Its been really hard for me to continue to follow this movement but I have to. I simply can not let their hate speech go unchallenged. That being said, I am forced to wonder what this movement is really all about. The biggest claim is that Gamergate is in fact a movement dedicated to enforcing "ethics in gaming journalism." While I wish I could say that this isn't true it kind of is. The problem with #gamergate, however, isn't its goals but in fact the movement's methods.
Ethics in journalism has been a problem for many, many years. Even before the internet when all gaming news came from print magazines (and not very many of those at that) ethics were a big deal. The point of fact is that journalists and their companies need to make money and in journalism the only real way to make money is through advertising. This puts the journalist on a ridiculously tight rope about the width of a molecule. Print something your advertisers don't like and they pull funding. Without their funding you can't print more stories BUT that also means many very important stories that require public attention never go public.
#gamergate claims they are tired of this and are simply doing what they have to to make sure that journalists are following the proper ethics. Only a quick look into the history of #gamergate is needed before you realize that not only is the movement not at all concerned about what most of us call ethics but are themselves responsible for unethical and also very illegal tactics.
Before you say: "Hey Bromopar we already know all this" I daresay many of you probably don't. Chances are you, like me are only really aware of the few memes and blog posts that just happened across your twitter or facebook feed. The truth is not only far worse but its happening right now, as I type this. Women in the gaming industry, far more than men are being slammed for their involvement in games. They are being threatened, their families included with death, rape, physical violence and even theft of money and personal property if they don't leave the industry. Out of fear some women have and more will continue to do so if something isn't done.
#gamergate's primary battleground is twitter where I just did a thirty minute search under the hashtag. What I found was nothing more than a bunch of finger pointing and name calling of one side against the other. Very little, if any real information was ever brought up and no one (and I really do mean NO ONE) sporting the #gamergate hashtag ever bothered to bring up the history of Gamergate's actions. As those in the movement scramble to defend themselves from the accusations that they are nothing more than hatemongers those that gave the movement it's infamy in the first place are laughing all the way to the bank.
I can't say it enough, the problem with the group isn't their goal but their message. The message that everything in gaming is fine and anyone who wants to change it is the enemy has created drastic and far reaching consequences for anyone not aligned with the movement. Death threats, harassment, doxing are all in a day's work for #gamergate and anyone who is anyone that supports the group refuses to acknowledge that it's a problem. Milo Yiannapolous in fact outright dismissed the death threats as a plea for attention. As a result those that are being harrassed are also being villified as the bullies suddenly change 180 degrees and cry "WE'RE THE REAL VICTIMS!"
Bullshit.
The bottom line is this. Everything in gaming is NOT fine and dandy. Women really are being harassed and have been since before #gamergate was ever a thing. Yes, feminists and other activists have targeted gaming for its representation of this, that and the other but to suddenly be surprised by this can only mean one thing. Gaming really is changing. For the better? I think so but that's not what this blog is all about. Members of #gamergate don't want ethical journalism, they want journalists, bloggers and fans to do one thing and thing only, review games and ignore everything else.
We can't do that.
Its unethical.