I was wrong.
This August marks the 8-year anniversary of GamerGate. Some of you are probably wondering why I’ve waited so long to discuss this, while others are probably wondering what that even is. Either way, GamerGate was a contentious issue for almost 3 years. It was nasty, aggressive and spiteful, and while much of its presence no longer exists, its shadow remains large and can be felt in various political movements. It also, even now, fills me with dread mentioning it, as I never know if someone will attack me over it.
What’s GamerGate? It began with a rumour that a then-female game developer had slept around with reviewers to boost her game’s morale. The rumour became so widespread that it led to harassment and doxing, to the point where she had to move. It culminated in a disgraced actor coining the term to model after Watergate. The rest is history.
Yes, this is an oversimplification of what transpired. But it doesn’t matter. What does matter is the malicious nature of the rumour and how it turned into a movement. For one, what a woman does in the bedroom is none of my business. (Unless she’s married to me and is having an affair, in which case it’s totally my business.) And two, even if that happened, it didn’t work. The game’s reception, supposedly, didn’t change.
I’d like to clarify that I’m talking in past-tense. The individual has since come out as non-binary, so it’s inappropriate to call them a woman. But given that this was a snapshot of history, it’s the only way to accurately discuss this controversy and its ripple effects. Especially since it swelled to include other individuals, mostly women, too. In particular, three people were targeted, all advocates for better representation in gaming.
Coming back from a 10-day vacation to something like this was a shock. It was also a reminder that 2014 was a miserable Summer, and that the internet was largely to blame. These days my Blocklist on Twitter is nonpartisan, but in 2014 it was mostly GamerGate proponents who claimed they were “peaceful debaters tackling the lack of ethics in games journalism”. Except that they called them “journos”, like they were villains in an RPG. They also called their critics “SJWs”, or “Social Justice Warriors”. And while not every “SJW” turned out to be a saint, the scales were largely tipped against GamerGate.
I’d mention some of the conversations I had, but it isn’t worth the pain. Yet the bile and hatred that stemmed from this movement made my life a nightmare. I lost friends from my days as a g1. Conversations about GamerGate had to be censored, and I needed to verify that I wasn’t talking to the wrong groups of people. It wasn’t fun, and while GamerGate, and its offshoot “Not Your Shield”, purported to be sensible, their rhetoric and actions spoke otherwise. Because you can’t claim to be peaceful and openly mock outsiders for speaking up about harassment.
Coming back from a 10-day vacation to something like this was a shock. It was also a reminder that 2014 was a miserable Summer, and that the internet was largely to blame. These days my Blocklist on Twitter is nonpartisan, but in 2014 it was mostly GamerGate proponents who claimed they were “peaceful debaters tackling the lack of ethics in games journalism”. Except that they called them “journos”, like they were villains in an RPG. They also called their critics “SJWs”, or “Social Justice Warriors”. And while not every “SJW” turned out to be a saint, the scales were largely tipped against GamerGate.
I’d mention some of the conversations I had, but it isn’t worth the pain. Yet the bile and hatred that stemmed from this movement made my life a nightmare. I lost friends from my days as a g1. Conversations about GamerGate had to be censored, and I needed to verify that I wasn’t talking to the wrong groups of people. It wasn’t fun, and while GamerGate, and its offshoot “Not Your Shield”, purported to be sensible, their rhetoric and actions spoke otherwise. Because you can’t claim to be peaceful and openly mock outsiders for speaking up about harassment.
Perhaps the biggest irony was using a fictional teenager as a spokesperson. Not only was Vivian James not real, hence she lacked agency, she wasn’t even consistent. Her presence ignored how women don’t always argue in good-faith, and her credibility was struck a serious blow when, despite her being a teenager, fan porn started circulating online. It was a self-fulfilling dead end, and it helped make GamerGate a further laughing stock. Or, rather, a laughing stock that tormented people for speaking out.
So what quelled GamerGate? A few events. The first was when comedian Stephen Colbert invited Anita Sarkeesian onto his show, The Colbert Report, to discuss GamerGate. Colbert had a reputation for being a faux-Republican mocking American conservatism subtly, and here was a controversial figure being interviewed and portrayed in a sympathetic light. This was seen as a betrayal by GamerGate, but it highlighted how public the movement had become. It turned it into a joke.
The second was when prominent political figures began calling it out. One such figure was then newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a younger politician who understood the internet. Trudeau’s favour has soured since then, but he initially had a lot of support from young, tech-savvy voters. Him condemning GamerGate was an additional blow.
So what quelled GamerGate? A few events. The first was when comedian Stephen Colbert invited Anita Sarkeesian onto his show, The Colbert Report, to discuss GamerGate. Colbert had a reputation for being a faux-Republican mocking American conservatism subtly, and here was a controversial figure being interviewed and portrayed in a sympathetic light. This was seen as a betrayal by GamerGate, but it highlighted how public the movement had become. It turned it into a joke.
The second was when prominent political figures began calling it out. One such figure was then newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a younger politician who understood the internet. Trudeau’s favour has soured since then, but he initially had a lot of support from young, tech-savvy voters. Him condemning GamerGate was an additional blow.
But the third and most-important event wasn’t an event. It was an acknowledgement that GamerGate never really disappeared. It merely blended in with other hate groups. Some of these hate groups were even active in politics, influencing up and coming American politicians. It was through this that the movement gained traction in Fascist circles.
And that’s the biggest tragedy of them all. GamerGate no longer “officially” exists, but its shadow looms large. It made online doxing a real phenomenon. It showed that targeting victims was easy and effective, forcing individuals to go into hiding. And it demonstrated that any toxic movement can mainstream its way into politics.
I get that GamerGate was 8 years ago. I also know that people can change. I’m sure some of GamerGate’s biggest defenders have worked to rehabilitate their image. But it doesn’t matter. The amount of damage the movement did is irreparable, and in some ways it won. Even Comicsgate, its short-lived successor, caused so much hurt to those it deemed unworthy of their hobby. That’s scary and sad.
And that’s the biggest tragedy of them all. GamerGate no longer “officially” exists, but its shadow looms large. It made online doxing a real phenomenon. It showed that targeting victims was easy and effective, forcing individuals to go into hiding. And it demonstrated that any toxic movement can mainstream its way into politics.
I get that GamerGate was 8 years ago. I also know that people can change. I’m sure some of GamerGate’s biggest defenders have worked to rehabilitate their image. But it doesn’t matter. The amount of damage the movement did is irreparable, and in some ways it won. Even Comicsgate, its short-lived successor, caused so much hurt to those it deemed unworthy of their hobby. That’s scary and sad.
In some ways, I consider writing this my long-overdue therapy. Talking about seeing people I respected fall victim to hate is upsetting, but it’s my closure. I owe it to myself, and I’m disappointed I didn’t act on it sooner. And yes, it’s likely I’ll receive backlash for Publishing this. But I no longer care as much as I used to.
There are powerful lessons to be learned from GamerGate. It was a hate movement, but it revealed a vulnerability in the gaming community that many had ignored or thought didn’t exist. Personally, it also reconfirmed something I’d known since Nintendo’s E3 2008 conference: that gamers can be self-entitled and nasty. It’s merely too bad this dam didn’t burst for another 6 years, but hindsight is usually 20/20.
There are powerful lessons to be learned from GamerGate. It was a hate movement, but it revealed a vulnerability in the gaming community that many had ignored or thought didn’t exist. Personally, it also reconfirmed something I’d known since Nintendo’s E3 2008 conference: that gamers can be self-entitled and nasty. It’s merely too bad this dam didn’t burst for another 6 years, but hindsight is usually 20/20.
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