Internet

When a terrorist opened fire on African Americans at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022, the livestream was an essential part of his operation. The gunman declared in his manifesto: “I think that live streaming this attack gives me some motivation in the way that I know that some people will be cheering for me.”  The attacker, Payton Gendron, was inspired by a fellow white supremacist terrorist who livestreamed an attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019. However, Gendron was also tapping into a far longer historical precedent. Throughout American history, white supremacist murderers have eagerly adopted new communications technologies in order to publicise their killings. Dating back to the Reconstruction period after the American Civil War, the torture, mutilation, and murder of Black bodies has been a sport—lynchings, executed by self-anointed chivalric white men, were designed for public consumption. Today, new technologies have only empowered these dark rituals. Parallel to how “great replacement theory” – the belief that there is a global conspiracy to eradicate the white race –  inspired much postbellum violence, modern livestreamed killings are but the latest iteration of the grim American tradition of lynching. As this Insight suggests, emerging communications technologies have always been readily adapted by extremists looking to broadcast racialised violence.  Gamification and Communication Technologies At its core, “gamification” is defined as the introduction of game elements into a non-game context. In the last decade, the concept has been framed as an emerging trend in right-wing terrorism, precipitated by the digital environment that white supremacist terrorists occupy in the lead up to perpetrating a violent attack. Essentially, gamification is understood as a unique byproduct of the digital era, stemming from communications technologies typically associated with videogames. As Lakhani, White, and Wallner argue, “gamification is just a tool – it can be wielded both negatively and positively.” In its most extreme form, the term can be used to highlight how reframing real-life violence as part of a game may lower psychological barriers to violent action.  Livestreamed attacks, such as the Christchurch mosque shooting and subsequent copycat attacks in El Paso and Halle, embody the most horrific use of gamification in right-wing terror. First, such attacks produce a digital record of racialised violence. These records have proven exceptionally far-reaching. In the first twenty-four hours following Christchurch, Facebook removed the livestream 300,000 times. Another 1.2 million copies of the video were blocked at upload. Additionally, by reframing actual violence as “Let’s Play” gaming videos, perpetrators not only produce digital records of their attacks but also dehumanise their victims as objectives in a videogame. Attackers set extremist “high scores” through their murder of racial minorities, and encourage further violence by baiting users into trying to make it onto the proverbial “leaderboard.” Perhaps most dangerously, framing attacks as nothing more than FPS (first-person shooter) videogames allows other users to envision themselves as the perpetrator and, in a sense, experience the role themselves before committing real-world violence of their own.  While the digital age has introduced new platforms for broadcasting racialised violence –  and the concept of gamification itself – violence being shaped by emerging communications technologies is not new. In fact, the weaponisation of digital technology for white supremacist ends has always been a present threat. In announcing the creation of the movement’s first digital forum in 1984, Louis Beam, a leader of the KKK, gushed that “At last, those who love God and their Race and strive to serve their Nation will be utilizing some of the advanced technology available heretofore only to those […] who have sought the destruction of the Aryan people.” Even further back, in the post-Reconstruction lynching era (roughly 1880 -1925), two dominant communications tools – the newspaper and the telephone – played central roles in organising, publicising, and carrying out acts of white supremacist terror. Newspapers both inflamed racial resentment with sensationalist reporting on the supposed “crimes” of the victim and also functioned as logistical tools, announcing the time and place of lynchings to ensure maximum viewership. Meanwhile, the telephone allowed white communities to coordinate quickly across towns and counties, accelerating the formation of mobs. As Eula Biss poignantly writes in “Time and Distance Overcome,” the telephone pole itself became symbolic, often repurposed as the site of torture and killing–a literal and figurative pillar of white supremacist messaging. Together, these technologies enabled the execution of theatrical violence, creating mass-mediated spectacles of racial domination.

via gnet: Modern-Day Lynchings: The Long History of Gamified White Supremacist Terrorism

This Insight will analyse how far-right extremist networks have turned Minecraft, one of the world’s most popular online games, into a tool for ideological grooming and radicalisation. By creating immersive, gamified spaces that embed hateful narratives into familiar gameplay mechanics, extremists are turning gaming culture into recruitment infrastructure. This refers to how extremists use popular and widely accessible cultural activities, such as video games, as tools to subtly introduce and reinforce their beliefs among users. This Insight focuses on Minecraft specifically because of its unique blend of accessibility, community-driven content, and low moderation thresholds that make it particularly vulnerable to abuse by ideologically motivated actors. Minecraft as a Radicalisation Gateway With over 200 million monthly active players, Minecraft offers near-total creative freedom, including the ability to design maps, host private servers, and create mods. While most players use these features harmlessly, far-right actors have exploited this freedom to build propaganda-filled environments, memorialise violent events, and embed hate speech into virtual architecture. This is not limited to hateful swastikas; some builds include recreated mass shooting sites or ‘shooter training’ simulators. Others are more subtle, using old buildings from fascist times, hidden messages, or characters that repeat extremist ideas. One widely circulated video among far-right extremist Telegram channels, Mincraft avatars are depicted marching under the Black Sun (Sonnenrad), a symbol commonly associated with neo-Nazi groups, with the caption “Defend Your Land” written on it. This screenshot below (see figure 2) was taken from the original 33-second video circulating on a neo-Nazi Telegram channel.

via gnet: Playing with Hate: How Far-Right Extremists Use Minecraft to Gamify Radicalisation

The Justice Department announced today that Noah Lamb, 24, was charged in the Eastern District of California in an eight-count indictment for conspiracy, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and other offenses in connection with his work on a hit list of “high value targets” for assassination. “Transnational criminal networks that promote extremist ideology and seek to commit targeted assassinations and cause terror obviously have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “These criminal charges reflect the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to using the full force of the law to disrupt and prosecute those who use hate-driven violence to threaten public safety and national security.” “The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is committed to aggressively pursuing those who engage in hate-fueled conspiracies and terrorist threats,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will use every tool available to protect the civil rights of all Americans and ensure justice for those targeted by such heinous acts.” “The defendant collaborated with members of the online Terrorgram Collective to create a list of targets for assassination,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California. “Individuals on the list were targeted because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity, including federal officials. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will work tirelessly with our partners in law enforcement and in the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute those who commit such violations of federal criminal law.” “The FBI stands vigilant, protecting our homeland against individuals who seek to use violence to target the American people, our democracy, and the freedoms we stand for,” said Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “These charges send a clear message of zero tolerance to anyone who advocates the use of violence to promote their ideology.”

justice.gov: Member of Transnational Terrorist Group Charged with Soliciting the Murder of Federal Officials in Connection with Hit List