Technology

As I understand it, the character was reappropriated from an oh exploitable publicly funded game Pathways (play it) designed to inform students about part of a public counterterrorism program for voluntarily deradicalizing extremists without legal consequences for opting-out. The player plays a new college student, Charlie, who runs into scenarios. First scenario: on a sketchy social media website their new friends use, a video is shared, and the player is offered choices:

• download the video
• ask about the video
• tell a trusted adult

If the player chooses to download

Charlie downloaded the video and shared it with different people online.

Charlie felt relieved and happy that people were liking the video and also sharing it.

Deep down, Charlie wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, as some of the ideas in the video were extreme and violent.

It's important to remember that downloading or streaming certain content can lead to a terrorist offence conviction.

Apparently, download implies more than that, the game bundles unnecessary actions together, & merely downloading/viewing content has legal risks. The other choices aren't much better: an extremist tells Charlie people who care about their country will download & share the video or an adult explains extremism, so Charlie simply doesn't download it. Charlie can't just view the video to judge it: great message for self-reliance & developing the criticism to participate competently in democracy.

I'm guessing the other scenarios play out similarly. At some point, Charlie is courted by Amelia, a nationalist teenager with purple hair who Charlie can refer to the deradicalization program.

I can see why derision of this game took off & the alt-right embraced Amelia as their meme: trolling potential like that is irresistible to pass up.