Monsters vs Crusaders and Trolls take the Harvest

These last few weeks have been really exciting in a frustrating way. Seeing folks fight back against misinformation and marginalization is refreshing. A fierce, persistent exhaustion has loomed over me during this month because resolution seems farther than the horizon. Almost everyday a new development occurs in GG’s short and polarizing history. During August and September, this conflict remained in the confines of gaming culture. Stories of Anita and Zoe’s victim-hood were starting to circulate non-gaming publications, but big media (MSNBC, CNN, ABC, Fox, etc) hadn't latched onto their stories yet. Then Brianna Wu became the third high profile victim of death threats and the flood gates burst. The war on #GamerGate expanded beyond the land of pixels and honey.

Before I dive in, a definition and applause for fair coverage of GG. Since anti-GG folks don’t congregate under one movement, I’ll refer to them as the Opposition or anti-GG. My arguments will be based on generalizations while acknowledging that exceptions exist and nothing can be stated in absolute terms.

Now to give credit where it is due. Huffington Post Live host Ricky Camilleri had an interview about #GamerGate. Then at the request of two female GG supporters and one neutral voice, Ricky had a second interview. Both sides were heard fairly which was awesome since almost all other media coverage of GG has been negative. Disclaimer: These opinions are my own and do not reflect the views of #GamerGate as a consumer revolt.

While fiction is ultimately meaningless, it can be a powerful tool (look at war propaganda during both world wars). When I first stumbled upon #GamerGate, I foolishly assumed rational discussion had commenced. After all, video games are an extremely inclusive activity and game websites should respect their audiences. However, none of that happened. Anti-GG opponents have heaped the same criticism on the movement: you’re a misogynistic group who strive to drive women out of the gaming industry.

Opposition break down

From observation, I have concluded that most Opposition members believe in various forms of third wave feminism. My arguments have been based off this assumption. Some might label themselves as “Social Justice Warriors” or an alternative name could be “tumblr feminism.” I don’t frequent these circles enough to know anything beyond that folks on the web use these labels. I’m not saying every person that opposes #GamerGate are feminists, but they seem to be the majority. Certainly they are sympathetic with progressive ideas. Despite not collecting under one movement, the Opposition do have leaders of sorts. Game journalists and their older siblings in larger media represent narrative architects. They are the Opposition’s ideologues. Leigh Alexander and others fill this role quite well. I imagine they encompass a small portion of anti-GGers. Everyone else in the Opposition digests the narrative. Either these people agree with the ideology or are too lethargic to verify what they read. Is not verifying bad? Always, misinformation is foundation of ignorance.

Dehumanization

During World War II, propaganda portrayed German soldiers as monsters or beasts to convince both soldiers and civilians that killing them was an act of justice. Those German soldiers didn’t have families waiting for them at home or were simply following orders just like American soldiers. No, they were Nazis who lived for no other reason than to destroy the free world. Was it true? No, excluding Nazi leadership. Propaganda kept the war effort at home alive, but it wasn’t right.

Terms like misogyny or sexist have been weaponized. Once a person or group is labeled in this manner, their opinions no longer matter. Even if their arguments are logical and backed with evidence, people will dismiss it because of the negative perception that surrounds that group. The slander doesn’t end with misogyny either. GG has been compared to ISIS and the KKK. Those statements are beyond absurd. A consumer movement which has done no physical harm to anyone (I’ll address the harassment stuff later) is compared to actual hate groups. I’m genuinely astounded at the gall of some anti-GG folks.

Conflation of #GamerGate and established problems on the Internet

Death threats, doxxing, hacking and harassment are well documented and established practice on the Internet. The anonymous nature of being online often brings out the worst in people. That’s not a statement of endorsement, just telling an unfortunate truth of the digital age. While there is a distinction between harassment and threating someone with death or rape, the two are closely related. I’ve stated before that Zoe’s, Anita’s and Brianna’s stories are tragic. No one should be subject to death threats. My frustration stems from their acceptance and continual perpetuation of the Opposition’s narrative.

Some context: a youtuber by the name of HannibaltheVictor13 made a rebuttal video after a recent conversation with prominent GG member Jemma Morgan. Like many others, he buys into the narrative and claims it’s extremely evident that #GamerGate’s origin derives from sexism. Certain screen shots by Zoe Quinn seem damning enough to convince the Opposition that this consumer revolt was manufactured to oppress women. Here’s another about #NotYourShield for kicks and giggles. A Gawker article uses this “evidence” to demonstrate #GamerGate’s monstrous origins.

Combine this “evidence” with three (probably soon to be four) accounts from victims of Internet harassment and anti-GG has an ironclad case right? Well, not really. Anonymity makes investigating/discovering one’s identity almost impossible, unless you’re a famous person or Internet personality. Then an investigative process becomes less challenging. A third option manifests through action of a law enforcement agency. Since all users on 4chan, 8chan, reddit and other forums boards are anonymous—their only identifier being a random sequence of numbers and letters—it’s impossible to know who any of those folks are. Most boards can be posted on without being a member of a particular site. 4chan does retain IP information, but only law enforcement could demand it. Therefore, how can Zoe, Anita, Brianna or anyone else possibly know—beyond reasonable doubt—that all harassment they received is from members of #GamerGate?

The short answer: they don’t. Zoe’s investigation and “evidence” generated myths of misogyny about #GamerGate’s origins. Despite Adam Baldwin creating GG’s hashtag, Quinn insists that her harassers form the core of this consumer revolt. Yet, I remained unconvinced, must be my inherit sexism coming out. Specific screen shots taken out of context can’t provide a full story. I’m not saying Zoe is lair, but her word isn’t enough. Here’s an Escapist article regarding Zoe’s accusations versus the statements from 4chan users. This “evidence” is weak at best, yet the Opposition takes it as truth. She only established that a group of people sought to harass her. Opposition folks please stop conflating actions of any individual with the stated goals of #GamerGate.

Infallible Victims

The Opposition loves Anita because death and rape threats have been heaped upon her. Now they have a poster child for victims of awful Internet sexism. Brianna brought this conflict to game journalists’ older siblings: main-stream media. I take issue with her interviews because she frames #GamerGate as an active war to drive all women out of the gaming industry. Her variation of the Opposition’s narrative is much more aggressive than her predecessors. Whether Brianna actually believes her experience legitimizes negative views of GG is irrelevant because sincere belief or sinister perpetuation have identical effect. She’s had at least two interviews thus far on MSNBC, and PBS. There were painful to watch; a cloud of misinformation surrounded her. A youtuber—Sargon of Akkad—made a rebuttal video in which he provides reasonable criticism. I’ll talk about her interview with David Pakman.

Mr. Pakman showed himself as individual who is willing to ask the hard questions. In all of her prior interviews, Brianna’s claims were never questioned or was asked for clarification. For an opinion journalist, David knows how to keep his bias in check. His question were fair and reasonable, yet Brianna has the gall to claim he was running a “hit piece” on her. This interview confirmed some of my observations about Brianna:

1. She uses her victim-hood to shield herself from legitimate criticism.
2. Her accusations are said without any evidence or opportunity for others to verify. Two death threats have been made public with no connection to #Gamergate. Yet, Brianna claims a majority of threats came from GG supporters and she has proof, but refuses to show it.
3. If she truly fears for her life, I don’t think she’d be doing all of these interviews. Going to public studios leaves a plethora of opportunities of a potential killer to harm you.
4. She only seemed interested in talking about sexism in the industry which is not at all related to the consumers that make up GG.
5. Suddenly she speaks for all women in the gaming industry? I guess she must have a lot of free time to get know all the other women.
6. She literally states— with a straight face—that thousands of real people in #NotYourShield don’t exist and are actually sock puppet accounts created by white men. I just can’t. The stupidity of that statement boggles my mind.

Our culture, at least in the United States, wants to avoid victim-blaming to such an extent that we’ve traveled to other extreme: victim testimony cannot be criticized or questioned. People assume that victims would never lie about their trauma. Why does Brianna antagonize an already angry group of people? It doesn’t make sense, what does she gain? It seems that Brianna has declared war on #GamerGate, not the other way around. I don’t believe any of these women are professional victims, but I know that phenomenon does occur. Thunderf00t released a video about Anita’s recent canceling of her USU talk. While I disagree with his conclusion about Anita, he does give an example an actual professional victim. In our current culture climate is being a victim potentially beneficial? You can bet your buttons on it. Anita has gained opportunities from her victim-hood. I’m not condemning her for being pragmatic—that’s good—just making an observation. Victims are people; therefore, their testimonies are fallible. When making accusations against a person or group, the burden of evidence is on the accuser.

Journalism:

This criticism can be applied to all sectors of journalism and not all people in gaming media are unethical. Journalism has taken on a multitude of meanings over the last century. For a base definition, I’ll reference the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Definition 2b presents how journalism used to be, “writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation.” 2c defines what journalism has become, “writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest.” Almost all people who claim to be journalists today, use definition 2c. When Walter Cronkite was still alive, journalists told people facts regardless of personal bias. His famous ending phrase was true because people of his generation understood that heavy bias distorts facts. News doesn’t present truth when told through the lens of any ideology. People ask, “where’s your proof of corrupt journalistic practices in gaming media?” My answer: look no further than the opinions writers who label themselves as “journalists” and don’t curb their bias at all. Journalistic ethics exist to keep journalists from reporting on false information or misrepresenting events. Do game journalists do this? Nope. They sacrifice factual presentation at the altar of special interest and ideological manipulation.

Here’s a brief list of articles with a negative bias towards #GamerGate: New York Times, New Statesman, The Mirror, The Verge, Jezebel, Deadspin, International Business Times, Telegraph, LA Times, BBC, Newsweek, Gawker, Kotaku, Washington Post, Vice, the Guardian, Time and there’s more. Now a list of positive bias: Breitbart, Breitbart again, Slate, Gamer Headlines, Reason, Reason again, Gamesnosh and maybe a few others. Follow the link trail on the negative pieces. All source articles come from two types of sources: liberal progressive publications or sites like Kotaku or polygon where the conflict began. When verifying an article’s claim look for source material/articles with a plethora of different biases. A mix of conservative, neutral and liberal biased publications that all mention an event generally means it’s true or if there is a way to access direct source material, look at that instead. Most of the negative articles about #GamerGate derive back to the same sources which means a narrative is being perpetuated. For example, a recent article from the Guardian talks about neo-nazi being welcomed by #GamerGate. One source article is from Gawker— a media company with a vested interest in seeing this consumer revolt crushed into dust since they own Kotaku—and it’s author is Sam Biddle. A biased article that sources another with an even greater bias shouldn’t be taken as established fact. What separates a blogger from a real journalist? As long as opinion writers masquerade as journalists, there is no difference. No human can truly be objective, but it’s easy lay personal bias aside or refrain from writing due to personal connections. If game opinion writers became real journalists, then #GamerGate would cease. That’s how to defeat #GamerGate once and for all.

Death threats on both sides indicate that all people can be assholes.

The Media focuses on just Zoe, Anita and Brianna because these woman fit their narrative. They ignore harassments and death threats suffered by pro-GG supporters—like KingofPol, Milo Yiannopoulos, Boogie2988—and other folks within the Opposition. That frustrates me out of the room because clearly trolls are winning this fight. Some trolls might choose sides, but their effect remains the same. Through storify, Todd in the Shadows (a reviewer I continue to support despite his hurtful statements about GG supporters) brought up a valid argument against #GamerGate. My problem with his argument is two fold: 1) #GamerGate isn't necessary for Internet trolls to harass and threaten people. 2) Todd is classifying GG supporters as idiots or assholes. Troll organizations like the GNAA could cause trouble for both sides. #GamerGate’s existence does allow for more trolling and death threats because conflict attracts assholes. Trolls didn't find a home in GG, rather they knew GG would be blamed for their work. Both gaming journalism and larger publications have turned #GamerGate into a scapegoat for Internet harassment. Let my words be clear: everyone can and has been an asshole at some point on the Internet. Folks on both sides need to get over that. People suffer threats all the time and ignore them instead of making a fuss. If you do feel threatened, call the appropriate authorities.



A Personal Plea

#GamerGate has agreeable goals; consumers have the right to ask for improvement from folks who make video game products or report on it. But, none of this needed happen. Game journalists should have said, “Know what? Our audience is right. We fucked up and let’s turn our gaze inward to fix it.” Then GG wouldn’t have been necessary, but this consumer revolt must have an end. Boogie released an excellent video about that. I hope #GamerGate ends the fight game journalists started. Funny enough, GG’s goals don’t entice me to support them, rather the Opposition practically forces my hand. The venom of anti-GG’s attacks are genuinely astounding and the media dog pile sickens me.

To those who perpetuate this destructive narrative about #GamerGate: screw all of you. It’s people like you that make this world harder to live in. To Opposition folks that believe that narrative: Please look deeper than the surface. Don’t assume that journalists, whether you like them or not, are telling you the truth. Because chances are they’re lying or spinning the story for an ulterior motive. The majority’s voice isn’t always right. I apply this opinion to every journalist that I come across, including Mr. Yiannopoulos. Don’t let someone else’s ideology control your life. My reasons for support:

I’ve seen folks who support GG and most of them are reasonable and seeking to end destructive journalistic practices in gaming media. Their goals benefit everyone, except the journalists who defend their unethical practices. People of every ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and political views have congregated around #GamerGate and #NotYourShield. Their claims are legitimate and they have real impact. Yes, there some current and former jerks in GG, but they don’t represent everyone involved. This consumer revolt is a hashtag, thus anyone can use it. There are no leaders, administration or members, only a common goal. Some folks have formed a harassment patrol to report abusive behavior in GG ranks, but they can’t stop people from misusing the hashtag. Please don’t conflate the actions of certain individuals with #GamerGate’s goals. We’re all people and individuals before the labels start sticking.

Being compared to the KKK, ISIS and being called terrorists and misogynists genuinely hurts. I haven’t personally suffered any abuse, but prominent anti-GG members have insulted me by association. Progressives and modern feminists say we shouldn’t be sexist, prejudice, or narrow-minded. I agree, but their actions are contrary to their words. The constant stream of hate and prejudice from the Opposition is absurd. I support #GamerGate because its opponents are cruel and vicious. I seek constructive criticism, a resolution and an end to #GamerGate. Do anti-GG folks feel the same way? Feminists and everyone else deserve to have a voice in gaming culture.

Here’s some videos and GG related stuff people might like to see.

Pakman’s interview with Milo Yiannopoulos
 
Pakman’s interview with Jennie Bharaj (a pro-GG feminist)

Anonymous’ denouement of OpGamerGate and support of #GamerGate

TotalBiscuit’s interview of Stephen Totilo

A sincere plea to the ExtraCredit (awesome web show) team about GG

Chez Apocalypse episode (season 4 ep 7—link doesn't seem to work) about GG and base assumptions, even though the host doesn't acknowledge his own base assumptions.

Paula Wright, another pro-GG feminist, writes about #GamerGate
A PBS video on fallacies and the host gives his honest opinion on GG

Another pro-GG feminists writes about her frustrations with anti-GG folks

Another awesome video from the Factual Feminist

Sargon of Akkad’s interview with Matt from the Fine Young Capitalists.

And now a funny comic

Thanks for reading :)

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