A rumour is spreading across social media that warns parents to keep their children safe from a special “door” in the Minecraft video game that apparently leads to the “black web”. The warning asserts that should a child enter the door, they would be vulnerable to “groomers”.
The warning reads –
We would like to warn all parents about an issue which has come to our knowledge regarding online gaming in particular Minecraft.
Sometimes there is a door which appears in the game, once the player has moved their character through the doorway they have entered the Black Web and can become the target for groomers. Please pass this information on to anyone you know whose child plays on this game.
To start with – the notion that parents should be vigilant towards their children’s activities whilst they play online versions of the Minecraft video game is valid, as it is for any video game where children can communicate with other players across the Internet. Various types of predators can and often do use video games to “groom” children and in fact this has happened, including through Minecraft.
However, when it comes to this specific warning; that is where its usefulness stops. The rest of it is simply utter nonsense.
The claim that there is some kind of door in Minecraft that “leads to the black web” is just nonsensical. On the assumption that the author uses the term “black web” to actually refer to the Dark Web, then this is just a technological impossibility. To enter the area of the Internet referred to as “The Dark Web”, one would need to install special software onto their computers as well as configure that software to enable access.
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It’s not a particularly straight-forward process and requires some computer know-how. The notion that someone could unwittingly stumble into it via a computer game sounds to us like the author of this warning may have watched The Matrix movies a few too many times.
Basically, that’s now how computers and the Internet work.
To surmise, yes be vigilant of your children when they engage with online gaming. But please don’t waste your time looking for a special door that leads to the Dark Web.
