Young people reportedly at risk of far-right extremism through online gaming channels
Chat apps like Discord used to groom young people.
Online gaming is being used to recruit young people to far-right extremist groups.
The news follows a report published by the Home Office concerning the Prevent anti-extremism programme.
Figures show the number of referrals of people vulnerable to a risk of radicalisation, of which the majority (46 percent) were regarding Extreme Right-Wing radicalisation.
As reported by The Guardian, the use of online apps and platforms is appearing more and more in referrals of far-right extremism, according to Prevent coordinator Sean Arbuthnot.
In particular, that includes gaming platforms and chat apps like Discord.
Arbuthnot discussed the practice of these far-right groups, who promote the narrative that Covid is a hoax and purport white people as a minority in Britain.
"If you engage with them on a YouTube platform, and scroll through the comments section, you may then find links to more encrypted chatrooms or extreme right-wing codes or signs and symbols that you may be tempted to research," said Arbuthnot.
"That's one of the troubling ways right-wing extremists can play on the fears that have resulted from Covid-19 and conspiracies, to groom, essentially, vulnerable young people in the online space."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "It is vitally important that if anyone has a concern about someone they think may be being radicalised, that they act early and seek help."