Since the heightened conflict erupted in Israel and Gaza, many worldwide have been protesting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. The activism isn’t limited to the real world; Roblox users have been protesting within the game’s virtual universe, too.
The Israeli government launched a “multilateral operation” following an attack from Palestinian Islamic group Hamas on Oct. 7. Since then, over 5,000 people in Gaza have been killed.
Instagram and TikTok have become primary spaces for debate, information, and misinformation about the conflict. On Roblox, young people are also participating.
Roblox is a gaming universe in which players can create their own games and interact with each other. As of July 2023, Roblox has approximately 66.1 million active users daily—a majority of which are younger than 16 years old.
A tweet posted on Tuesday by X user @sushislurpee shows a pro-Palestine protest within Roblox. A hundred or so Roblox avatars are shown marching with Palestinian flags and then congregating in an amphitheater-type structure in the game, where signs say “Solidarity Untukmu Palestine” (“Solidarity for you Palestine”).
is it this one😭 pic.twitter.com/7yGQvA26Qo
— Sushi ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ (@sushislurpee) October 24, 2023
Other videos posted online show similar displays: Cikgu Zyd, a TikToker who posts content about gaming, has posted footage of pro-Palestinian Roblox protests as well.
Many X users felt inspired by the Roblox protests. One said that Roblox users are “doing more for Palestine than politicians.”
“Watching kids hold their own little Palestine solidarity rally on Roblox made me happy,” @Blackredgaurd1 tweeted.
“This is so wholesome and funny too,” @kartoonistan tweeted.
This isn’t the first time kids and teens have used Roblox as a means to process complex events in their lives and mimic being an active participant offline.
In 2021, then-16-year-old Jamie Wooden created a funeral home on Roblox. Wooden told the Daily Dot that they “do this just to have fun and so they can get ready for the real world.”
“Some kids actually want to be pastors, funeral home directors, and police officers,” he told the Daily Dot.
Another teen, R, who was also 16 when the Dot interviewed them, said that Roblox’s “LBGTQ safe spaces” helped them explore their gender identity.
“I was encouraged to explore and learn on my own,” R told the Daily Dot of their conversations in such spaces on Roblox. “Rather than just be told what I am.”
The Daily Dot reached out to @sushislurpee via X.