Militants Lure Youths With Anti-U.S. Video Games

Muslim youngsters are being swayed toward anti-American sentiment through video games that are modified to portray U.S. troops as the enemy, Reuters reports.

Muslim kids as young as 7 can register to play the games on militant websites, according to Reuters. Contractors from Science Applications International (SAIC) of San Diego joined Department of Defense (DoD) officials to speak about the issue to Congress on Thursday.

Eric Michael of SAIC said Islamic militants are believed to be using the games to condition young Muslims to attack U.S. forces, according to Reuters.

“What we have seen is that any video game that comes out … they’ll modify it and change the game for their needs,” said diplomacy specialist Dan Devlin of the DoD, Reuters reports.

The DoD contracts with SAIC to monitor 1,500 militant websites used by al-Qaida and other militant groups, according to Reuters.

The article states that software modifications to video games are very common, as explained by Jeff Brown of Electronic Arts, a leading game maker.

“Millions of people create ‘mods’ on games around the world,” said Brown, Reuters reports. “We have absolutely no control over them. It’s like drawing a mustache on a picture.”

For related content, read Georgia Tech Student Suspected of Terrorism and Security Roulette.

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Compiled by Dave Gradijan