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Beauty is power: the use of gaming references and gaming aesthetics in extremist propaganda

Beauty is power: the use of gaming references and gaming aesthetics in extremist propaganda
Beauty is power: the use of gaming references and gaming aesthetics in extremist propaganda

Over the past decade, extremists have not only orchestrated and performed attacks, but have sought to hijack popular culture. This chapter presents visual empirical data to illustrate how and why both jihadist and far-right movements have utilized gaming aesthetics and cultural references within their propaganda, and the ways in which such have used videogames as a means of attracting potential recruits. It is important that research considers the complexity of the extremist/social media nexus as propagandists borrow aesthetics from videogames, turning them from entertainment to encompassing socialization, education, and the communication of ideas, opinion, and ideology.

130-147
Routledge
Kingdon, Ashton
c432a21d-9395-47d2-bc34-1ee77f63bc5c
Schlegel, Linda
Kowert, Rachel
Kingdon, Ashton
c432a21d-9395-47d2-bc34-1ee77f63bc5c
Schlegel, Linda
Kowert, Rachel

Kingdon, Ashton (2024) Beauty is power: the use of gaming references and gaming aesthetics in extremist propaganda. In, Schlegel, Linda and Kowert, Rachel (eds.) Gaming and Extremism: The Radicalization of Digital Playgrounds. 1 ed. Routledge, pp. 130-147. (doi:10.4324/9781003388371-8).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

Over the past decade, extremists have not only orchestrated and performed attacks, but have sought to hijack popular culture. This chapter presents visual empirical data to illustrate how and why both jihadist and far-right movements have utilized gaming aesthetics and cultural references within their propaganda, and the ways in which such have used videogames as a means of attracting potential recruits. It is important that research considers the complexity of the extremist/social media nexus as propagandists borrow aesthetics from videogames, turning them from entertainment to encompassing socialization, education, and the communication of ideas, opinion, and ideology.

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Published date: 21 December 2024

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 491910
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/491910
PURE UUID: c4e4899c-4a0c-4de8-9f3c-a1c1d84ef99e
ORCID for Ashton Kingdon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0103-7361

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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2024 17:09
Last modified: 25 Jul 2024 02:01

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Contributors

Author: Ashton Kingdon ORCID iD
Editor: Linda Schlegel
Editor: Rachel Kowert

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