Gamergate
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It's important to remember - especially when confronted with those insisting that there was a real sex-for-reviews scandal - that while Eron Gjoni repeatedly described Zoe Quinn as manipulative, he did ''not'' suggest that she had any ulterior motive in sleeping with Nathan Grayson, and when he became aware of this rumour he re-edited his blog to clarify that "if there was any conflict of interest between Zoe and Nathan regarding coverage of ''Depression Quest'' prior to April, I have no evidence to imply that it was sexual in nature".<ref name="zoepost"/> Gjoni's stated reasons for posting the screed, despite acknowledging its bitter tone, were to "warn" his readers about Quinn's behaviour and how she might treat any future partners,<ref name="zoepost"/> effectively a retread of shaming tactics familiar from sites such as [[Paul Elam #Register-Her.com|Register-Her.com]]. Gjoni reiterated this theme in a self-righteous comment on [[Reddit]], stating "I believe that to stay quiet about someone who will hurt others is to be complicit in perpetuating the harm they will cause".<ref>[https://thezoepost.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/screen-shot-2014-08-19-at-7-07-56-pm.png Screenshot from Reddit], reposted by Gjoni in "The Zoe Post" blog.</ref> | It's important to remember - especially when confronted with those insisting that there was a real sex-for-reviews scandal - that while Eron Gjoni repeatedly described Zoe Quinn as manipulative, he did ''not'' suggest that she had any ulterior motive in sleeping with Nathan Grayson, and when he became aware of this rumour he re-edited his blog to clarify that "if there was any conflict of interest between Zoe and Nathan regarding coverage of ''Depression Quest'' prior to April, I have no evidence to imply that it was sexual in nature".<ref name="zoepost"/> Gjoni's stated reasons for posting the screed, despite acknowledging its bitter tone, were to "warn" his readers about Quinn's behaviour and how she might treat any future partners,<ref name="zoepost"/> effectively a retread of shaming tactics familiar from sites such as [[Paul Elam #Register-Her.com|Register-Her.com]]. Gjoni reiterated this theme in a self-righteous comment on [[Reddit]], stating "I believe that to stay quiet about someone who will hurt others is to be complicit in perpetuating the harm they will cause".<ref>[https://thezoepost.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/screen-shot-2014-08-19-at-7-07-56-pm.png Screenshot from Reddit], reposted by Gjoni in "The Zoe Post" blog.</ref> | ||
| − | As hatred of Zoe grew, other accusations surfaced. In particular, there were allegations that Zoe doxxed and DDoS'd<ref>Distributed denial of service, a fancy term for shutting down a website by overwhelming it with traffic.</ref> The Fine Young Capitalists, a small radical feminist group which was working on a project to get women involved in game development. As Zoe was herself a feminist, she would be expected to support such a project, and her opposition to the group was interpreted by her haters as evidence that she was only interested in self-promotion and not in actually involving women in the gaming community. | + | As hatred of Zoe grew, other accusations surfaced. In particular, there were allegations that Zoe doxxed and DDoS'd<ref>Distributed denial of service, a fancy term for shutting down a website by overwhelming it with traffic.</ref> The Fine Young Capitalists, a small, self-proclaimed "radical feminist"<ref>http://apgnation.com/archives/2014/09/09/6977/truth-gaming-interview-fine-young-capitalists</ref> group which was working on a project to get women involved in game development. As Zoe was herself a feminist, she would be expected to support such a project, and her opposition to the group was interpreted by her haters as evidence that she was only interested in self-promotion and not in actually involving women in the gaming community. |
It is true that Zoe criticized TFYC over Twitter, and a conversation between her and another Twitter user directed so much traffic to the TFYC website that it temporarily went down; Zoe tweeted that she "accidentally DDoS'd" them. However, she was not involved in doxxing the group, as they themselves admitted in a blog post.<ref>[http://archive.today/loNHR Archive.]</ref> | It is true that Zoe criticized TFYC over Twitter, and a conversation between her and another Twitter user directed so much traffic to the TFYC website that it temporarily went down; Zoe tweeted that she "accidentally DDoS'd" them. However, she was not involved in doxxing the group, as they themselves admitted in a blog post.<ref>[http://archive.today/loNHR Archive.]</ref> | ||
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"Gamergate" is a manufactroversy which arose within the video gaming community in the second half of 2014. Its proponents claim that it is a grassroots backlash against corruption in video game journalism and negative stereotyping of gamers, but, in actuality, it is a targeted harassment campaign by angry dudebro types against prominent women and their supporters in the gaming community.
Contents |
Genesis
Accusations are made
On August 18, 2014, Eron Gjoni, the ex-boyfriend of Zoe Quinn, an indie game developer, posted an 8000-word tirade about her on a blog called "The Zoe Post",[1] recounting in banal detail how he became aware that she'd apparently had sex with at least five other men during their relationship and periods when they were "on a break" (as they say on Friends).
The blog was quickly shared and discussed at sites across the gaming blogosphere, including the /v/ (video games) board of notorious internet slime-pit 4chan. Among the predictably judgemental and misogynist comments about Quinn, many users focused on Nathan Grayson, a writer for the video game news site Kotaku, being named as one of Quinn's sexual partners. Inevitably they jumped to the false conclusion that Quinn had slept with him to get positive reviews of Quinn's indie text adventure Depression Quest.[2] Some argued that this represented an example of the overall "lack of integrity" they saw within the world of video game journalism.[2] In response to these accusations, Stephen Totilo, the editor-in-chief of Kotaku, released a statement explaining that the only article Grayson had written for the site about Quinn dealt with her appearance on the show Game Jam, not her game.[3]
It's important to remember - especially when confronted with those insisting that there was a real sex-for-reviews scandal - that while Eron Gjoni repeatedly described Zoe Quinn as manipulative, he did not suggest that she had any ulterior motive in sleeping with Nathan Grayson, and when he became aware of this rumour he re-edited his blog to clarify that "if there was any conflict of interest between Zoe and Nathan regarding coverage of Depression Quest prior to April, I have no evidence to imply that it was sexual in nature".[1] Gjoni's stated reasons for posting the screed, despite acknowledging its bitter tone, were to "warn" his readers about Quinn's behaviour and how she might treat any future partners,[1] effectively a retread of shaming tactics familiar from sites such as Register-Her.com. Gjoni reiterated this theme in a self-righteous comment on Reddit, stating "I believe that to stay quiet about someone who will hurt others is to be complicit in perpetuating the harm they will cause".[4]
As hatred of Zoe grew, other accusations surfaced. In particular, there were allegations that Zoe doxxed and DDoS'd[5] The Fine Young Capitalists, a small, self-proclaimed "radical feminist"[6] group which was working on a project to get women involved in game development. As Zoe was herself a feminist, she would be expected to support such a project, and her opposition to the group was interpreted by her haters as evidence that she was only interested in self-promotion and not in actually involving women in the gaming community.
It is true that Zoe criticized TFYC over Twitter, and a conversation between her and another Twitter user directed so much traffic to the TFYC website that it temporarily went down; Zoe tweeted that she "accidentally DDoS'd" them. However, she was not involved in doxxing the group, as they themselves admitted in a blog post.[7]
Doxing and harassment
In late August, the furore escalated with the doxing of Quinn's personal information and nude photographs on 4chan and elsewhere. The harassment intensified to the point that she left her home, fearing for her safety.[8] Adam Baldwin, actor and sometime blogger for the conservative website Breitbart, tweeted a link to a YouTube video about the so-called "Quinnspiracy" with the hashtag "#GamerGate" on August 28, thus giving the emerging controversy a name.[9]
Quinn had already been the target of harassment before the publication of the post. While trying to get her game Depression Quest published on Steam in December 2013, she received threatening e-mails, obscene phone calls, and a "really detailed letter to [her] house about how [the writer] wanted to rape [her]."[10]
Escalation
Journalists and pundits weigh in
A number of op-ed pieces critical of gaming culture were published in the wake of the new wave of harassment against Quinn. These pieces heralded the "end" of the "gamer" identity, in the sense that video games have become mainstream in recent years, and their audience expanded, trying to move on from and distance themselves from the gaming enthusiast (and primarily male) audience that gaming media traditionally catered to.[11][12][13][14] Many gamers aware of the controversy reacted negatively to these articles, accusing the gaming journalists of perpetuating harmful stereotypes of gamers as misogynistic white males or even going as far as seeing it as another example of "corruption" in video game journalism. Some of them expressed disappointment at the gaming journalists and other people surrounding the controversy for othering and distancing themselves from gaming enthusiasts instead of being pro-consumer and fostering progressive dialogue.[15] Either way these articles only ended up feeding the Gamergate movement and the controversy surrounding it.
Several commentators of conservative and libertarian persuasions chose to throw their support behind the Gamergate controversy. Christina Hoff Sommers of the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute released a video on YouTube which dismissed the existence of sexism in games and gaming culture.[16] Milo Yiannopoulos wrote a piece for Breitbart decrying the "feminist bullies" he alleges are "tearing the video game industry apart."[17] The piece is arguably an example of cynical opportunism, as he tweeted "If you're a grown man with hands clamped to an Xbox controller instead of a pair of tits you need a good slap" just days before its publication,[18] and bemoaned the level of "sex, drugs and violence" in video games in a piece in The Kernel in 2013.[19]
Various largely interchangeable conspiracy theories are in circulation within the blogosphere about what Gamergate is really about and what the media don't want you to know about it, most of them involving terms like "corruption and collusion" and clichés about "social justice warriors", along with dog whistle nonsense about "cultural Marxism", "social engineering" and "mind control".[20]
Revelation as coordinated hate campaign
The hashtag "#NotYourShield" was launched on Twitter.[21] It was ostensibly created and used by women, racial minorities, and other underrepresented groups within the gaming community to counter charges of rampant sexism in video games and the culture surrounding them.[21]
However, on September 6, Quinn posted a series of screenshots of incriminating 4chan posts and IRC chatlogs.[22] They collectively revealed that Gamergate originally was not a grassroots movement concerned with journalistic ethics, but a co-ordinated hate campaign against Quinn, Anita Sarkeesian, and others viewed as "social justice warriors", and that "#NotYourShield"[23] was nothing more than an astroturfing tactic designed to deflect from this true nature.[22]
Intel caves to Gamergate pressure
Gamergaters launched an e-mail campaign calling upon companies to pull advertising from gaming sites which had published pieces they deemed offensive.[24][25] In early October, it was revealed that, in response to this pressure, Intel had pulled ads from Gamasutra.[24][25] Intel was widely criticized for its decision to pull advertising.[26] While the company released a statement that they support "equality and women," and are "deeply sorry if we offended anyone," they did not reinstate their advertising on Gamasutra.[26]
Substantive efforts against journalistic corruption
While Gamergaters claim they are fighting for "ethics" in video game journalism, they have to date dedicated a tellingly high amount of energy to harassment and character assassination of people with whom they disagree, and very little to investigating, exposing, and condemning actual instances of journalistic corruption.[27]
The targets of Gamergate, on the other hand, frequently address ethics in the gaming press. Kotaku, for instance, was the first to report on accusations that GameSpot reviewer Jeff Gerstman had been fired for panning a game in 2007,[28] and was the only source to follow up the story, confirming it five years later.[29] More recently, both Gamasutra and Rock Paper Shotgun have written stories about pay-for-play deals by YouTubers.[30]
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Eron Gjoni, "The Zoe Post"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Emma M. Woolley, "Don’t believe the 'conspiracy,' gaming has bigger problems than 'corruption', The Globe and Mail
- ↑ Stephen Totilo, "In recent days I've been asked several times…", Kotaku
- ↑ Screenshot from Reddit, reposted by Gjoni in "The Zoe Post" blog.
- ↑ Distributed denial of service, a fancy term for shutting down a website by overwhelming it with traffic.
- ↑ http://apgnation.com/archives/2014/09/09/6977/truth-gaming-interview-fine-young-capitalists
- ↑ Archive.
- ↑ Simon Parkin, "Zoe Quinn’s Depression Quest", The New Yorker
- ↑ Tweet by Adam Baldwin
- ↑ "Why the co-creator of Depression Quest is fighting back against Internet trolls", Edge
- ↑ Joseph Bernstein, "Gaming Is Leaving 'Gamers' Behind", Buzzfeed
- ↑ Luke Plunkett, "We Might Be Witnessing The 'Death of An Identity'", Kotaku
- ↑ Leigh Alexander, "'Gamers' don't have to be your audience. 'Gamers' are over.", Gamasutra
- ↑ Casey Johnson, "The death of the 'gamers' and the women who 'killed' them", Ars Technica
- ↑ Blog post by TotalBiscuit
- ↑ American Enterprise Institute, "Are video games sexist?", Youtube.com
- ↑ Milo Yiannopoulos, "Feminist Bullies Tearing the Video Game Industry Apart, Breitbart
- ↑ Tweet by Milo Yiannopoulos
- ↑ Milo Yiannopoulos, "Am I too old for video games?", The Kernel
- ↑ This YouTube video touches all the bases.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Sarah Kaplan, "With #GamerGate, the video-game industry’s growing pains go viral", The Washington Post
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "#GameOverGate: Zoe Quinn blows #GamerGate wide open", Storify.com
- ↑ The #NotYourShield hashtag is supposed to indicate "multicultural" support for the #GamerGate kerfluffle. As with most hashtags, you're excused if you don't get it.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Nick Wingfield, "Intel Pulls Ads From Site After ‘Gamergate’ Boycott", The New York Times
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Heather Kelly, "Intel pulls ads over sexism in video game drama", CNN
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Kwame Opam, "Intel issues apology after backlash from #GamerGate opponents", The Verge
- ↑ Google Plus post by David Hill
- ↑ Michael McWhertor, "Gamespot Editor Fired Over Kane & Lynch Review?", Kotaku Australia
- ↑ Luke Plunkett, Yes, a Games Writer was Fired Over Review Scores", Kotaku
- ↑ Alec Meer, "A Storm In YouTuber Heaven", Rock, Paper, Shotgun