Nazis on Steam
Online communities are not only places to meet up with friends, but also real means to spread hatred, anti-Semitism and bullying. Even Steam is not immune from the proliferation of people who disseminate real criminal propaganda and now even the government of the United States of America has noticed it, with Senator Maggie Hassan who has decided to take matters into her own hands.
As reported by PC Gamer, Hassan wrote a letter to Gabe Newell, owner of Valve, asking for an intervention and explanations on how Steam intends to fight Nazism, white supremacy, misogyny and many other negative behaviors present on the platform. “Valve should take steps to prevent the spread of this content, especially given the relationship between online comments and real-world violence. Extremist content is often associated with neo-Nazi, extremist and racial ideologies,” reads Hassan's letter.
What exactly is the senator referring to? To many, small disturbing details, such as the presence of the number 88 in the nicknames. In far-right circles, the number 88 stands for HH, or Heil Hitler. In addition, according to some research, 13-17 year olds were more exposed to far-right propaganda, including extremist ideology and racist comments.
Hassan has asked Gabe Newell to answer these questions by January 15, 2023 , but she is not the only one who has asked for explanations. A large group of Democrats has in fact decided to write to Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard and many other publishers to ask for explanations regarding the growth of this phenomenon. Keep following GameDivision for all the news and upcoming announcements from the world of video games.
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