Pro-Russia Trolls Reportedly Targeting Trans Flagged Sim in Second Life; Matches Similar Pro-Russia Trolling in Minecraft & Roblox

Disturbing if inevitable story in the New York Times documents pro-Russian disinformation spreading across various metaverse platforms and MMOs:

Molfar’s researchers identified more than a dozen instances of pro-Kremlin propaganda in Minecraft, Roblox, the Russian versions of World of Tanks and World of Warships, Fly Corp, Armored Warfare and War Thunder. Almost all extolled the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, a theme Mr. Putin and his advisers have used to build support for today’s war. Some of it had explicit links to political parties or government agencies...

Jacob Davey, the head of research of far-right and hate movements at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London, said Minecraft and other games could be useful tools for those looking to influence vulnerable young people, especially if those people had already sorted themselves into private groups where they were eager to discuss fringe ideologies.

"Technoodle", a Second Life user who helps run security for a trans flagged island in Linden Lab's virtual world, tells me of dealing with similar activity recently:

"People keep coming in, rezzing a prim that broadcasts support for Russia and then leave," as he puts it. "We have had to ban at least a dozen."

The entrance to the sim looks like the surface of Mars next to an active volcano, which might seem like a somewhat strange place to blare pro-Russia messages. But it might have to do with how the island is displayed on the Second Life map grid:

"We don't know if they are trying to mark us for something. Since our sim has a trans flag as map art, we think it could be transphobes or something." (The current Russian government is highly anti-trans.)

These incidents happen a couple times a week, he tells me. So far, the sim itself has not been permanently damaged, so no official complaints to Second Life's owner have been filed. But Technoodle still hopes they look into this.

"Would be nice if some of the higher ups at Linden Lab would catch wind of it and maybe investigate it," as he puts it. "I have no idea if it happens on other sims because I personally stick to my home, my friends' place, or the sandbox."

I am reaching out to Linden Lab about this. It's not even clear as yet whether these trolling incidents are stemming from Russia itself, or just random noxiousness.

"They are in and out of the sim in seconds and leave prims linking to Russian or Ukraine groups," as Technoodle puts it to me. "It's almost like the two are fighting against each other."

Comments

[Luther Weymann]

VPN is encrypted, including DNS requests. If law enforcement is giving court authority, they can ask the ISP to see the IP address of the VPN server. Still, they won't see any connections after that. So, Russia or Ukraine? Totally unknowable assumption. It could be one teenager in his bedroom at home in Los Angeles.

[yup]

Sadly these anti-trans trolls infiltrate everywhere in Second Life too and they target trans places since a while. They are also joined by US conservative activists and trolls, who pretend to be moderate or have common sense, but in fact they parrot unhinged far-right slogans. Interaction is often more subtle than rezzing prims. LGBT+ dating boards are targeted too, there is at least a known case. Often, though, it begins by private messages, starting slow, but in a manipulative way. The victims then let their guard down, then the trolls or "concerned trolls" do what they do. What at first may seem like a normal chat, then becomes something else. Depending on their target, the victim - even worse who was intending to just enjoy a safe space with like-minded people and feel understood - may end up with doubts or attacked and hurt.

[Muu]

Any luck on Linden Lab banning these accounts?