(self.KotakuInAction)
Someone posted about it already while I was writing this, but I actually sat down to tell you about it first-hand instead of just what I could read in articles, and I can tell you it's as bad as they say if not worse. The british government funded a game for schools, a short CYOA-style story about a student going through difference scenes related to racilization. If you know the UK, you know what to expect. And if Dustborn was relevant to this sub, so is this.
The game is described in an official document as "a bespoke interactive learning package",
The official website describes its features:
Encourage learning about the concept of extremism and radicalisation through the process of choice and safe exploration.
Illustrate the scope of online dangers and radicalisation routes.
Introduce and explain the Prevent Programme to young people.
Equip young people with an understanding of support available if they have concerns for themselves or others in relation to extremism.
Highlight the thin boundary between online extremism and ‘real-life’ harm, demonstrating the connection between the two worlds.
https://web.archive.org/web/20251117162428/https://www.shoutoutuk.org/pathways/
This game was made to be shown at schools as a learning tool. East Riding, Hull City Council and ShoutoutUK logos are displayed at all times in the corner. ShoutoutUK is self-described as non-partisan, but the contents of this game say something else. Also, you may notice their website likes to talk about media literacy, which is a term that was in vogue with leftists these lasts years all over twitter and reddit.
In the game you play as Charlie, a young white brit, either male or female depending on your choice but referred to as "they" always. It has 6 scenes, each one focused on a relevant issue about radicalization:
1) Someone on the internet tells you to download a video. You can tell an adult, ask the uploader what the video is about or download it. No matter what you do, you are warned about the dangers of extremist beliefs and how some videos are illegal to download.
2) A brown-skinned girl gets better grades than Charlie on a test to find a job and a white girl says this is proof immigrants are taking white jobs. You can ignore her and ask the teacher how to improve, you can ignore her and say nothing or you can “agree and explore the idea further”.
*If you ask the teacher, it ends with just Charlie getting some help with her studies. *Agreeing is portrayed as bad, but so is staying quiet as the game says Charlie starts thinking about it later and agrees with the white student.
3) Seeing a video on social media about muslim men getting houses meant for war veterans and how the government is betraying white people, that white people need to take back the country. You can ignore, research on your own or engage with the post.
*If you ignore it, Charlie then sees a video of a veteran happy at home and is glad not to have shared the video because “they learned that the information was not accurate”. *Researching is portrayed as bad, since it leads to you “intaking a lot of harmful, ideological messages” and some of the groups are described as illegal. *If you engage, Charlie gets angry, shares the video and feels “they had performed a patriotic service by standing up for veterans and white people’s rights”, but then the game warns you some of the groups were illegal.
4) The white girl from the second scene, Amelia, posts a video encouraging the youth to join a political group in defense of English rights, and invites Charlie to join “a secret group on an app Charlie hasn’t heard of before”. You can ignore the video, like it without joining the group or share the video and join the group.
- If you ignore it, Amelia gets angry and ignores you the next day.
- If you just like the post, Charlie is added to “an encrypted, private group” without permission. The scene ends with Charlie terrified.
- If you join, Charlie is happy, but their mom is worried.
5) Amelia is hanging out with you even if you angered her before. She wants to go to a protest against “the changes that Britain has been through in the last few years, and the erosion of British values” but she can’t go, so she begs Charlie to go instead. You can decline, watch from the sidelines or agree to join in.
- If you refuse, Amelia breaks her friendship with you and Charlie is upset, but gets over it.
- Amelia is happy with just watching, but Charlie finds out the protest seems to be “more about racism and anti-inmigration than british values and honouring fallen veterans”. The police then come and Charlie runs away, because “the line between observing and participating was too easy to cross”. *If you join the protest, Charlie almost gets in a fight then gets stopped by the police. Nothing happens to Charlie, but they’re worried their parents might find out.
6) Charlie thinks back to their choices. Though The Daily Sceptic says you get sent to a program if you take too many bad choices, this is not true. No matter what you’ve done, the teacher talks with Charlie and everything looks to be fixed. Then you get to see what would have happened otherwise. Charlie is sent to a workshop that helps them engage positively with ideology and the difference between right and wrong in expressing political beliefs” and receives counseling that makes them feel much better.
Finally, there's an epilogue that shows how Charlie is getting along with everyone, and they “will have no further involvement with Prevent or other similar services, because [Charlie] made responsible decisions”. You then get an explanation on what Prevent is, portraying them as impartial and aiming to prevent radicalization. Then it tells you how your teachers can send a referral about you to Prevent and Channel, the specialists in radicalization, who will all give you support and counseling. This is the only part you can’t skip.