Discussion panel "Games and Propaganda: spreading, countering and educating"

What the talk is about

The panel "Games and Propaganda: spreading, countering and educating" is an English-language discussion of how states and other actors use games to influence people. Participants from the developer community, European games policy and the US State Department cite extremist games, mods distorting real wars, state-funded projects, Atomic Heart and a propaganda game at a game jam, plus data collection and self-censorship. As countermeasures they discuss regulation balanced against artistic freedom, media literacy and games criticism, "inoculation" against manipulation through dedicated browser games such as Cat Park and Harmony Square, and great games with strong messages such as Baldur's Gate 3. At the end the audience debates whether "good" propaganda exists or whether truthful strategic communication is the better term. Useful for anyone interested in the influence of games.