Facts: Information impact
Information influence is potentially harmful communication that foreign powers or their proxies are behind.
Attempts are made to create distrust between citizens and between citizens and the state.
Efforts are directed at vulnerabilities with the aim of increasing division in the country.
Information influence can be carried out as individual activities or as part of a larger influence campaign.
Source: The authority for social security and preparedness, MSB
Terrorists and far-right groups use in-game chats to build relationships and recruit new members, previous research shows.
Within the gaming world, there is also a risk of information influence from a foreign power, according to the Agency for Psychological Defense.
— We can see vulnerabilities, such as exploitation of user data and financial factors connected to the gaming sphere, says Andrea Liebman, senior analyst at the authority.
Researchers in Lund are now making a knowledge overview where they look at examples from all over the world.
Requires game to be stopped
Influence through games and gaming platforms can take place in different ways, for example through hacking, coding or the design of the game.
“It can be about trying to influence perceptions of things that happen in reality, and create different groupings that can be polarized,” says James Pamment, researcher at the research institute for psychological defense at Lund University.
Andrea Liebman, senior analyst at the Psychological Defense Agency.
In connection with the Ukraine war, several games have been called into question. Two games from the gaming platform Roblox – which had the theme of war – had to be removed. The government of Ukraine has also recently demanded that the game “Atomic heart” – where game maker Mundfish has Russian connections – be stopped.
Clips and videos from games have been used by countries under the pretense that they are taken from reality. There may also be a risk that in-game chats are used for contact attempts by a foreign power.
No debate about user data
The researchers in Lund have identified 30–35 individual vulnerabilities that have been used to influence information within games and game platforms. One of them is user data.
Today there is a debate about whether data from the app Tiktok, owned by Chinese Bytedance, can be monitored by the Chinese government. But that discussion does not exist around computer games, according to James Pamment.
He takes the example of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016, where the personal data of 87 million Facebook users was used without consent for political purposes ahead of the US election.
— There is some concern that computer games could be exploited in a similar way. There is very little preparation for that.
James Pamment, researcher at the Research Institute for Psychological Defense at Lund University.
Digital platforms are widely used for spreading propaganda. IS has recruited via YouTube, right-wing extremists are using algorithms to reach out, and a fierce atmosphere was whipped up in closed Facebook groups before the election in the United States. To avoid getting caught in monitoring, new techniques are used, for example special characters scattered in messages.
— This is something that can be tailored to an increasingly large extent. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future also in games, says Andrea Liebman at the Agency for Psychological Defense.
Forms friendships in the gaming environment
The gaming environment itself can be a vulnerability, she explains.
— Games create more unique social, digital spaces than in social media. The game’s environment makes it easier to form friendships and the feeling of belonging to a group.
Per Strömbäck, spokesperson for the industry organization Computer Games Industry.
However, Per Strömbäck, spokesperson for the Computer Games Industry, believes that it may be more difficult to carry out influence campaigns within games precisely because of the games’ design.
— You have limited interaction between the players compared to social media, and don’t share as much personal information. There are also not as many opportunities to share and spread material, he says.
Game companies can suspend or warn players, restrict communication and monitor chats for inappropriate behavior. According to Strömbäck, it remains to be seen whether the tools are sufficient for advocacy campaigns.
— We are used to various kinds of unwanted behavior. But this is a bit of a new topic for us. We are learning, he says.