Hotbeds for Radicalization:
Today’s children are growing up in a digital age where online companionship and community are replacing human interaction at children’s expense. Parents may not be aware that seemingly benign and popular gaming platforms like Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit can expose vulnerable children to radicalized views and extreme content with no guardrails.
Thankfully, the Trump Administration and Congress are demanding accountability and transparency from platforms such as Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit on how they are safeguarding users — especially children — and handling the promotion or glorification of violence on their sites.
In September, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) asked the Chief Executive Officers of Discord, Steam, Twitch, and Reddit to testify about the risks of online radicalization on their platforms, “including instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts.” The hearing, (to be rescheduled) comes as recent acts of violence and threats across the nation have involved teens who used online platforms to discuss their intentions to commit crimes or share problematic content. Reports in recent years have shown that children are sexually exploited and have taken their own lives — on online platforms like Discord and Roblox. Just recently, state and local law enforcement warned that Discord could be radicalizing America’s youth and exposing them to materials from foreign terrorist organizations.
The Extremism Pipeline:
As online gaming and chat rooms expand in popularity, parents need to be aware of the threats children can be exposed to. The radicalization process is often subtle, starting with seemingly harmless content that slowly introduces more extreme ideas. This makes it easier for kids to accept radical views without realizing the danger. As a result, users find groups and individuals to affirm such ideologies. When children are welcomed into a group, they feel a sense of belonging and identity, furthering the bond with the ideologies of the group.
For example, a Wall Street Journal report in 2021 found that a 17-year-old boy named Noah Rembert, who had never questioned his gender or sexuality previously, was convinced by activists on Discord that he was gender-fluid and pansexual. Upon investigation into his Discord servers, Noah’s parents said they believed group members had been manipulating him, encouraging him to run away from home or threatening to harm his parents if they weren’t accepting of his gender identity. After a month-long Discord break and therapy, Noah ultimately decided he was not gender-fluid or pansexual.
Similarly, 15-year-old Prisha Mosley turned to online platforms like Tumblr after suffering sexual assault and a miscarriage. Online, “trans-identifying adult activists” convinced her that she was a boy. “This happened while I was on (pro-anorexia) websites with a lot of other girls my age,” Mosley said on the Riley Gaines Show, “and about half of the people that I was starving alongside were convinced with me that we were boys.” When she was 17 years old, Mosley underwent a mastectomy — a permanent decision that she regrets to this day.
Platforms to Watch Carefully:
Kids are turning to online chat platforms and games to seek acceptance.
This trend is problematic, especially considering that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that children are at risk of sexual exploitation in online gaming. Parents should know that the interactive features of online gaming platforms allow users to “communicate via voice, text, and messaging systems, either in-game or on other platforms…Such close and regular interactions directly increase the risk of grooming.” In 2019, an investigation into gaming platform policies showed that 72% of popular gaming platforms allowed anonymous sign-ups and self-declaration of age.
In 2023, NBC News reported that the platform Discord allegedly played a role in 35 cases where adults were prosecuted for alleged kidnapping, grooming, or sexual assault. NBC also reported that there were 165 instances, including four crime rings, where ‘adults were prosecuted for transmitting or receiving [Child Sexual Abuse Material] CSAM via Discord” and for allegedly using the platform for sextortion.
The platform Reddit, advertises itself as, “The Heart of the Internet,” with communities for all. But the platform has faced criticism for hosting communities that, under the guise of support, promote dangerous ideologies related political violence, potentially encouraging harmful behaviors instead of offering genuine recovery resources.
Discord is another popular app where users can communicate on “servers,” which are topic tailored groups where individuals with similar interests can connect. Each server can have separate channels, smaller spaces for select members and more private, specific conversations. These conversations on the servers can lead to problems as Pat McMonigle, a former FBI agent who investigated domestic online extremism during his two-decade career pointed out, “Discord is a particular problem because the barriers of entry are so low,” and “moderated very infrequently.”
In 2023, Pew Research found that a third of teenage boys in the United States used Discord. With limited monitoring, access to inappropriate material is extremely easy. For example, one Discord group requires users to send nude images of minors for entry, noting that ‘we accept only between 12 and 17 years old.’ Another group claiming to only accept girls 5-17 years old included chat channels titled ‘begging-to-have-sex-chat,’ and other disturbing topics.
In September, NBC News reported multiple suspects in “high-profile mass shooting events” in recent years “allegedly used Discord to announce their actions or trade in violent or nihilistic content.” Since this report, there have been more recent incidents, such as Tyler Robinson, who has been accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, allegedly confessing to the crime in a Discord chat. The man who attempted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 also questioned whether “[associate justices’ last name] being removed from the [Supreme Court] help women long term,” on Discord.
Similarly, Roblox, with more than 80 million users every day and nearly half under the age of 13, is an extremely popular gaming platform where players can converse and create games to share and play with others across the world. Recently, Roblox removed over 100 “experiences” after “seeing violative content around Charlie Kirk,” Axios reported. Earlier this year, an explosive Bloomberg investigation revealed that despite Roblox’s safety features, predators continue to infiltrate the platform to prey on innocent children. One Roblox moderator testified that the company receives hundreds of reports on child safety daily. This year, the mother of a boy who took his own life sued Roblox and Discord over his death, claiming he was groomed and coerced into sending explicit images on the apps.
Other apps like Twitch and Steam also raise concerns. Twitch is a livestreaming platform centered around video game content while also giving users the ability to stream their own game play, interact with each other’s games, and chat one-on-one or in groups. While Twitch has some moderation rules, live content is extremely hard to control. For example, one of the most popular Twitch streamers, Hasan Piker, who boasts nearly 3 million followers, has a history of calling for political violence on the platform. Piker was suspended from Twitch this past March after making a comment about murdering Republican Senator Rick Scott. He also said, “left-wingers, liberals, you need to be f-ing showing your opponents’ guts on there. You need to be gutting them,” in a video allegedly responding to the 2022 Georgia Senate debate.
Another prominent Twitch streamer with over 15 million followers, Kai Cenat, livestreamed a prank where magician Max Major appeared to hang himself, encouraging dangerous activities.
Steam is another online platform for buying, distributing, and playing video games with community features that include options for livestreaming, and online chatting. The platform has been in the news lately as details about different shooters’ gaming activity were revealed. Both the assassin at a Dallas ICE facility and accused Charlie Kirk assassin logged hours playing first-person-shooter games on Steam, raising questions on how these games affected or perpetuated their mentalities.
Although these platforms have varying degrees of moderation policies, it’s imperative for parents to know what their children are playing. These games can highly mimic real life which can foster an dehumanization of victims if not properly moderated.
Algorithm-Induced Extremism
There are certain factors that increase children’s susceptibility to radicalization. According to the Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, some include: trauma, disruption, loss, confusion, uncertainty, anger and betrayal, rebellion and status-seeking trolling, desire for connection with radicalized friend/someone they love, isolation and lack of belonging, and boredom and idleness. This can be exacerbated by algorithms proactively pushing harmful content and amplifying the risks by recommending similar content, trapping users in echo chambers that reinforce and escalate their exposure to radicalization.
Several studies explore algorithms and how they manipulate users’ feeds, such as Chinese-owned TikTok, which has been proven to manipulate “perceptions of China and the Chinese Communist Party through algorithmic bias.” The platform has also come under fire for promoting harmful content like suicide and body image issues to underage users. In 2019, Islamic extremists used TikTok to target children with pro-jihad propaganda. In 2023, TikTok popularized expressing sympathy with Osama bin Laden for a letter he wrote critiquing the United States. American Parents coalition sounded the alarm and launched a campaign TikTok Is Poison, exposing the dangers and disastrous effects.
Understanding The Drivers and Preventative Measures:
Children are extremely susceptible to social contagions online – especially if they already display one of the main factors for susceptibility to radicalization listed above.
Given the dangers, it is critical that parents remain vigilant about their children’s online activity and ensure their children are learning how to think, not what to think. It is also essential that parents pay attention to any behavioral or attitude shifts after commencing online gaming, which could point to deeper issues. These steps will go a long way towards protecting children from activists and predators on online platforms, and encouraging them to engage safely with a variety of perspectives, free of violence, ideology, or extremism.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
OTHER NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Thanks for reading the latest edition of the American Parents Coalition’s The Lookout. If you have a troubling story to share about a school, doctor, company, or other institution working to usurp parents’ rights, please let us know by emailing us at outreach@americanparentscoalition.org.
