As horror has grown over Israel’s aggressive aerial bombardment on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 6,500 people at the time of writing, a wave of protests in solidarity with Palestine has hit cities worldwide, from London to New York and Cairo to Sydney. Now the metaverse has joined - specifically the virtual reality game Roblox, where a Malaysian player created a pro-Palestine protest experience called "(PALESTINE) Dataran Tanjung Mas".
It has drawn 60,000 visits since its creation on 14 October, with 200 users allowed to attend the march at a time, according to the game's server page on Roblox. Videos of the virtual protest shared online show animated block characters marching together and holding Palestinian flags along a computer-generated street, with some players holding Malaysian flags. The protest experience ends with the players standing in front of a wide billboard that reads "Solidari5y Untukmu", Malay for "Solidarity for you". Players from all over the world have joined the protest.
Produced by Alexander Durie