A survey commissioned by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights says that 51% of game users have come in contact with extremist ideologies.
The poll was part of the center’s newly released report on extremism in game communities, and consisted of 1,128 responses from people from the United States, Germany, South Korea, France, and the United Kingdom.
36% of respondents said they experienced harassment while playing online games within the last year.
“Our report finds substantial evidence that extremist actors are exploiting the structures and communication features of online gaming spaces to disseminate radical ideologies, normalize hostile behavior, and indoctrinate impressionable users,” said the report’s author and NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights’ Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat.
The new report comes months after the US Congress expressed concern with gaming firms’ responses to extremism.
Last year, an Anti-Defamation League report found that US gamers were experiencing an increase in identity base harassment in online games, with 86% of adults aged 18-45 playing online games had experienced harassment in the previous six months.
