Welcome to Pushing Buttons, the Guardian's gaming newsletter. If you'd like to receive it in your inbox every week, just pop your email in below – and check your inbox (and spam) for the confirmation email. Remember how, in the wake of yet more awful shootings in the US this month, Fox News decided to blame video games rather than, you know, the almost total absence of meaningful gun control? Remember how I said last week that the video-games-cause-violence "argument" was so mendacious and nakedly manipulative that I wasn't going to dignify it with a response? Well, here I am, responding, because the supposed link between video games and real-life violence is one of the most persistent myths that I've encountered over the course of my career, and it has an interesting (if also infuriating) history.

The rise in online hate speech and the way it is reflected in the offline world is a hot topic in politics right now. The internet has given everyone a voice, which clearly has positive implications for the way citizens can publicly challenge authority and debate issues. It's fairly commonly assumed that this form of hate speech, particularly when encountered alongside other factors such as social deprivation or mental illness, has the potential to radicalize individuals in dangerous ways, and inspire them to commit illegal and violent acts. Just as terrorist organizations like ISIS can be seen using hate speech in videos and propaganda material intended to incite violence, racist and anti-Islamic material is thought to have inspired killers like Anders Breivik, who killed 69 youths in a 2011 shooting spree, and the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting in which 51 died. So far these links between online and real-world actions, though common sense tells us they are likely to exist, have been difficult to prove scientifically.

Julian Gerighty of the video game maker Ubisoft and actress Aisha Tyler speak at a press conference during the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles. Julian Gerighty of the video game maker Ubisoft and actress Aisha Tyler speak at a press conference during the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles. The annual video game trade show, E3, began this week in Los Angeles under the cloud of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., the deadliest in America's recent history. The conference is expected to draw tens of thousands industry professionals who want hands-on experience with games that turn virtual violence into entertainment. There were signs that organizers were trying to bridge the contradictions.