From Video Games to Drug Cartels: How Mexican Narcos are using video games as a recruitment tool

I came across this article and thought it would be interesting to share. With the anonymity of video games, like that of social media comes recruitment. We have seen terrorist groups connect and grow anonymously online, recruiting people who are in mutual threads and have the same “goals” or “passions” as them. We have also seen people become radicalized by these platforms.

This article details how Drug Cartels are using video games as a way to recruit children. Reading this made me wonder how many other kids or video game users are being recruited to cartels, terrorist organizations etc. Does the attachment that you may feel with your peers over a video game increase the likelihood of a person being recruited or radicalized, especially when money is involved like in the article above. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/drug-cartels-are-enlisting-kids-through-video-games-mexico-says