We’ve written about the ADL before, most recently when they refused to classify Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale as left-wing because they argued all shooters are inherently ‘right-wing.’ Because reasons.
But they’re also very sure that video games are causing ‘extremists radicalization’, and calling on Congress to regulate them:
As digital social spaces, online games should be regulated to address hate & extremism. It’s vital for Congress to examine extremist radicalization in these spaces & we are grateful to @RepLoriTrahan for leading this effort. An important piece to read: https://t.co/LJpLgJSTcB
— ADL (@ADL) March 14, 2024
But these efforts to rein in social media overlook the gargantuan online gaming industry. Video games comprise the largest entertainment industry by far, grossing almost $200 billion in revenue in 2022 (more than the music and film industries combined). Today, online gaming sites offer far more than entertainment — they are social platforms that channel user communication and enable networking and community building.
Online games should be part of the regulatory discussion concerning digital platforms — but they seldom are.
Discussions of harms in gaming historically have focused on fears about the content of the games themselves. However, the social environment of games is what actually poses significant threats to players’ safety and well-being. Exposure to hateful speech is routine while doxxing — exposing someone’s private identifying information — and physical threats are also common. Of acute concern is mounting evidence that extremists and other bad actors take advantage of the preexisting toxic gamer culture to disseminate their hateful ideologies and unleash hate-based harassment.
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They also got the Community Note treatment:
While there is ongoing research into the effects of video games on behavior, the evidence does not definitively support the notion that they directly cause radicalization or violence.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/2020-sept-violent-video-games.html
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/may/24/pushing-buttons-violent-video-games
The ‘video games cause violence’ argument has been around for years, with little evidence to support the argument.
So certain in their position, the ADL locked down replies, but got ratio’d to oblivion in the quote-tweets.
How about no?
That would be a blatant violation of the first amendment. https://t.co/0Tih1R0R6n pic.twitter.com/trLkiZNf6f— DrinkerOfTears (@DrinkerOfTears) March 15, 2024
No is the only correct answer to this.
Biden wanted the industry to “come to the table” when he held violent video game censorship hearings in 2013.
Today, his DOJ is apparently subsidizing ideological consulting companies in the industry.
Now the DNC-connected ADL is pushing for regulation.Getting it yet? https://t.co/5zQSxurZXg
— RazörFist (@RAZ0RFIST) March 17, 2024
Connect the dots.
Yup, Gamers are so extreme that you won’t allow us to leave comments. https://t.co/MpGr1YH4Wa
— Jean Gentry (@JeanGen09181213) March 16, 2024
Aren’t they stunning and brave?
Enjoy that well-deserved community note and ratio.
Ingrates. https://t.co/Wlp5jq9Jxn
— La Reina🇺🇸Creole🇩🇴🇯🇲🇵🇷🇹🇹🇨🇺🇭🇹🇲🇽🇨🇴 (@LaReinaCreole) March 17, 2024
It is well-deserved.
You legitimately can’t pick a worse opponent in the online space than gamers. https://t.co/MhkiQLAB4T pic.twitter.com/52kK47OkI6
— WootReturns 🚁 (@WootReturns) March 15, 2024
This is a fight the ADL is going to lose.
The act of HATE and EXTREMISM.
“I’m not buying your games.”Oh boy, the evil I do. https://t.co/cc6DOA2W58 pic.twitter.com/7prOQW4Xer
— FrostKuji (@Frost_Kuji) March 16, 2024
If that’s their issue, it’s adorable. Not like the Left hasn’t tried to destroy games they don’t like. Remember when ‘Hogwarts: Legacy’ dropped and the trans crowd tried to boycott it? Yeah, it made $1 billion in sales.
Anyone who puts their pronouns in their profile should not be regulating anything. https://t.co/a6pAsIip7r
— Red Dot in a Blue Dot in a Red State (@reddotaustintx) March 17, 2024
A good rule to live by.
Oh gee….all of a sudden.
The ADL and other orgs know that gamers had a huge mobilization in the elections.
That’s why you are seeing this now. https://t.co/zOPIKIOmBF
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 16, 2024
Also, this.
They want to regulate every inch of your life. https://t.co/Jk88Z7ClVN
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) March 16, 2024
There is not one facet of your life they don’t want to regulate and politicize.
When one limits replies that’s a sign that what follows is pure bovine scatology. https://t.co/brt75tdotq
— I R A Darth Aggie (@IRA_Darth_Aggie) March 16, 2024
100% of the time, guaranteed.
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