Accusing the tabloid media company of hypocrisy and bullying, many have referenced the publication's apparent double standard in respect to celebrity privacy – citing its promotion of leaked nudes of certain male celebrities, and its strident defense in the face of a subsequent lawsuit, compared to its pandering tone of popular outrage when a rash of phone hacks dumped similar compromising photos of female celebrities onto the Internet.Īdded to this are statements made by “progressive” writers like Sam Biddle and game industry “social justice” darlings such as Alex Lifschitz who, when not calling for an end to objectivity in reporting, are calling on society to “bring back bullying”, all of which has added fuel to the fire. Now, seeking to advance further, #GamerGate supporters have begun engaging on an even more aggressive level: emailing federal authorities in the hopes of firming up regulations in respect to corporate transparency and ethical disclosure.įocused primarily on Gawker Media, which owns the gaming news site Kotaku, “Disrespectful Nod” has succeeded in forcing numerous withdrawals by large corporations from their advertising relationships with Gawker. Possessed of figureheads in the form of popular twitter and Youtube personalities, the movement has remained largely leaderless, with actions such as the email campaign “Operation Disrespectful Nod,” and more recently numerous charitable and start-up crowd-funding campaigns that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for a variety of projects and causes.
The gaming mentality of “grinding” – a term used to describe the "never-quit" attitude of players who continue playing a difficult game despite repeated losses, until they win – is showing to be a central facet of their attitude in respect to what is, in many instances, their first real experience with activism within a popular movement. Though still faced with a substantial uphill public relations battle, rooted primarily in single-sided media coverage focusing on alleged harassment and abuse allegations claimed by some prominent detractors, the overall morale of those within #GamerGate remains high. Now, the online consumer revolt that is #GamerGate has recently taken its fight over journalistic ethics to new and broader levels, with everything from advertiser email campaigns to making direct contact with the Federal Trade Commission. It has moved well beyond the initial catalyst – indie game developer Zoe Quinn’s alleged impropriety with writers reviewing her game, and the subsequent reports alleging she took part in efforts to undermine the non-profit feminist gaming organization “The Fine Young Capitalists.”
Intel later apologized, but said it was not reinstating its ads.Now rolling into to its fourth month, the video game consumer movement known as #GamerGate continues to evolve in scope and focus as it seeks to advocate for greater ethical standards in gaming journalism. It later reinstated its ad campaign.Īnd Intel pulled advertising from gaming site Gamasutra over an opinion piece about sexism in the gaming industry. Mercedes-Benz pulled advertising from Gawker, according to the Washington Post. Some Gamergate supporters have created a five-point campaign in order to get companies such as Adobe and others to pull support from sites they view as being anti-Gamergate, according to The Washington Post. The Gamergate camp is composed of people who believe that the reaction to those threats is overblown, or that some of the threats were scams on the part of the women or that the men who play video games are the real victims, as they are being painted as misogynists.Īlthough this instance seems to be an issue of bad timing, it's not too farfetched for people to have assumed it was in response to the Gamergate controversy.
The Gamergate controversy involves death threats via tweets (or comments on blogs) aimed at women who have criticized sexism in the gaming industry.