There害羞草研究所檚 a persistent myth about video games 害羞草研究所� that they害羞草研究所檙e harmful and cause violent behaviour.

That害羞草研究所檚 wrong, says Sarah Stang.

害羞草研究所淕ame content does not cause real-world violence,害羞草研究所� says Stang, an assistant professor of game studies at Brock University.

害羞草研究所淲e have so many studies that have that no matter how many violent video games you play, that does not mean you害羞草研究所檙e going to be a violent person.害羞草研究所�

But toxicity and harassment persist in what Stang calls the 害羞草研究所渨orld害羞草研究所檚 biggest entertainment medium害羞草研究所� which, by some estimates, brings in four times the global box office revenue of the film industry.

The problem made news a decade ago in Gamergate 害羞草研究所� an online furor in which women and companies were targeted for supporting progressive ideals, like having more women represented in gaming害羞草研究所檚 traditionally male-dominated world.

Women reported threats of rape and death. Some were doxxed 害羞草研究所� having one害羞草研究所檚 identifying information, including home address, published with malicious intent.

There害羞草研究所檚 a continuum of toxicity in online communities, says MiaConsalvo of Concordia University in Montreal, the Canada Research Chair in digital games studies and design.

害羞草研究所淚t can be from the more banal and harmless, the trash talking, all the way up to threats of violence,害羞草研究所� she says.

The internet is where a large number of people go to hang out. 害羞草研究所淕ames are a huge part of that ecosystem,害羞草研究所� says Consalvo.

Government attention

Online toxicity is something society is worried about but not necessarily governments, Consalvo says.

It害羞草研究所檚 only when there are concerns about democracy or threats against people or government institutions that things become more serious, she says.

The Canadian government announced funding in March to study the 害羞草研究所減otential for radicalization to violence across gaming platforms.害羞草研究所� More than $317,000 is to go to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, a think tank based in the United Kingdom.

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, which falls under the federal Public Safety Department, provided the funding.

Brett Kubicek, research manager with the centre, says it was created in 2017 to lead Ottawa害羞草研究所檚 efforts on preventing and countering violent extremism.

Much of the government害羞草研究所檚 concern about the risk for radicalization through video games relates to what are called gaming-adjacent platforms, such as the messaging app Discord, the streaming platform Twitch and the digital distribution service Steam.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of this is about just going where people are,害羞草研究所� Kubicek says.

Canada can害羞草研究所檛 do it alone, adds the centre害羞草研究所檚 executive director, Robert Burley.

害羞草研究所淲e need to collaborate with other governments,害羞草研究所� he says, pointing to a summit held after the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, as an example.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 part of our engagement with the Christchurch Call to Action, with our allies in the G7 and the Five Eyes countries that we look not just at Canadian projects but projects internationally that are going to help advance this field.害羞草研究所�

Some experts suggest the Canadian government害羞草研究所檚 funding announcement is just playing catch-up.

害羞草研究所淪eems a little bit late,害羞草研究所� says Jennifer Jenson, a professor of digital languages, literacies and cultures at the University of British Columbia.

害羞草研究所淭he week of Gamergate, you would have thought that there would have been something that actually came out.害羞草研究所�

The project is not one of the Canada Centre害羞草研究所檚 bigger ones, Burley says, and it may lead to more.

Corporate measures

Games and gaming-adjacent platforms have content guidelines and measures in place to protect users, but rules can be bent or sidestepped. As technology has evolved, so have tactics used by hate groups and people looking to block them out.

Doxxing gained a lot of attention with Gamergate, Consalvo says, but many people have become more savvy about their internet use and may be less willing to share personal details.

With the increasing sophistication of content moderation systems, especially with artificial intelligence tools, some platforms have become less hospitable to hate groups. That害羞草研究所檚 led them to congregate in lesser-known but less restricted spaces.

Reddit, one of the most popular forums on the internet, employs what it calls a layered approach to content moderation.

A Reddit spokesperson says the platform uses automated tools, user reports and internal escalation processes to flag anything that violates its content policies.

For photos and videos, internal 害羞草研究所渉ashing害羞草研究所� technology creates a unique digital fingerprint, or hash, to prevent offending content from being shared again.

A spokesperson for Roblox pointed to blog posts from the company in early April about the importance of civility.

害羞草研究所淢any of our safety features and tools are based on innovative AI solutions that run alongside an expert team of thousands who are dedicated to safety,害羞草研究所� says a post from Roblox害羞草研究所檚 chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman.

The number of safety staff is tiny compared to the 71.5 million daily active users that Roblox says it had in the last three months of 2023.

Fortnite, the online game best known for its battle royale mode, introduced in late April an option for players to turn off their ability to see four emotes, or character actions, commonly considered toxic, including 害羞草研究所淭ake the L,害羞草研究所� or take the loss.

Solutions and responsibility

Kris Alexander, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who teaches video game design, espouses what he calls 害羞草研究所減ixels with purpose.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淵ou can be the change,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淵ou can counteract all this hate speech.害羞草研究所�

Some responsibility also lies with parents, he says.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 like you have a McDonald害羞草研究所檚 that害羞草研究所檚 open. These kids just keep coming. They keep taking their parents害羞草研究所� credit card and just keep eating McDonald害羞草研究所檚. We should close down all McDonald害羞草研究所檚?害羞草研究所�

Stang, the Brock University professor, says violence and hate are more about culture than they are about the medium.

Parents need to be aware of what their children are doing, what communities they害羞草研究所檙e part of, what they害羞草研究所檙e joining and who they害羞草研究所檙e talking to, she says.

When discussing online harassment, Alexander added, it害羞草研究所檚 important to ask which games and genres are affected, as well as which groups.

害羞草研究所淵ou talk to any player of 害羞草研究所楽tardew Valley害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� talk to any 害羞草研究所楢nimal Crossing害羞草研究所� player. They害羞草研究所檒l be like, 害羞草研究所榃hat are you talking about? We害羞草研究所檙e building farms out here. We害羞草研究所檙e grabbing fruits and spoiled turnips.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟

Stang says there have been improvements over the past decade.

害羞草研究所淚 teach in a game design program at Brock University and I can see the incoming cohorts are very 害羞草研究所榳oke,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 she says. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e attuned to questions of diversity and inclusivity and equity. They害羞草研究所檙e primed for discussions about representation.害羞草研究所�

She says they want to change the industry for the better because they love the medium.

害羞草研究所淚 think things are getting better,害羞草研究所� says Stang. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 just very slow.害羞草研究所�

Curtis Ng, The Canadian Press