The DHS is spending $700,000 on researching counterterrorism in games

An FBI team in CS: GO.
(Image credit: Valve)

The United States' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is devoting almost $700,000 of funding to a research project aimed at countering terrorist recruitment via games like Roblox, Ars Technica reports.

The grant totals an incredibly specific $699,763, and will go to research aimed at the "development of a set of best practices and centralized resources for monitoring and evaluation of extremist activities". 

The project is being undertaken jointly by three organisations: the Middlebury Institute’s Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism; Take This, which focuses on mental health in gaming; and Logically, which looks at ways to deal with bad online behaviour.

The research aims to find ways to counter radicalisation and terrorist recruitment via games like Roblox, alongside games from the like of Blizzard and Bungie. In other words, it's focusing on games that function as social hubs as well as playable experiences. The DHS grant announcement says that game devs both big and small "have lagged in awareness of how extremists may attempt to exploit their games". 

The Ars report points to a 2021 ADL survey as an example of the unchecked growth of extremist subcommunities in the underbelly of online gaming. The survey found that:

  • 10% of surveyed people aged 13-17 had been exposed to white supremacist discussions and ideology in games.
  • 7% of adult online players were exposed to Holocaust denial while playing.
  • Nearly half of the women and 41% of black people surveyed had experienced identity-based harassment while playing online.

The grant also comes in the context of a recent shift in focus by the DHS that identifies "ethnically motivated violent extremists—specifically white supremacist extremists" as the "most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland". 

Dr. Rachel Kowert, of Take This, told Vice's Motherboard that the project's research would likely lean towards "white nationalism and white supremacy" in games. It makes sense, at least from my limited perspective. I may be an asocial hobgoblin who rarely plays big multiplayer stuff, but even I can rattle off various examples of times I've come across far-right loudmouths in my brief and infrequent multiplayer adventures. It was only last year, after all, that Discord had to purge over a thousand servers from its service for playing host to violent extremism. This is an ongoing problem across the whole internet, including gaming.

Kowert told Vice that research of this kind was literally non-existent before the project began. It'll take more than a $700,000 grant to halt the spread of poisonous ideologies, of course, but with any luck the project will bring the problem some much-needed attention. 

Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

Read more
Tencent
Tencent has been designated a Chinese military company by the US Department of Defense, which the conglomerate calls a 'misunderstanding'
Roblox CEO David Baszucki.
'Don't let your kids be on Roblox', Roblox CEO tells parents, before comparing himself to Walt Disney and declaring the platform 'the future of communication'
A screenshot of Helldivers 2, depicting a Helldiver saluting while wearing an anthropomorphic facemask
The United Nations asked Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead if it'd give a talk on psychological manipulation: ‘Could we brainwash an entire community to fight for a fascist state? … Would we be okay with that? Turns out, yeah’
Mister Fantastic giving a thumbs up
A Marvel Rivals player has uncovered 'one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities a game can have' that'll let cheaters take over your PC and find your passwords
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft reportedly has an anti-harassment plan in place for Assassin's Creed Shadows developers
Characters with guns next to a train
Call of Duty's development budget ballooned by $250 million between 2015 and 2020 to an eye-watering $700 million
Latest in Platforms
A screenshot from game Mudborne of a little humanoid frog in a marsh
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 24, 2025)
midnight murder club
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 17, 2025)
Screenshot of Children of Clay showing a mysterious clay model
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 10, 2025)
discord
Brace yourself for Discord to get worse: Reports swirl that the company is in talks with bankers about opening itself up to shareholders
The Spy from Team Fortress 2 holds up a folder with an accusatory expression.
Steam users react ecstatically to update that lets them access their heaving game notes via the web, also it fixes Monster Hunter Wilds video recording
HasanAbi
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker suspended after saying Republicans would 'kill Rick Scott' if they really cared about Medicare fraud
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Tzarina Katarin Bokha, the Ice Queen of Kislev
Total War: Warhammer 3 rolls out a cool Kislev overhaul, changes befitting Tzeench’s magic, new projectile units and creakier skeletal horses
An image of a golden first place award from Geoguessr
'We're actually getting GeoGuessr on Steam before GTA 6': the Google Street View puzzler arrives on Valve's platform this April
Napster client circa 1999
Former music-pirating platform Napster to be reborn rather ironically as a metaverse for musicians to connect with their fans after $207 million deal
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node