[View the story "#StopGamerGate2014: The internet has had enough of GamerGate" on Storify ]#StopGamerGate2014: The internet has had enough of GamerGate Death threats against prominent women in the gaming industry prompt massive backlash Storified by CBC News Community · Wed, Oct 15 2014 20:06:18
Since there seems to be some confusion:
#StopGamerGate2014 http://t.co/PZFI07MzJYDouglas Gregory
For months now, members of the the embattled gaming community have been at war with each other over everything from accusations of biased video game journalism to reports of widespread online harassment against women within the industry.
The web has come to know this ongoing saga as
GamerGate — a term that is as difficult to define as it is to keep track of.
First
used by actor Adam Baldwin on Twitter in August of 2014, the #GamerGate hashtag was initially used to organize a heated online conversation about ethics in gaming journalism.
That conversation was sparked by one man's claims that his ex-girlfriend, a noted game designer named Zoe Quinn, had cheated on him with several men in the gaming industry — one of them a writer for the Gawker media-owned blog Kotaku.
Quinn's ex-boyfriend appeared to imply within his post that her relationship with a Kotaku writer earned her game,
Depression Quest , favourable coverage on the popular video game-themed blog — an implication that
many online ran with .
"Quinn turned into the victim of an aggressive attack on her personal life, which included threats of rape, hacking attempts, at least one death threat and doxxing, or the Internet-based practice of publishing private information about an individual," explained Abigail Elise of the IBTimes. "Those who attempted to defend Quinn from the attacks were given the label 'social justice warriors,' quickly escalating into a virulent attack against Quinn and the ethics of video game journalism. Journalists who refused to cover what seemed to be a very public examination of a woman’s private life were labeled gaming journalism conspirators, and a black list was even circulated by
gamergate supporters. " the-eagle-atarian.tumblr.com
The conversation around ethics in video game journalism is ongoing within the gaming community, but the #GamerGate hashtag has expanded in recent months to include — if not become completely overtaken by —
several other diverse themes .
One of the discussion threads now most commonly associated with GamerGate revolves around misogony within the gaming community and, specifically, the harassment of females within the industry.
Canadian-born media critic and blogger Anita Sarkeesian has become somewhat of an inadverdent poster girl for targets of GamerGate-related abuse recently after suffering months worth of harasssment at the hands of internet trolls.
imgarcade.com
www.theglobeandmail.com
Sarkeesian has continued since that time to be the target of much vitriol from internet trolls, but one video in particular — released around the same time as the Quinn controversy was taking place —
prompted a particularly harsh round of tweets and threats that many have related to GamerGate.
"The threats were so specific that Sarkeesian feared for her life and went into hiding,"
explained Vox's Todd VanDerWerff . "All of this led to
a series of
essays published on the
"death of the gamer" as an
identity ... to a lot of #GamerGaters, it looked like collusion — an attempt to silence them and deny their right to exist."
The subject of gamer identity has indeed emerged as part of the GamerGate discussions, with many coming to defense of the subculture in light of how much heat it's been taking over the harassment of women.
"Ostensibly it's about good people saying, hey, playing games doesn't make us bad people or doesn't identify us all as misogynists/racists/bigots," writes
Kotaku's Stephen Totilo . "To anyone who loves video games, this is the least controversial position to take. Does anyone disagree with this at all? Does anyone who cares about video games think that playing games makes you a bad person or indicates that you're scum?"
People are trying to paint gamers as hateful people. #notallgamers #GamerGateTravis Maloney
I don't know if I've really supported #GamerGate, but I also DO NOT support the idea that the movement represents all gamers.Christian
No sane gamer would back #gamergate. This household has 5 boys & 2 girls, all gamers, all looking for fun. Not killing people.Mohammed Taher
While there are members of the online community pointing out that not all gamers are misogynists, many more on Twitter are taking aim at GamerGate in general, particularly in recent weeks as harassment against high profile members of the gaming community has intensified.
On Saturday, a prominent female video game developer named Brianna Wu claims she
was forced to flee her home after a number of violent, sexualized threats were hurled in her direction on Twitter — her home address included.
According to Business Insider, the harassment appeared to be in response to a tweet in which Wu poked fun at the GamgerGate movement.
I want to be crystal clear - I am scared of the death threats I've gotten. I am terrified of the #gamergate blame-the-victim witch hunt.Brianna Wu
But, once again, it's Sarkeesian who's got the world buzzing over GamerGate today — and many online, both within and outside of the gaming industry, are saying enough is enough.
Sarkeesian, who had been scheduled to give a presentation on the portrayal of women in video games on Wednesday evening at at Utah State University, announced Tuesday that she
had made the decision to cancel her appearance due to safety issues.
According to the Associated Press, University staff members had received
an email threat on Monday night from an unknown person who vowed to carry out a mass shooting if the event was held with Sarkeesian.
"Feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they've wronged,“ wrote the anonymous letter writer, promising to carry out "the deadliest school shooting in American history” if the event were to take place.
After learning from university officials that concealed weapons would be permitted at the talk in accordance with Utah laws, Sarkeesian pulled out.
To be clear: I didn't cancel my USU talk because of terrorist threats, I canceled because I didn't feel the security measures were adequate.Feminist Frequency
I'm safe. I will continue my work. I will continue speaking out. The whole game industry must stand up against the harassment of women.Feminist Frequency
Following Sarkeesian's announcement that her speech had been cancelled, the hashtag #StopGamerGate2014 emerged on Twitter.
First tweeted by Toronto-based freelance writer Veerender Jubbal, the hashtag gained traction almost immediately. In less than 24 hours, it's already been used more than 72,000 times.
"For many observers who have been watching the GamerGate situation unfold, this latest threat of a mass school shooting was the final straw," wrote
the Daily Dot's Michelle Jaworski . "They had enough."
#StopGamerGate2014 because someone is literally threatening to shoot up a school over feminist critique of video games.Tasneem Raja
#StopGamerGate2014 b/c they're celebrating that the death threats got anita sarkeesian to cancel her speech. http://t.co/dPBvszW3gZsrh
#StopGamerGate2014 because #Gamergate, 8chan and 4chan use codes to refer to the women they target. LW1 = Quinn, LW2 = Sarkeesian, LW3 = Wu.Jonathan McIntosh
Letter threatening Anita Sarkeesian if she talked at USU #StopGamerGate2014 #StopGamerGateForever http://t.co/oMiez9SBVoTerence Tolman
My university took more steps to make sure The Wayans Brothers were safe than Utah State did for Anita. #StopGamerGate2014Witch Anderson
Today, many are using the hashtag to vent their frustration over "the constant rape and death threats many women—particularly those in geek or gaming culture—get and have been getting for years for simply daring to speak up or have an opinion that differed from others," as Jaworsk put it.
#StopGamerGate2014 because this is an actual headline. http://t.co/hBJNfuTuLjCharles Brokowski
#StopGamerGate2014 Because I am scared to tweet this.Mara Wilson
.@assclit I'm not a gamer. The misogyny of "GamerGate" sickened me, which you could have learned with two clicks of research.Patton Oswalt
@AdamBaldwin please stop supporting this stupid cause.Seth Rogen
#stopgamergate2014 before a woman is literally murdered. stop itcobra commander
#StopGamerGate2014 because this isn't the kind of ethics in journalism we should be supporting http://t.co/R5Q2Yfe5QsGhost of Serial Sam
#StopGamerGate2014 because the medium deserves better than hate mobs and criminals.Federico Viticci
#StopGamerGate2014 Criticism is not "a war on gamers." Diversity is not "a SJW agenda." Harassment and terror is not "a consumer movement."Robbin' Graves
#StopGamerGate2014 because it's creating a climate of fear among professionals in video gamesPatrick Miller
#StopGamerGate2014 because it's not about ethics, it's about shutting women up.Megan Rose Headless
"In the name of the Moon, we will end #GamerGate!" #StopGamerGate2014 http://t.co/4ElSlraVBoShojo Power!
Weigh in with your thoughts on GamerGate in the comment section below, or tweet your opinions to us at @CBCCommunity.
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