Interactive Propaganda, Digital Militarism, and the Representation of Muslims in War Video Games

Abstract

This article examines how digital militarism shapes representations of Muslims, Arabs, and the Middle East in war video games. Using a qualitative approach combining textual, representational, and gameplay analysis, the study examines Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 & 2 (2007, 2009), Medal of Honor (2010), and Six Days in Fallujah (2023). Drawing primarily on Stuart Hall’s theory of representation, complemented by concepts of procedural rhetoric and player agency, the analysis focuses on visual environments, character portrayals, narratives, spatial representations, player roles, objectives, and enemy classifications. The findings show that these games reproduce recurring distinctions between legitimate Western military forces and threatening Muslim, Arab, or Middle Eastern actors and spaces, while presenting military intervention as an intelligible response to insecurity and conflict. The study argues that war video games operate as forms of interactive propaganda, in which geopolitical meanings are communicated not only through images and narratives but also through the rules and actions required of players. By conceptualizing interactive propaganda as the incorporation of ideological meanings into playable systems, this study extends existing discussions of Muslim representation beyond visual stereotyping toward the procedural and participatory dimensions of digital militarism