GEMS @ EUROPOL. 07 November 2025.

Event Name: TechWatch Forum – Understanding Extremism in Gaming & Virtual Communities

Date: 07 November 2025

Location: Online (hosted by Europol)

Organisers: Europol European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) / EU Internet Referral Unit

The GEMS Project was invited to present at the special online edition of Europol’s TechWatch Forum focused on extremism in gaming and virtual communities.

Prof. Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic (Principal Investigator, GEMS) and Dr. Neven Vukic (Project Manager and Gaming Expert, GEMS) delivered a session on the Horizon Europe-funded GEMS project. They outlined the project’s main objectives and research findings on extremist exploitation of gaming platforms and presented the Watchtower tool, including a recorded usability scenario that demonstrated its real-time monitoring and alerting features for law enforcement and platform moderators.

Other participants included:

- Jozef Lestrade and Louise Johansson (Europol IRU/ECTC) – Europol perspective on gaming-related extremism

- Kevin Weyda and Hannes Jakim Peter (Berlin State Criminal Police, RadiGaMe project) – the Incelosphere and misogyny/far-right intersections

- Mikkel Aalund Olsen and Magnus Sander Thölén (Danish Online Police, National Special Crime Unit) – operational experience in disrupting extremist content on gaming and adjacent platforms

The concise session ended with a short Q&A. The GEMS team appreciated the opportunity to showcase Watchtower to a targeted audience of EU law enforcement practitioners and looks forward to further cooperation with Europol and national units.