When: Thursday June 11, 13.00-14.30
Where: Online (registration required: https://his-se.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zyMwdN9dTTuTZy_sH0Sb4Q)
What: Presentations and panel discussion about political influence in online environments.
Welcome to join this seminar, organized by Svenska spelforskarrådet (Council of Swedish Games Researchers), to learn more about influence and problematic issues in game-related online environments. Over the last few years, the issue of radicalization and influence campaigns in online gaming environments and gaming-related platforms has attracted growing interest from researchers and organizations seeking to protect civil society’s fundamental structure and democratic values. In reports such as Understanding the adversarial playbook (Pamment, Falkheimer, Isaksson, 2023) and anthologies such as Gaming and extremism: The radicalization of digital playgrounds (Schlegel, L., & Kowert, R. (Eds.). 2024), researchers are looking more closely at risk factors in online gaming environments.
This seminar gives an overview of 3 different perspectives of the issue. Elsa Isaksson, a doctoral candidate at Lund University and part of the Psychological Defence Research Institute, studies, among other cases, the resilience of Ukrainian game developers. Elin and Theo from Save the Children focus on children’s online gaming environments and the potential risks of recruitment to radical organizations. A representative from Science Park Skövde discusses how they address potential threats in online environments for their startup companies.
The panel consists of:
- Torbjörn Svensson (Högskolan i Skövde, moderator)
- Elsa Isaksson (Doctoral candidate at Lund University, affiliated with the Psychological Defence Research Institute)
- Elin Palmstierna (Advisor on youth violent extremism and project lead Digital Safeguarders, Save the Children Sweden)
- Theo Toresson (Psychologist and Advisor on digital psychosocial support, Save the Children Sweden)
- Patrick Prax (Assistant professor at the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University)
- Business coach from Science Park Skövde
Panelists bios:
Elsa Isaksson is a doctoral candidate in Strategic Communication at Lund University and affiliated with the Psychological Defence Research Institute. In her work, she examines how gaming environments, beyond being spaces for social interaction, can function as arenas for malign influence and how threat actors exploit vulnerabilities within these environments. She also studies how video games can function as forms of strategic communication and contribute to resilience, identity, and meaning-making during conflict through the case of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Theo Toresson (Licensed psychologist) works for Save the Children Sweden, focusing on gaming as a positive force, as well as addressing challenges within the gaming world. In his work he interacts with parents, children, and game developers. Theo is also an avid gamer and has played everything from Hollow Knight to World of Warcraft. He has previously worked as a school psychologist, as well as within psychiatry, where he provided CBT treatment for Internet Gaming Disorder.
Elin Palmstierna is an advisor on youth violent extremism, with a particular focus on online environments, and serves as Project Lead for Digital Safeguarders at Save the Children Sweden — a program dedicated to supporting children’s safety and wellbeing in gaming spaces. She works closely with children, caregivers, and other key stakeholders to strengthen digital safety and promote a secure digital childhood.
Patrick Prax is Associate Professor at the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University, Sweden. Patrick is responsible for the Master Program in game design with a focus on humane design and critical game literacy. In his outreach, he has recently been working with local schools, coaching educations, and other public actors on the question of political radicalization in online and game spaces. In early 2026, he presented to roughly 900 local students in a talk called ”Sigma, Soft Girl, Self-Esteem”. An earlier presentation on the topic of games and radicalization from Almedalsveckan 2023 can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoDiOeHzF8A&list=PLQg_vY3Z2KU6sEUvPNzbyn290itNYN0KO&index=3&t=838s).
Patrick is one of the editors of the book “The Games Need to Change – Towards Sustainable Game Design” and he has been working with sustainability in game design education and systemic sustainability that resist greenwashing and works for real, material, and humane change.
Welcome,
Svenska spelforskarrådet
