By: Ansha Kottapalli
Russian propaganda connected to the Ukraine invasion has started to appear in popular video games and discussion groups like Minecraft and Discord to influence the public.
Russia is using video games to spread propaganda. Users of games like Minecraft and Roblox have been spreading beliefs supporting the Kremlin. while playing Minecraft, Russian users recreated what happened at the battle of Soledar, posting videos of their work on VKontakte, Russia’s most popular social media network. In June, to honor Russia Day, a Roblox user created a lineup of Interior Ministry forces.
Discussion groups are also becoming a way for Russia to deliver their propaganda. These websites, which are used mostly by younger generations, are used to justify the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The reason Russians are specifically using video games to convey their message is because, “The gaming world is really a platform that can impact public opinion, to reach an audience, especially young populations”(NYT). Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, doesn’t think Russians spreading propaganda through video games is a main concern. He says they were going to circulate this information anyway, and video games just happen to be the means by which they do so.
Clint Watts, the head of Microsoft’s threat analysis team, said to researchers at New York University’s Stern School of Business that the Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary force, used Discord and Steam, “to encourage enlistments when Russian combat casualties were taking an enormous toll”(NYT). Watts also told the researchers that they used these discussion sites to make the Russian Military look more “cool” and “menacing”.
Mr. Putin says that video games should educate people about their values and help them grow. As their propaganda is in Russian, they seek to change the values of all Russian speaking countries, Ukraine being one of them, via these platforms.
Joseph Brown, an assistant professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, has seen Russia’s devotion to spreading propaganda via video games as he’s worked there as a video game development teacher for five years. Brown supposes the reason is that, “They need to get everybody back on board with the war”(NYT).