Incident I00124: Malign foreign interference and information influence on video game platforms: understanding the adversarial playbook

Summary: The report presents a mapping of the computer game domain and an analysis of threats and vulnerabilities in relation to improper information influence such as the spread of disinformation from a foreign power. It is based on known cases of undue influence in or through computer games or game-related platforms, based on a review of available literature.

The report identifies more than 40 influence techniques that have successfully targeted the gaming domain and which, by extension, could be used for improper information influence by threat actors from foreign powers. [Translated from original in Swedish]
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Reference	Pub Date	Authors	Org	Archive
https://www.mpf.se/publikationer/publikationer/2023-12-01-malign-foreign-interference-and-information-influence-on-video-game-platforms-understanding-the-adversarial-playbook	2023/03/01	Jesper Falkheimer, Elsa Isaksson, James Pamment	Myndigheten för psykologiskt försvar	https://web.archive.org/web/20240520215840/https://www.mpf.se/publikationer/publikationer/2023-12-01-malign-foreign-interference-and-information-influence-on-video-game-platforms-understanding-the-adversarial-playbook

Technique	Description given for this incident
T0152.008 Live Streaming Platform	IT00000519 This report “Malign foreign interference and information influence on video game platforms: understanding the adversarial playbook” looks at influence operations in relation to gaming. Part of the report looks at the use of gaming platforms, including DLive; a streaming platform (T0152.008: Live Streaming Platform); “Like Twitch and YouTube, DLive is a video streaming service that enables users (also known as "streamers," or "content creators") to record themselves talking, playing video games, and other activities [...] DLive is built on blockchain technology, using its own currency directly through it rather than relying on advertising revenue.” [...] The emergence of blockchain technology has also created opportunities for reduced censorship. Due to the decentralised nature of blockchain platforms, content deletion from numerous servers takes longer than centralised systems. While DLive has community guidelines that forbid harassment or hate speech, it also allegedly provides users with protection from deplatforming, a practice where tech companies prevent individuals or groups from using their websites (Cohen, 2020). DLive's lack of content moderation and deplatforming has attracted far-right extremists and fringe streamers who have been barred from mainstream social media platforms like YouTube (Cohen, 2020; Gais & Edison Hayden, 2020). PewDiePie, one of YouTube's most popular content creators with nearly 94 million subscribers, moved exclusively to DLive in 2019. Although financial factors played a significant role in PewDiePie's decision, some have been drawn to DLive as a consequence of being deplatformed from other video streaming services (Gais & Edison Hayden, 2020). According to recent findings from ISD, extremist groups have taken advantage of the relative lack of content moderation. The platform has been used to spread racist, sexist, and homophobic content, as well as conspiracy theories that would likely be banned on other platforms (Thomas, 2021). DLive is also known to have played a role in the events leading up to the January 6th Capitol insurrection, with far- right extremists livestreaming the event and receiving donations from viewers (Lakhani, 2021, p. 9). In response to the storming of the Capitol, DLive has implemented stricter content moderation policies, including demonetisation and the banning of influential figures associated with far-right extremism (ibid, p. 18). The findings of ISD´s analysis of DLive indicates that these actions reduced the "safe harbor" that extremists had previously enjoyed on DLive (Thomas, 2021). However, some claim that extremism still has a foothold on the platform despite these efforts to remove it (Schlegel, 2021b).

Technique

Description given for this incident

T0152.008 Live Streaming Platform

IT00000519 This report “Malign foreign interference and information influence on video game platforms: understanding the adversarial playbook” looks at influence operations in relation to gaming. Part of the report looks at the use of gaming platforms, including DLive; a streaming platform (T0152.008: Live Streaming Platform);

“Like Twitch and YouTube, DLive is a video streaming service that enables users (also known as "streamers," or "content creators") to record themselves talking, playing video games, and other activities [...] DLive is built on blockchain technology, using its own currency directly through it rather than relying on advertising revenue.”

[...]

The emergence of blockchain technology has also created opportunities for reduced censorship. Due to the decentralised nature of blockchain platforms, content deletion from numerous servers takes longer than centralised systems. While DLive has community guidelines that forbid harassment or hate speech, it also allegedly provides users with protection from deplatforming, a practice where tech companies prevent individuals or groups from using their websites (Cohen, 2020). DLive's lack of content moderation and deplatforming has attracted far-right extremists and fringe streamers who have been barred from mainstream social media platforms like YouTube (Cohen, 2020; Gais & Edison Hayden, 2020). PewDiePie, one of YouTube's most popular content creators with nearly 94 million subscribers, moved exclusively to DLive in 2019. Although financial factors played a significant role in PewDiePie's decision, some have been drawn to DLive as a consequence of being deplatformed from other video streaming services (Gais & Edison Hayden, 2020).

According to recent findings from ISD, extremist groups have taken advantage of the relative lack of content moderation. The platform has been used to spread racist, sexist, and homophobic content, as well as conspiracy theories that would likely be banned on other platforms (Thomas, 2021). DLive is also known to have played a role in the events leading up to the January 6th Capitol insurrection, with far- right extremists livestreaming the event and receiving donations from viewers (Lakhani, 2021, p. 9). In response to the storming of the Capitol, DLive has implemented stricter content moderation policies, including demonetisation and the banning of influential figures associated with far-right extremism (ibid, p. 18). The findings of ISD´s analysis of DLive indicates that these actions reduced the "safe harbor" that extremists had previously enjoyed on DLive (Thomas, 2021). However, some claim that extremism still has a foothold on the platform despite these efforts to remove it (Schlegel, 2021b).

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Incident I00124: Malign foreign interference and information influence on video game platforms: understanding the adversarial playbook

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Raw Blame History