If it's not a bug, it's a feature: how the normalisation of hate speech has made games vulnerable to extremism Guest speaker: Dr Rachel Kowert, Research Psychologist

What happens when hate speech becomes so routine in a cultural space that it's treated as unremarkable background noise?

This talk will examine how digital gaming environments have normalised extreme hate speech (particularly misogyny) to the point where it is often dismissed as “just part of gaming culture”. Drawing on recent research, Rachel Kowert will trace how this normalisation creates cultural conditions that make gaming spaces uniquely vulnerable to extremist recruitment and radicalisation efforts. By understanding hate speech not as isolated incidents but as an embedded feature of gaming culture, we can recognise how these environments function as entry points for more organised extremist movements. The presentation concludes with implications for researchers working to address these deeply rooted cultural patterns.

Rachel Kowert PhD is a research psychologist and award winning author, who has been a globally recognised leader in facilitating global policy development with non-profit, governmental and non-governmental agencies for more than 15 years through data-driven research focused on mental health and trust and safety in digital games.

Rachel has spoken about her work to thousands of people around the world, including the United States Congress, United Nations, and Department of Homeland Security. She also serves as the editor of the Routledge Debates in Media Studies series and the series from Play Story Press, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture. In 2020, she founded Psychgeist, a multimedia content production studio for the science of games and pop culture.