Giochi pericolosi? Potenzialità e limiti dei videogiochi nella gamification dell’estremismo politico violento

In recent years, many scholars have highlighted the growing salience of game-related elements in various forms of violent political extremism. In fact, so-called gamification is now one of the most discussed topics in this field of study. Drawing upon existing literature and based on currently available information (unfortunately limited due to the secret nature of most of these phenomena), the article aims to investigate the actual role that online video games, as well as gaming adjacent platforms, can have in the advancement of jihadism and violent right-wing extremism, the two forms of violent extremism that are generally considered most relevant in the West in our time. The paper argues that today in this field these online products and services, used by over a billion people around the world, occupy a different position in relation to five key functions: propaganda, radicalization, clandestine communication, training, and financing. In the area of extremist propaganda, the use of video games (whether developed from scratch, modified, or creatively reinterpreted) as direct channels for conveying messages, as well as the appropriation of cultural and linguistic references or design elements taken from the world of gaming, is significant. There are also partial indications that online video games and gaming platforms, with their engaging and interactive nature, can facilitate individual radicalization processes leading to violent extremism, and can be employed as rudimentary means to practice a few stages of training for a terrorist or paramilitary mission (for example, the use of firearm sights). On the contrary, although video online games and gaming platforms are potentially suitable for such use, to date there is little evidence of a significant role in clandestine communication and in terrorist financing, areas of application where violent extremists have seemingly preferred alternative options.