Steam is a Breeding Ground for Extremism, Says ADL | Game Rant
A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claims that the popular PC gaming storefront Steam is a breeding ground for hate and extremism. The report specifically calls out the potential for white supremacist ideology to be spread on the platform through various key terms, symbols, and common acronyms. It isn't the first time Steam has been scrutinized for such a thing, with users criticizing the platform's lack of moderation regularly.
The report states that in a "non-exhaustive" search, the ADL was able to identify more than 200 unique Steam accounts propagating white supremacist and/or Nazi ideology, with the evidence being blatantly obvious factors such as screen names, profile pictures, and users biographies. The report states that the issue stems, at least in part, from an emerging internet counter-culture using bigoted memes that perpetuate supremacist ideals.
In 2019, an ADL survey of Americans found that 23% of gamers online had encountered "extremist white supremacist ideology" while playing online games. However, the ADL did acknowledge that, outside of the survey, there had only been "anecdotal" evidence of organized extremist recruiting or events in online games. Another report published by the ADL found that 74% of adults had encountered harassment online.
The report also cites the controversy surrounding Hatred, a contentious game setting players in the shoes of a mass-shooter. The game had been delisted from Steam following public outcry but was later released on the platform. In addition, abusive speech and harassment are also mentioned as issues facing the platform. Previously, the ADL released a report about harassment in Dota 2, which is frequently criticized for a toxic subculture within its community.
Near its conclusion, the ADL's report recommends a variety of changes to Steam to help address the issues, primarily suggesting increased moderation of the platform, improving the odds of offenders being caught in the first place.
A few years ago, Steam changed its approach to moderation, both for games and the community. While explicit harassment has still landed users in hot water, issues have persisted on the platform. Valve realizes no moderation is also an issue, but its laissez-faire approach moderation has been particularly frustrating for targeted groups, such as women and minorities. The pathway to remedying the issue is clear, but it will take a considerable effort on Valve's part.
Source: ADL
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