Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence.
Videos depicting the brutal murder of suffragettes in Red Dead Redemption 2 are being widely shared online and causing outrage among some social media users.
The open-world action adventure, set in America's Wild West, has been a record-breaking commercial hit and is currently the best-reviewed game of 2018, according to Metacritic.
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Red Dead Redemption 2 is being praised for how deep and well realised its setting is, but the ability to attack almost any character in the world is being abused by online trolls.
Some YouTubers are uploading videos of themselves killing suffragettes - who they call "annoying feminists" - using alligators, Molotov cocktails, moving trains and other grisly methods.
A streamer named Shirrako uploaded a clip of their character punching a suffragette, which quickly racked up over a million views - so they then uploaded more videos showcasing increasingly brutal ways to murder the character.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is rated R16 in New Zealand, with censors citing its "violence, cruelty and offensive language".
Motherboard got in touch with Shirrako about the videos.
"I know you're probably expecting some political answer but the truth is it was simply a funny moment from one of my streams which I've decided to upload as a separate video," they said.
Shirrako also refused to "censor" any of the misogynistic comments the videos have attracted, which include suggesting such violence should be carried out in real life.
"I mean obviously I don't agree with the sexist comments, but there is not much I can do about them, I don't like censoring people's opinions, regardless if I like them or not."
Comments on Motherboard's Facebook post about the story are largely defensive, with people citing other examples of violence in Red Dead Redemption 2 and arguing that attacking suffragettes in-game shouldn't be an issue.
Twitter users are more mixed in their opinions.
"This is how backwards, stupid and warped a portion of young men on the internet are," said @EckhartsLadder.
"People getting offended by gamers punching the feminist in #RDR2. It's a f**king video game. You literally spend the whole game killing men," said @kretrato.
"Whilst this is not a mission in the game or something players are encouraged to do; the fact so many male players choose to do this is revealing of their attitudes towards women and feminism," said @MAV_Preston.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Newshub.
