Related Report
Black and women gamers experienced most identity-based harassment in multiplayer games
New York, NY, February 1, 2024 … An estimated 83 million people, or 75 percent of all online gamers in the United States, were exposed to online hate or harassment in 2023, according to a new survey from the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) issued today.
The annual ADL Hate and Harassment in Online Gaming survey shows that harassment of young gamers increased across the board, with three-quarters of teens and pre-teens saying they experienced harassment while playing online multiplayer games, up from 67 percent in 2022. Identity-based harassment of young people ages 10-17 increased to 37 percent in 2023, up from 29 percent in 2022. At the same time, the rate of harassment of adults in online multiplayer games decreased for the first time in the five years this survey has been conducted. 76 percent of adults experienced harassment in games, down from 86 percent in 2022.
“Harassment in online games is still so pervasive that it is the norm today. Any decline is encouraging, but players have become desensitized and now expect to experience hate on these platforms,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “This is a reality we cannot accept, especially when young and vulnerable people are increasingly targeted, and when we know that what happens online can have dramatic consequences offline.”
The survey, published annually by the ADL Center for Technology and Society, also found that women and Black or African American gamers experienced the most harassment because of their identity. In previous surveys, women experienced the most identity-based harassment in these spaces.
Additional findings include:
- Half of Black adults (50 percent) reported experiencing online harassment, an increase from 44 percent in 2022 and the first significant increase reported since 2019. This represents a 19-point increase in hate targeting Black adult gamers since 2020, when many game companies spoke out in support of Black Lives Matter following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement.
- 48 percent of women gamers say they’ve experienced harassment because of their gender.
76 percent of adults experience harassment in games, down from 86 percent in 2022. - 70 percent of Jewish adults experienced some form harassment in online multiplayer games, though the data was collected before the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.
- Overall, exposure to white supremacy decreased since last year, but the frequency with which players have these experiences remains alarming: 30 percent of adults and teens exposed to hateful and dangerous ideologies had these experiences weekly or more frequently.
The games where adults were most harassed in 2023 were Dota 2, Call of Duty and Valorant and those where young people were most harassed were League of Legends, PUBG and Call of Duty. The games where players were most often exposed to white supremacist ideologies were Call of Duty, Overwatch 2 and Counterstrike: Global Offensive
“Continued and regular exposure to white supremacist extremism in gaming, including potential evidence of recruitment, makes the need for these companies to address extremism more urgent than ever,” said Daniel Kelley, Director of Strategy and Operations, ADL Center for Technology and Society.
The report also included detailed recommendations for the gaming industry, government, civil society, and caregivers and educators to address online hate and harassment. These recommendations align with ADL’s REPAIR Plan to fight hate in the digital world, and include:
- Implement industry-wide policy and design practices to better address white supremacy;
- Improve reporting systems and support for targets of harassment;
- Strengthen content-moderation tools for in-game voice chat;
- Release regular, consistent transparency reports on hate and harassment;
- Submit to regularly scheduled independent audits; and
- Include metrics on online safety in the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s rating systems of games.
This nationally representative survey was fielded August 4-17, 2023, by ADL, in collaboration with Newzoo, a gaming analytics firm. Together, they collected responses from 1,971 Americans representative of the U.S gamer population aged 10-45. For young people ages 10-17, the survey also collected responses from their parents or guardians as part of the screening process. This year, for the first time, insights from 10 qualitative interviews were also included.
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.