{"id":12961,"date":"2026-05-20T14:08:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/?p=12961"},"modified":"2026-06-08T20:53:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:53:52","slug":"virtual-worlds-real-threats-the-use-of-gaming-platforms-for-the-creation-and-dissemination-of-gaming-jihad-propaganda-by-g-l-giardini-and-a-bolpagni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/virtual-worlds-real-threats-the-use-of-gaming-platforms-for-the-creation-and-dissemination-of-gaming-jihad-propaganda-by-g-l-giardini-and-a-bolpagni\/","title":{"rendered":"Threats Beyond the Screen: The use of gaming platforms for the creation and dissemination of \u2018Gaming-Jihad\u2019 propaganda \u2013 by G. L. Giardini and A. Bolpagni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the last ten years, gaming has emerged as one of the most efficient youth-appealing alternative propaganda to the canonical Salafi-jihadi audiovisual material, with particular respect to the Islamic State (IS) communicative flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Considering the entirety of the Salafi-jihadi ecosystem, gaming does not appear to be a new entry into the communicative sphere of jihadi groups. Conversely, video games \u2013 and later gaming platforms \u2013 have become a significant tool functional to the dissemination of Salafi-Jihadi propaganda and its consequent narratives and ideology. For instance, in 2006 AQ introduced the first First-Person Shooter (FPS) video game named \u201cQuest for Saddam (2003)<\/a>\u201d followed by the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF)<\/a> production \u201cQuest for Bush<\/a>.\u201d The latter AQ-related game was later readapted in \u201cNight of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi (2008)\u201d by the Iraqi American artist Wafaa Bilal, where the player had the role of a suicide bomber with the main objective of killing the US president. Hence, the last AQ-related example of gaming jihad is attributable to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) during the 2012 Mali War. In this context, AQIM released its 2-D video game Muslim Mali<\/a> (or, Islamic Mali) where players were allowed \u201cto control jihadi aircraft, viewed from a top-down perspective, shooting down French jets invading Mali<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving to IS, 2014 marked a new chapter in the history and evolution of gaming jihad<\/a>, written by IS (non-officially affiliated) supporters and sympathisers. At that time, the first material related to gaming released within the IS online ecosystem was a trailer of an adaptation of the famous Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5, entitled \u201cSalil al-Sawarem<\/em><\/a>\u201d (en, \u201cClinging of the Swords\u201d). Yet, it was not clear whether the video game was produced or by whom; certainly, it was not by any then-IS institutional media house (Al-Hayat, Al-Furqan, and Al-Ethar), which stood against entertainment activities. There could also be a possibility that \u201cthere was no such standalone IS modification\u201d to GTA 5, but a \u201cslightly modified vanilla version was only used by [\u2026] IS\u2019s sympathisers to record two \u2018game trailers\u2019 [\u2026] which promote the jihadi \u2018lifestyle<\/a>.\u2019 Furthermore, the first trailer was followed by another less noticed video<\/a> with a banner showing one of the GTA 5 characters with a long beard, tawhid <\/em>gesture, and a background banner containing IS\u2019s Al-Furqan Media logo. Alongside GTA 5 videos, IS supporters also exploited Microsoft-developed RMA III and Call of Duty<\/a> (CoD) to enable users to experience battlefield combat and promote the IS propaganda message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing out from the aforementioned war-themed video games, the IS institutional media house Maktabat Al-Himma (or Al-Himma Library) released various interactive Arabic applications to teach the Arabic alphabet and preach to children, which represent a peculiar case in gaming jihad. Produced by Maktabat al-Himmah and shared through IS Telegram channels, the first release was Huroof<\/em><\/a>, the only video game ever released by an IS institutional media house, as an Android application. It was designed as an interactive Arabic alphabet teacher for children through words like gun, tank, rocket, and anasheed<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Moreover, it was also advertised in the IS institutional Al-Hayat Media Center magazine Rumiyah Issue 2 (English version). Huroof<\/em> is presented with the following slogans: \u201cWrite, Practice, Learn,\u201d \u201cLetters and Numbers,\u201d and \u201cLetters Nashid\u201d, closing with an invitation to \u201cchoose your target\u201d among \u201cUK, US, FR, [and] RU\u201d, represented respectively by stylized representations of the Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and Spasskaya Tower  (Figure 1).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Figure 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first release of Huroof<\/em> was followed by a video presenting another \u201cNew Interactive App for Cubs,\u201d which was entitled Dua al-yawm wa-l-layla<\/em> (The supplications of the day and the night) and produced by Maktabat Al-Himma. The latter opens with a bus driving through an imaginary city, which shows billboards with words like \u201cIslamic court\u201d, \u201cAccountability\u201d, and a military-like \u201cCub camp\u201d. As shown in the video, Dua al-yawm wa-l-layla<\/em> contains \u201cover 40 supplications\u201d, which can be read and listened to. An example of one of the forty supplications is presented in the video and titled \u201cSupplication when settling in a place\u201d, against the backdrop of which is a depiction of an IS military camp with a tent, the IS flag, military equipment, and assault rifles, all accompanied by a nasheed<\/em>. Later, the video presents \u201cThe supplication for when meeting the enemy and the rulers\u201d, showing an IS \u2018outpost\u2019, which mimics an attack on a military camp belonging to IS enemies (for example, we see a tank with an American flag and the camp with dozens of flags from countries around the world, primarily Israel, the United Kingdom, and Russia). The video also shows how, by pressing on a surface-to-surface rocket launcher, the user can launch rockets at IS enemies. The last video shared by Maktabat Al-Himma presents another interactive app for \u201cinteractive learning,\u201d which is entitled al-hij\u0101\u02bei (en, \u201cspelling\u201d). With a nasheed<\/em> playing in the background, the video shows kids playing with this app, which includes \u201cseven spelling lessons\u201d with \u201cmultiple examples and exercises.\u201d The app also allows users to \u201clearn the Holy Quran\u201d with \u201cover 25 Surah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the production and dissemination of pro-IS gaming propaganda has assumed new forms and features. This is the direct consequence of the active implication of young individuals in the production-sharing process within several spaces, from gaming platforms and\/or videogames to social networks. In this respect, gaming platforms and\/or videogames represent the \u2018creative\u2019 hub where the gaming-jihad propaganda is produced, while social networks act as the \u2018digital marketplace\u2019 functional to the massive fruition of that kind of material. Specifically, the gaming propaganda content is disseminated particularly on TikTok, since it is characterised by a young-based audience. In fact, by means of analysing a portion of the pro-IS online ecosystem on TikTok, it was possible to observe the presence of gaming-jihad propaganda produced exploiting diversified gaming tools, such as Roblox and Minecraft sandboxes and videogames like GTA 5<\/a> and Far Cry V<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By means of observing Gaming-Jihad users\u2019 activities on TikTok, it can be affirmed that most of the Gaming propaganda produced and disseminated using sandbox games like Roblox<\/a> and Minecraft<\/a>. The latter gaming spaces give individuals the possibility to fully customise their gaming experience exploiting Roblox and Minecraft features. Consequently, this led some users to take advantage of such gaming environment in order to recreate pro-IS gaming-like propaganda. Mainly, users\u2019 have been observed to be focused on the reproduction of proper IS propaganda, such as Amaq News Agency bulletin and\/or frames of audiovisual material originally created by IS\u2019s media outlets, and\/or in the creation of audiovisual gaming content related to Prisoners\u2019 executions, IS\u2019s mujahidin and\/or IS-like military scenarios (Figure 2).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Figure 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

However, Roblox and Minecraft cannot be considered as the only contemporary platforms exploited to produce gaming-jihad audiovisual material related to IS. In fact, it was possible to notice the use of video games to reproduce pro-IS gaming-jihad content, such as GTA 5 ad Far Cry V. The latter videogames have been seen to be used to recreate IS-related scenarios using the features provided by the video games themselves (Figure 3).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Figure 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On one hand, using these video games implies greater graphic levels, giving users a realistic audiovisual product and a much more immersive gaming experience related to IS scenarios. However, on the other hand, users do not have the same freedom of action as in the case of Roblox and Minecraft production process. Within the latter platform, the \u2018sandbox\u2019 component gives an efficient and effective manner for users to totally manage their gaming world, making them able to create and reproduce (as for IS propaganda) everything they want, without limits imposed by videogames aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notwithstanding the fact that Gaming-Jihad propaganda material is considered to cross the \u2018halal-haram<\/em> line\u2019 assuming a negative pattern within the pro-IS online ecosystem, this type of content represents a crucial element in catching the attention of young people active throughout social network platforms and\/or gaming platforms. Therefore, it can be said that Gaming-Jihad propaganda represents a catalyst element in radicalisation and recruitment processes of new supporters within the vast pro-IS online ecosystem. By means of being constantly exposed to gaming-jihad content, young individuals are progressively getting more and more familiar with the fruition of such content. The normalisation and in some way \u2018banalisation\u2019 of pro-IS propaganda content turned into gaming audiovisual material poses the youngest \u2018just few clicks away\u2019 from the actual and growing threat of online radicalisation processes within the broad pro-IS online ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last ten years, gaming has emerged as one of the most efficient youth-appealing alternative propaganda to the canonical Salafi-jihadi audiovisual material, with particular respect to the Islamic State (IS) communicative flow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[669,671,657],"tags":[685,686],"class_list":["post-12961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamic-state","category-salafi-jihadi-groups","category-salafi-jihadi-movements","tag-aq","tag-gaming-jihad-propaganda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12972,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12961\/revisions\/12972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itstime.it\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}