The game is on, and to the Anti-Defamation League, pushing back against the wacky and woke looks a lot like hatred running wild.
But others are wondering about the timing of the ADL’s entry into the cause of video game regulation, coming as it has after about 200,000 gamers who are blowing the proverbial whistle on Sweet Baby Inc.
Sweet Baby Inc. weaves its left-leaning storytelling into video games, and many protesting its work believe that it leaves a trail of wokeness in its wake. But while the left is facing criticism for producing a nauseating product, the right has some heavy hitters to contend with.
Gamers are not terrorists.
All of these programs launched in the span of a week after Sweet Baby Inc. and funded by the ADL, US, Canadian and UN anti-terrorism money is extremely disturbing.
I’m asking why? Why now, why terrorism? Why election monitoring? Why?
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 17, 2024
“Domestic violent extremists use social media and gaming platforms for several purposes, including to reach wide audiences; to insert their extremist ideas into the mainstream; and to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize others, according to government reports and experts GAO spoke with,” a recent General Accounting Office report said, calling for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to start keeping track of those gamers.
Take This, a non-profit group that has been directly funded by the Department of Homeland Security in the past according to their reports, then piled on to snipe at the vast criticism of Sweet Baby.
“Large-scale harassment campaigns like this fuel – and are fueled by – political events,” Take This wrote.
All of which set the stage for the ADL to ask Congress to bring the hammer down.
“As digital social spaces, online games should be regulated to address hate & extremism. It’s vital for Congress to examine extremist radicalization in these spaces & we are grateful to @RepLoriTrahan for leading this effort,” the ADL wrote in a recent post on X.
As digital social spaces, online games should be regulated to address hate & extremism. It’s vital for Congress to examine extremist radicalization in these spaces & we are grateful to @RepLoriTrahan for leading this effort. An important piece to read: https://t.co/LJpLgJSTcB
— ADL (@ADL) March 14, 2024
The ADL lent its support to Op-Ed on The Hill from Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat a policy advisor on technology and law at the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Biden wanted the industry to "come to the table" when he held violent video game censorship hearings in 2013.
Today, his DOJ is apparently subsidizing ideological consulting companies in the industry.
Now the DNC-connected ADL is pushing for regulation.
Getting it yet? https://t.co/5zQSxurZXg
— RazörFist (@RAZ0RFIST) March 17, 2024
Rosenblat is all in on regulation, writing that, “Exposure to hateful speech is routine.”
"Of acute concern ismounting evidence that extremists and other bad actors take advantage of the preexistingtoxic gamer culture to disseminate their hateful ideologies and unleash hate-based harassment,” she wrote
“Regulators should consider online games fair game for regulation," she wrote, adding, “Similarly, when considering online platform regulation and enforcement, U.S. policymakers — including legislators and federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission — should explicitly include game companies within their scope.”
Although Rosenblat was vague on who she wants the government to focus upon, Democratic Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts -- of whom the ADL is a fan -- was very clear in a 2022 news release demanding a crackdown on video games.
@ADL wants to police speech in video games with congressional regulation. Stupid ADL. Less government = better. https://t.co/4q18n0eN1d pic.twitter.com/fAoR9cO0Xh
— DCWebGuy (@DCWebGuy) March 16, 2024
“Given the rise of extremism – especially white supremacist ideology – around the world, it is important that online video game developers work to stop the spread of harassment and extremist ideologies that proliferate on their platforms,” she wrote in a letter to gaming companies, according to her website.
That’s in line with the ADL's goals, as noted in a 2022 report when it focused on the threat of white supremacist influence in video games.
