malcolm became interested in Nazism after joining 4chan, "fixating on anti-Semitic memes and inversions of history." He created a German village to perform re-enactments in Schutzstaffel uniforms, where Malcolm would stylise himself as the Führer. Ferguson initially didn't know whether Malcolm ascribed to neo-fascist or neo-Nazi beliefs, saying "It was at a point in the internet where it’s like, OK, does he mean it?"[1]
Malcolm apparently watched Rome in 2014, which showed the rise of the titular country into the Roman Empire through the eyes of two soldiers. Malcolm was allegedly inspired by this to create the "Senate and People of Rome" group, taking on the username "YourCaesar". At the peak of its popularity in 2015, the group had approximately 20,000 members; this was primarily due to the coding in game which gave the ability to save your inventory between sessions, something that was new at the time on Roblox.[1]
Three former members of the group stated that the group was influenced by Malcolm's "increasingly bigoted politics and his fierce need for control", with the group having a set of laws which outlawed "race-mixing, feminism" and homosexuality, while also requiring another player, who was Jewish, to wear a "Judea tunic or be arrested on sight." Ferguson would often by stopped for "having the wrong skin tone."[1]
According to former members of the Praetorian Guard within the group, Malcolm would occasionally ask high-ranking members to do things like read Schutzstaffel manuals or listen to far-right podcasts about a school shooter, calling it "friendly banter among friends". Both Chip (another former member) and Ferguson estimated that approximately a third of the people who ran the group held fascist beliefs.[1]
Responses
editIn August 2023, Roblox was blocked in Turkey which the Turkish government said was intended to "ensure the protection of our children,"[20] with education minister Yusuf Tekin defending the block by accusing the platform of "digital fascism."[21]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g D'Anastasio, Cecilia (10 June 2021). "How 'Roblox' Became a Playground for Virtual Fascists". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ a b Whelan, Chloe (24 October 2022). "Players posing as Nazis discovered in popular children's video game". The Weekend Australian. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Schlegel & Kowert 2024, p. 68.
- ^ Wells, Garrison; Romhanyi, Agnes; Reitman, Jason G.; Gardner, Reginald; Squire, Kurt; Steinkuehler, Constance (2024-06-01). "Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature". Games and Culture. 19 (4): 469–492. doi:10.1177/15554120231167214. ISSN 1555-4120.
- ^ Koehler, Daniel; Fiebig, Verena; Jugl, Irina (April 2023). "From Gaming to Hating: Extreme-Right Ideological Indoctrination and Mobilization for Violence of Children on Online Gaming Platforms". Political Psychology. 44 (2): 13-22. doi:10.1111/pops.12855. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "Holiday season warning: Extremists infiltrating online and gaming platforms to recruit young Australians | Australian Federal Police". www.afp.gov.au. Australian Federal Police. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Press, Australian Associated (3 December 2023). "Online gaming platforms such as Roblox used as 'Trojan horse' for extremist recruitment of children, AFP warns". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Schlegel, Linda; Amarasingam, Amarnath, Examining the Intersection Between Gaming and Violent Extremism (PDF), p. 15, retrieved 7 December 2024
- ^ Klippenstein, Ken (9 March 2024). "The Feds Are Coming for "Extremist" Gamers". The Intercept.
- ^ Heinz, Kevin; Flores, Emily; Chan, Simon; Esthimer, Marissa; Hauswirth, Eric; Miller, Amanda; Reeves, Kevin; Turgeon, Mary (January 2024), FBI and DHS Need Strategies and Goals for Sharing Threat Information with Social Media and Gaming Companies (PDF), p. 24, retrieved 7 December 2024
- ^ Wells, Garrison; Romhanyi, Agnes; Reitman, Jason G.; Gardner, Reginald; Squire, Kurt; Steinkuehler, Constance (June 2024). "Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the Literature". Games and Culture. 19 (4): 469–492. doi:10.1177/15554120231167214. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ Du, Yao; Grace, Thomas D.; Jagannath, Krithika; Salen-Tekinbas, Katie (2021). "Connected Play in Virtual Worlds: Communication and Control Mechanisms in Virtual Worlds for Children and Adolescents". Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. 5 (5): 13. doi:10.3390/mti5050027. ISSN 2414-4088.
- ^ Siuda, Piotr; Majewski, Jakub; Chmielewski, Krzysztof (2024-01-11). Gaming and Gamers in Times of Pandemic. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 16. ISBN 979-8-7651-1025-6.
- ^ Orlando, Joanne (2024-11-05). "A new campaign rewards young gamers on Roblox for engaging with the US election. What does it mean for global politics?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "Far right". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A., eds. (2015). "far right". New Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195392883.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-539288-3. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Mudde, Cas (2019-10-25). The Far Right Today. John Wiley & Sons. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-5095-3685-6.
- ^ Gilbert, Paul (2005-01-01). "fascism". The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-926479-7. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Segrè, Claudio G. (2001). "Fascism". The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195117394.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-511739-4. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ Bernot, Ausma; Scanlan, Joel (2024-08-12). "Roblox was just banned in Turkey to 'protect children'. What's Australia doing?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-11-17. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ^ "Milli Eğitim Bakanı Tekin, Instagram ve Roblox yasağını savundu" [Education minister Tekin defended the block of Instagram and Roblox]. kisadalga.net (in Turkish). 2024-08-09. Archived from the original on 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
Bibliography
edit- Schlegel, Linda; Kowert, Rachel, eds. (2024-01-04). Gaming and Extremism: The Radicalization of Digital Playgrounds (1 ed.). New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003388371. ISBN 978-1-003-38837-1.