Russia Spreads Propaganda in Popular Video Games – NYT

Russia uses video games, including Minecraft and World of Tanks, to spread propaganda. And also platforms for discussions. This is stated in the material of The New York Times. In particular, in Minecraft, a popular game owned by Microsoft, Russian players recreated the battle for Soledar, which has been occupied since January, by publishing a video of the game on VKontakte, the most popular Russian social network. In addition, the channel of the Russian version of the game World of Tanks honored the 78th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by showing a recreation of the parade of tanks of the Soviet Union in Moscow, which took place in 1945. The version of the video game World of Tanks from the Russian Federation, where a parade of tanks in 1945 was recreated. Screenshot: YouTube At the same time, a virtual celebration of Russia Day was recreated on the popular game creation platform Roblox. These games and related discussion platforms like Discord and Steam are becoming online vehicles for Russian propaganda. As the publication found out, propaganda is being spread there, with which the Kremlin is trying to justify the war in Ukraine. The target audience is young people. “The gaming world is really a platform that can influence public opinion, reach different audiences, especially young people,” said Tanya Becker, a researcher at ActiveFence, a cybersecurity company that has uncovered several examples of Russian propaganda related to Minecraft. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced in April 2023 that the company’s security services had discovered recent attempts by Russia to “basically infiltrate some of these gaming communities.” He cited examples in Minecraft and Discord discussion groups. The battle for Soledar in Ukraine in the Russian video game “To be honest, it’s not something we should worry about. You know, it’s just a good place for them to spread the word,” Smith said at an economic conference in Washington. The head of Microsoft’s threat analysis group, Clint Watts, also said that Russian military forces, the Wagnerites, were promoting “malicious narratives” on Discord and Steam. Thus, they expressed support for the Kremlin’s views. “The propaganda is basically trying to make Wagner and the Russian military look cold and threatening,” Watts added to researchers who have studied extremism in video games. Microsoft declined to comment on its executives’ comments or to answer questions about Russian examples of propaganda. It only said that they review content that violates the online community standards for video game discussions. Celebration of Russia Day on the game platform Roblox. Screenshot: YouTube Although some materials reflect the views of “ordinary Russians”, other examples indicate the possible involvement of the Russian government. The activity of the Kremlin in video games shows how persistently the Putin government has tried to achieve its political goals using Western social media, despite the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Russian Federation, the publication emphasizes. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft announced that it was suspending the sale of new products and services in the Russian Federation. However, the Russians continue to find ways to use popular video games and sites like Discord and Steam for propaganda. We will remind you that in order to justify the deportation of Ukrainian children, the Russian Federation uses three main messages: “The Russian Federation is a paradise”, “Ukraine does not care about its children”, and “The West exploits children”. Read also: Children about the “special operation”: how Russia brainwashes schoolchildren with propaganda about Ukraine



Original Source Link