Gamergate, also called GamerGate (GG), was a group of people who spread harmful messages online. This group was not officially led and was against efforts to support women, diversity, and progress in video games. They used the hashtag "#Gamergate" mainly in 2014 and 2015. Their actions targeted women in the video game industry, including feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian and developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu.
The campaign started with a blog post in August 2014 by Quinn’s former boyfriend. The post falsely claimed Quinn got a good review because of a personal relationship with a journalist. The post was shared on 4chan, a website where some users had already criticized Quinn’s work. This led to a coordinated effort to harass Quinn through online forums like 4chan, 8chan, and Reddit. The harassment later included attacking Sarkeesian, Wu, and others who supported Quinn. Harassers used tactics like sharing private information, making threats of violence, and sending death threats.
People who supported Gamergate claimed they were fighting for honest journalism in video games and protecting the idea of what it means to be a "gamer" against what they called "political correctness" and the influence of feminism and "social justice warriors." They falsely accused journalists and developers of working together to focus on issues like gender equality in games. These claims were widely seen as untrue and unrelated to real problems in gaming and journalism. Some media commentators said the ethics complaints were a way to hide the harassment of Quinn and other women. Supporters of Gamergate often denied that harassment happened, saying victims made it up.
Gamergate is described as a debate about diversity in culture, recognition of different perspectives, feminism in games, and how gamers identify socially. Supporters called it a social movement, but it lacked clear goals, a unified message, or leaders, making it hard to define. Gamergate caused people in and outside the gaming industry to think about ways to stop online harassment and reduce harm. It is also seen as having connections to the alt-right and other right-wing groups.
History
In 2013, Zoë Quinn, an independent game developer, created Depression Quest, a text-based game that showed the experience of depression through fictional situations inspired by Quinn’s own struggles with the illness. The game received praise from gaming media and mental health experts, but some gamers criticized it for not following typical game styles that focus on violence or skill. They also opposed what they called "political" messages in gaming. After the game’s release, Quinn faced months of harassment, including threats of rape and death. Quinn shared details about the harassment with the media, which led to even more abuse, such as sharing Quinn’s home address online. Quinn stopped making public appearances and eventually left their home due to safety concerns.
In August 2014, a blog post by Quinn’s former boyfriend, Eron Gjoni, called "The Zoe Post," began the controversy later known as Gamergate. The post described their relationship and breakup, including private messages and emails. It falsely claimed Quinn received a favorable review of Depression Quest in exchange for a sexual relationship with Nathan Grayson, a reporter. Gjoni later said he had no proof of such a relationship. Grayson never reviewed Quinn’s games, and his only article about Quinn was written before their relationship began. Despite this, online users used Gjoni’s blog to accuse Quinn, without evidence, of trading sex for professional benefits. A link to the blog was posted on 4chan, a website where many users had previously criticized Depression Quest, leading to renewed attacks on Quinn.
After the blog post, Quinn and their family faced intense and often sexist harassment. Online attackers first used the term "Quinnspiracy," but later adopted the hashtag "#Gamergate," which was first used by actor Adam Baldwin on August 27, 2014. Baldwin’s 190,000 Twitter followers helped spread the hashtag. Right-wing journalist Milo Yiannopoulos promoted the hashtag on Breitbart News, making it a key symbol of Gamergate and broader antifeminist movements. Harassment of Gamergate targets was organized through IRC, a type of online chat, and spread quickly on forums like 4chan and Reddit.
Within four months of Gamergate beginning, Quinn’s record of threats had increased 1,000 times. At a conference, Quinn said, “I used to go to game events and feel safe… Now I wonder if anyone in the room wants to hurt me.” An anonymous 4chan user threatened to cause Quinn a serious injury that would never heal. Industry experts and others outside the gaming world criticized the attacks, which included sharing Quinn’s personal information, hacking their accounts, and sending threats. Quinn left their home again to stay with friends. Quinn wrote, “The Internet shared my private details, sent me threats, hacked my friends’ accounts, and told my father I was a ‘whore.’”
Gamergate also targeted Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist media critic who had faced online harassment in 2012 for her YouTube series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, which analyzed sexist portrayals of women in games. After a new episode of her series was released in August 2014, Sarkeesian received rape and death threats, and her home address was leaked online. She had to leave her home. At a conference in Oregon, Sarkeesian said, “Believing women when they describe their experiences is one of the most radical things you can do.” She added, “The people who harm others see themselves as noble warriors, not as criminals.”
In October 2014, Sarkeesian canceled a speaking event at Utah State University after receiving three anonymous threats, one of which claimed ties to Gamergate. The threat mentioned a plan to carry out an attack similar to the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, which was motivated by antifeminism. The threat also claimed the attacker had weapons like a rifle and pipe bombs. Utah State University’s leaders said no credible threat existed and declined extra security due to state laws. The threats gained attention from mainstream media, including The New York Times, which called it the worst example of a campaign to silence critics of the gaming industry. The FBI investigated the threats but could not identify all perpetrators.
In mid-October 2014, Brianna Wu, an independent game developer and co-founder of Giant Spacekat, had her home address and personal details shared online as retaliation for mocking Gamergate. Wu received rape and death threats and fled her home with her husband. She offered a $11,000 reward for information leading to arrests and created a legal fund to help other developers facing harassment. As of April 2016, Wu still received threats daily and hired full-time staff to track them. In August 2021, The Washington Post reported that Wu supported forgiving harassers who apologized, but noted that insults and threats still far outnumbered apologies. Wu was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the harassment.
Gamergate supporters targeted others with similar harassment, sharing personal information, and making death threats. People who defended the victims were called "white knights" or "social justice warriors" (SJWs), terms used to discredit opponents. The phrase "social justice warrior" became widely used as a negative label. Shortly after the "#Gamergate" hashtag was created, video game developer Phil Fish faced similar online attacks.
Demographics
In October 2014, Deadspin estimated that about 10,000 people supported Gamergate by looking at how many users discussed the movement on Reddit. The exact number of supporters remains unknown. Katherine Cross, a sociologist and game critic who faced harassment from Gamergate supporters, stated that Gamergate members strongly disagreed with being labeled as far-right. She explained that they claimed being called conservatives was false and dismissed such claims. Gamergate members shared polls from the subreddit r/KotakuinAction to support their views, but Cross said these polls were not meaningful. Vice News noted that these polls were not reliable because they could be easily manipulated by the community. The news outlet also observed that threads on r/KotakuinAction often included far-right ideas, such as claims that Facebook hides crimes by immigrants and complaints about college professors who criticize Trump. While some Gamergaters dislike being linked to the alt-right movement, many leaders of the movement, who previously opposed political correctness in games, now support Trump and the alt-right. These leaders include individuals like Mike Cernovich and Milo Yiannopoulos.
Organization
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The series of events known as Gamergate has been described as "torturously complex." As a movement, it had no official leaders or clearly defined agenda. Because of its anonymous membership, lack of organization, and leaderless nature, sources differ as to the goals or mission of Gamergate, and defining it has been difficult. Frank Lantz of NYU's Game Center wrote that he could not find "a single explanation of a coherent Gamergate position." Christopher Grant, editor-in-chief of Polygon, told the Columbia Journalism Review: "The closest thing we've been able to divine is that it's noise. It's chaos… all you can do is find patterns. And ultimately Gamergate will be defined—I think has been defined—by some of its basest elements."
The decentralized nature of Gamergate allowed it to avoid attempts at discussion and to define its own agenda. This decentralization allowed for a long-term, focused campaign against consistent targets. Kyle Wagner of Deadspin argues that "By design, Gamergate is nearly impossible to define. It refers, variously, to a set of incomprehensible Benghazi-type conspiracy theories about game developers and journalists; to a fairly broad group of gamers concerned with corruption in gaming journalism; to a somewhat narrower group of gamers who believe women should be punished for having sex; and, finally, to a small group of gamers conducting organized campaigns of stalking and harassment against women." and that "This ambiguity is useful, because it turns any discussion of this subject into a debate over semantics." Wagner describes Gamergate as "a fascinating glimpse of the future of grievance politics."
As the threats expanded, international media focused on Gamergate's violent, misogynistic element and its inability to present a coherent message. Bob Stuart, in The Daily Telegraph, reported that "Gamergate has since swelled into an unwieldy movement with no apparent leaders, mission statement, or aims beyond calling out 'social justice warriors.' … When members of the games industry are being driven from their houses and jobs, threatened, or abused, it makes Gamergate's claim that it is engaged in an ethical campaign appear laughable." The campaign's focus broadened to take on other targets in the news media, as with Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media.
Jesse Singal, in New York, stated that he had spoken to several Gamergate supporters to try to understand their concerns, but found conflicting ideals and incoherent messages. Singal observed Gamergate supporters making a constant series of attacks on Quinn, Sarkeesian, and other people, while frequently stating that Gamergate "is not about" them. Chris Ip of the Columbia Journalism Review said that Gamergate supporters espousing critiques of ethics in journalism could not be separated from harassers. With anyone able to tweet under the hashtag and no single person willing or able to represent the hashtag and take responsibility for its actions, Ip said it is not possible for journalists to neatly separate abusers from those seeking reasonable debate.
Jon Stone, as quoted in The Week, said that "[Gamergate] readjusts and reinvents itself in response to attempts to disarm and disperse its noxiousness, subsuming disaffected voices in an act of continual regeneration, cycling through targets, pretexts, manifestoes, and moralisms." Polygon's Grant said that as of October 2014, Gamergate had remained amorphous and leaderless so that the harassment can be conducted without any culpability.
Gamergaters attacked gaming websites that criticized Gamergate and gaming websites that expressed support for diversity in gaming culture, including Kotaku, Game Developer, Ars Technica, Polygon, and Gawker.
While organized through anonymous message boards such as 4chan and Reddit, Gamergate harassment was most prominent on Twitter. Michael Salter, then a University of Western Sydney criminologist, writes that Twitter's design and architecture was "highly conducive" to such abuse campaigns, allowing Gamergaters to overwhelm users' ability to individually block the large numbers of fake or "sockpuppet" accounts used to send abusive and harassing messages.
Twitter was criticized for its inability to respond quickly and prevent harassment over the service. Within the United States, Twitter and other social media sites are not liable for content posted by third-parties of their service under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (1996), and so have no legal obligation to police malicious content such as harassment and threats. Brianna Wu, shortly after becoming a target of harassment, stated that Twitter facilitated harassment by the ease with which anyone could make a new account even after having an earlier account blocked, and challenged the service to improve its responsiveness to complaints. Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic said Gamergate is an "identity crisis" for Twitter, and by not dealing with harassing users, the platform is failing to protect victims.
Early on during Gamergate, software developer Randi Harper started the "Good Game Auto Blocker" or "ggautoblocker," an expanding list of known Twitter accounts that were tied to the Gamergate hashtag which could be automatically blocked, therefore reducing the degree of harassment received. In November 2014, Twitter announced a collaboration with the non-profit group "Women, Action & the Media" (WAM), in which users of Twitter can report harassment to a tool monitored by WAM members, who would forward affirmed issues to Twitter within 24 hours. The move, while arising in the wake of the Gamergate harassment, was due to general issues of the harassment of women on the Internet. In May 2015, WAM reported that of 512 reported harassment instances by the tool during the month of November 2014, 12% of those were tied to the Gamergate controversy based on the ggautoblocker list, with most harassment occurring from single-instance accounts targeting a single person.
Early in the controversy, posters on 4chan focused on donating to a group called The Fine Young Capitalists (TFYC), which had been embroiled in a dispute with Quinn over a women-only game development contest that Quinn had organized. TFYC sponsored a video game design contest for women in 2014. They were created by a partnership between Colombian media developer Autobótika and Canadian organization Empowered Up. It was founded with the goal of helping women and other underrepresented groups get involved in video game design. Its founder is Matthew Rappard, who is the only member who is publicly identified.
Advocating donations to help TFYC create the game, posters on 4chan's politics board argued that such donations would make them "look really good" and would make them "PR-untouchable." For their donations, TFYC allowed 4chan to create a character to be included in the game. The result was "Vivian James," a character designed to appear like an ordinary female gamer; her name is meant to sound like "video games." The colors of her striped purple and green hooded sweatshirt represent a viral 4chan meme known as "daily dose," which depicted a character from the anime Dragon Ball Z sexually assaulting another character. Allegra Ringo of Vice called her "a character masquerading as a feminist icon for the express purpose of spiting feminists."
To respond to widespread criticism of Gamergate as misogynistic, posters on 4chan created a second Twitter hashtag, #NotYourShield, intended to show that Gamergate was not about opposition to feminism or wanting to push women out of gaming. Many of the accounts used to tweet the tag were sockpuppets that had copied their avatars from elsewhere on the Internet; the methods used to create it have been compared to #EndFathersDay, a hoax manufactured on 4chan using similar methods. Quinn said that in light of Gamergate's exclusive targeting of women or those who stood up for women, "#notyourshield was, I think,"
Purpose and goals
Gamergate supporters claimed the movement aimed to promote ethics in video game journalism, protect the identity of gamers, and oppose "political correctness" in games. They also said that harassment of women was not linked to Gamergate and was instead carried out by others. Supporters believed that close relationships between journalists and game developers showed a secret plan to focus on progressive social issues in reviews. These beliefs often centered on games like Depression Quest and Gone Home, which have unique stories and gameplay that address social topics.
Media observers largely dismissed these claims as false and harmful. Chris Ip of the Columbia Journalism Review stated that many criticisms from Gamergate supporters had been proven incorrect and called the movement a "classic culture war." Emily VanDerWerff of Vox wrote that all ethical concerns raised by Gamergate had either been disproven or addressed. Leigh Alexander, then an editor at Game Developer, said that concerns about journalists being close to game developers were unfounded, as professional relationships are normal in journalism. Outlets like Ars Technica, Vox, and Wired noted that discussing gender equality and other social issues in game reviews does not violate ethical standards.
Some analysts suggested that Gamergate was not about journalism ethics but instead aimed to silence opposing views. Salter wrote that mass media helped determine that Gamergate was actually a campaign to harm Quinn, a game developer, and that supporters later created false claims about ethics to divert attention from their harassment of her. Jay Hathaway of Gawker reported that Gamergate supporters shifted their focus from attacking Quinn to criticizing game journalism after their initial efforts failed.
Others argued that Gamergate could have sparked important discussions about journalism ethics but was instead overshadowed by widespread harassment and abuse. Many Gamergate-related posts focused on misogynistic and racist comments rather than ethical issues. Female game developers, academics, and writers were often targeted.
Researchers at Harvard’s Berkman Center described Gamergate as a harsh campaign against Quinn that later expanded into an effort to criticize alleged corruption in game journalism. Dr. Kathleen Bartzen Culver, a media ethics expert, noted that Gamergate supporters’ claims about ethics were contradicted by their own "misogynistic and threatening" behavior.
An analysis of Gamergate-related tweets by Newsweek found that the movement focused more on attacking game developers than discussing journalism ethics. Casey Johnston of Ars Technica wrote that the Gamergate hashtag was used to hide misogynistic attacks under the guise of an ethics debate. An academic study of public posts with #Gamergate showed that the main concerns were not about ethics in journalism.
In an interview with The Guardian, Jessica Valenti said that Gamergate’s claim to focus on journalism ethics was linked to sexist harassment and fear of women entering male-dominated spaces. Anita Sarkeesian asked why Gamergate supporters targeted journalists with threats if their goal was about ethics. A journalist named Wu called Gamergate a "hate group" and said its claims about ethics were a cover for its hostility toward women.
Critics argued that Gamergate focused on women, especially female developers, while ignoring larger issues in game journalism. Alex Goldman of NPR’s On the Media said Gamergate targeted independent female developers rather than major game companies. Laura Hudson of Wired noted that supporters focused on women in the indie game scene, not the large companies they often praised. Emily VanDerWerff highlighted that game developer David Hill pointed out real issues in the gaming industry, such as corruption and commercialism, but said Gamergate did not address them. Adi Robertson of The Verge noted that many Gamergate supporters avoided discussing ethical problems unrelated to feminism or indie games.
Feminist Media Studies described Gamergate as a way for a group of people, including misogynists and trolls, to unite around the idea that culture was overly focused on identity politics, even though their reasons for joining varied.
Social, cultural, and political impact
Gamergate is often described as part of a long-term conflict over changing the gaming community, which has traditionally been male-dominated. Supporters of Gamergate have been criticized for harassing women who are active in the gaming industry and for opposing social criticism of video games. The Washington Post's writer Caitlin Dewey said that Gamergate has become a large online debate between mostly female game developers and critics who support more inclusion, and a group of people who strongly oppose these changes. Vox said that Gamergate supporters focused more on opposing social criticism and harassing prominent women than on discussing ethical issues. Ars Technica reported that some early members of Gamergate said they were not interested in video games but wanted to attack Quinn, a person involved in the controversy.
Gamergate has been linked to ideas that oppose women's rights. Some supporters have denied this, but they admit that some people in Gamergate express hatred toward women. Researchers wrote in a study that many Gamergate participants aim to exclude women from gaming discussions and the industry and to limit women's rights. A writer for The Guardian called Gamergate a rise in harmful right-wing ideas. Other writers said that the controversy has been used by right-wing groups and conservative media who were not interested in gaming. Another writer said that Gamergate includes harmful ideas about hate toward women, LGBTQ+ people, Jewish individuals, and others, as well as false beliefs about a conspiracy called "Cultural Marxism."
Quinn said that the campaign had drawn people who cared about ethics into a group that spreads hate. Quinn asked game companies and developers to stop supporting the Gamergate hashtag and asked supporters who wanted to discuss ethics to leave the Gamergate movement.
Gamergate is often seen as a reaction to changes in who is considered a "gamer." In the 1990s, the term "gamer" described young, male, heterosexual players who liked certain types of games. Over time, more people, including women, began playing games. Games with artistic themes became popular, and independent game developers created more diverse games. Mobile and casual games also expanded the gaming industry beyond the traditional "gamer" identity. Games that included themes about LGBTQ+ people and other groups became more common. Websites and blogs focused on these changes, unlike older gaming news sites that relied on the game industry.
A scholar named Adrienne Massanari said Gamergate is a direct response to changes in video games and who plays them. Surveys from 2014 and 2015 showed that between 44% and 48% of gamers were women, with an average age of 35. This larger audience began questioning old ideas in games. Other writers said that Gamergate is partly about fear that games aimed at young men might be replaced by games for more diverse audiences. Gamergate supporters often say that games for broader audiences are not "real" games or that people who play them are not "real" gamers. Some critics said that Gamergate supporters see games as tools, not art, and believe they should be judged by simple features, not artistic value. Others criticized the idea that focusing on artistic games might harm popular games like Grand Theft Auto V.
Gamergate is closely linked to opposition to people called "social justice warriors" in the gaming industry, who are seen as a threat to traditional gaming culture. As the gaming industry grew more diverse, critics began discussing issues like how women and other groups are represented in games. One critic, Anita Sarkeesian, studied how women are portrayed in games. Her work was met with harassment and threats from some gamers. This led to concerns about sexism in gaming. Before August 2014, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) started helping developers who were harassed online. Anita Sarkeesian said that women are targeted because they challenge the idea that gaming is a male-dominated space.
In late August 2014, after accusations against someone named Grayson and harassment of Quinn, some gaming websites published articles about the growing diversity in gaming and the changes in the industry. These articles, called "gamers are dead," argued that the term "gamer" no longer described the main audience for games. Gamergate supporters saw these articles as part of a plan to change traditional gaming culture and used them to support their movement. One article said that the term "gamer" no longer needed to describe the main audience for games. Another writer said that the conflict was partly because the industry was trying to reach more people, not just core gamers. A writer said that Gamergate does not represent a group being attacked but a powerful group losing some control.
Gamergate has been described as an example of sexism and hatred toward women in gaming culture. Its main focus is opposition to feminism and people who support social justice, who are seen as a threat to traditional games. As more women became visible in the gaming industry, they faced more harassment and threats. Mainstream journalists say that the harassment linked to Gamergate shows a rise in online hatred toward women. A writer said that sexism in gaming has been a long-standing issue and became central to the Gamergate controversy. Another writer said that Gamergate is largely about women. A writer compared the mistreatment of women in gaming to the challenges faced by women in other fields.
Gaming industry response
The harassment of Quinn, Sarkeesian, Wu, and others led many respected people in the video game industry to criticize the Gamergate attacks for harming the gaming community and the public's view of the industry. Laura Parker from Vanity Fair said that the Gamergate situation showed outsiders that the video game community was "a harmful and unwelcoming place," which made people who did not play video games have even worse opinions about the industry. Andreas Zecher, an independent game developer, wrote an open letter asking the community to oppose the attacks. Over 2,000 professionals in the gaming industry signed the letter. Many in the industry believed the signatures showed that those who attacked Quinn and Sarkeesian did not represent the video game industry as a whole. Jenn Frank, writing for The Guardian, described the harassment tactics and the fear they created, especially for women and their supporters. She said this harmful environment would hurt both women and the industry. Frank faced harassment for writing the article and later decided to leave games journalism. Damion Schubert, a games designer, called Gamergate "an unprecedented catastrophe" and said silencing criticism of games harms developers by taking away valuable feedback. Many game developers, journalists, and gamers from different backgrounds used hashtags like #INeedDiverseGames, #StopGamergate2014, and #GamersAgainstGamergate to support those targeted by harassment and to oppose Gamergate supporters.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said Gamergate was a place where harassment often happened and warned that companies might face financial risks when dealing with it on social media. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said there is no place in the gaming community or society for personal attacks or threats. ESA president Mike Gallagher said at an event in 2015 that the ESA did not get more involved because they felt it was not their responsibility and that their involvement might cause problems. However, he praised efforts to stop harassment, which he believed would help the industry in the future. At BlizzCon 2014, Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, criticized recent harassment, blaming a "small group of people" for harming the community's reputation. He asked attendees to treat each other kindly and show the world that the gaming community rejects harassment. His comments were widely seen as referring to Gamergate. Shawn Layden and Jim Ryan, CEOs of Sony Computer Entertainment in America and Europe, said the harassment and bullying were "absolutely horrific" and that such behavior would not be tolerated at Sony. The Swedish Games Industry issued a statement condemning harassment and sexism from Gamergate supporters. In 2016, Nintendo of America called Gamergate "an online hate campaign" and said it "firmly rejects" the harassment of individuals.
Responses to Gamergate encouraged the video game industry to examine how it treats women and minorities and to make changes to support them. Intel, after accidentally being involved in Gamergate, promised to spend more than $300 million to support a "Diversity in Technology" program with groups like Feminist Frequency and the IGDA, aiming to increase the number of women and minorities in the industry. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said it is not enough to say diversity is valued if the industry does not fully represent it. Peter Moore, COO of Electronic Arts (EA), said the controversy made EA pay more attention to diversity and inclusion, telling Fortune that it made them think carefully about their actions. Kate Edwards, executive director of the IGDA, told the Seattle Times that gaming culture has been "misogynistic" for a long time, but companies are finally starting to take action to stop discrimination.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 had more female characters in new games and more women visible at the event. Some people said this change was a response to Gamergate and a rejection of the harassment linked to the movement. The game Batman: Arkham Knight, released in 2015, included a reference to Gamergate with the hashtag #CrusaderGate, which the Riddler uses to try to rally people against Batman. The Riddler later calls those who use the hashtag "idiotic and easily roused rabble."
Representation in media
The television episode "Intimidation Game" from the crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit shows a made-up story inspired by Gamergate, including a character some people compared to Sarkeesian, whose experiences resembled those of women targeted by online harassment. The 2015 documentary GTFO examined problems like sexism and harassment in video gaming. The film's director, Shannon Sun-Higginson, said Gamergate was "a terrible thing, but it is a sign of a bigger problem in our culture and society." The Gamergate controversy was discussed as part of a larger topic about online harassment of women in the June 21, 2015, episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The effects of Gamergate on Brianna Wu were the focus of the March 16, 2016, episode of The Internet Ruined My Life.
In October 2021, Mind Riot Entertainment announced a fictional series based on Gamergate, created and written together by Wu and J. Brad Wilke. The series will explore the beginning of the controversy through the perspectives of fictional characters in the video game industry, such as executives, journalists, and indie developers, and how they reacted. On March 8, 2022, it was announced that Norman Lear and Brent Miller will be the executive producers.
Reducing online harassment
In January 2015, Quinn and Alex Lifschitz started the Crash Override Network, a private group of experts who offer free help and advice to people who have been harassed online, such as those affected by Gamergate. This group also works with law enforcement and social media companies to address online threats. Software developer Randi Harper created a similar group called the Online Abuse Prevention Initiative, a non-profit organization that also helps people who are harassed online.
In March 2015, Anita Sarkeesian was listed by Time magazine as one of the 30 most influential people on the Internet. Later that year, she was also named in the magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People of 2015 for her efforts to address sexism in the video game community after the Gamergate controversy. In 2015, she was also included in Cosmopolitan’s list of fifty "Internet's Most Fascinating" people because of her work to reduce online harassment.
At the 2016 SXSW festival, an online abuse panel (which was controversial) stated that there is no technological solution to online harassment because of human behavior. While some policy changes have occurred, the panel said the main issue is related to society, not just the platforms used. During a speech for Women’s History Month, then-U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the problem of harassment faced by women gamers, including threats and stalking from other players. He noted that women who speak out about their experiences are often attacked on social media and even threatened in their homes. Obama encouraged victims of harassment to share their stories, praising the bravery of those who have resisted online harassment. He said that many women, especially young women, are bravely sharing their experiences despite knowing they may face attacks for doing so.
Legacy
People who were targeted during Gamergate have faced continued attacks in right-wing media and on men's rights websites. These individuals have had to limit their public appearances and social media activity. They continue to express frustration over the lack of action taken against those who harassed them. Some people believe that the video game industry has become more diverse and open to women since Gamergate began. Some ideas and methods from Gamergate were later used by the alt-right, a group that played a role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and in other harassment campaigns, such as Learn to Code in early 2019.
Some analysts say Gamergate helped elect Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016 and supported other right-wing and far-right movements. Alyssa Rosenberg, a writer for The Washington Post, called Trump "the Gamergate of Republican politics" in 2015. Trump’s strategist, Steve Bannon, said that through Milo Yiannopoulos, a journalist for Breitbart News (a website Bannon co-founded), he created a group of people who became interested in politics and eventually supported Trump. According to a book called Meme Wars, Joan Donovan, a researcher at Harvard, said Gamergate provided a model for the far right and Trump’s movement to organize online. She noted that tactics used during Gamergate, such as spreading false claims, using memes, and organizing harassment, were later used by the Trump-supporting group. Donovan also said similar tactics are now used to intimidate groups like transgender people.
The alt-right movement began during Gamergate. Journalist David Neiwert said Gamergate showed the early features of the alt-right, including online trolling, false beliefs, and hatred toward women, minorities, and others. Gamergate influenced many young people, especially men, to oppose what they saw as efforts by left-wing groups to change culture. These groups shared ideas with the alt-right, such as rejecting political correctness and supporting traditional values. By 2015, the alt-right had become a strong online movement. Encyclopædia Britannica described Gamergate as part of the "men’s rights movement" that started on a website called 4chan. The Southern Poverty Law Center said Gamergate was an example of male supremacy.
Gamergate has been compared to QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory. Claire Goforth of The Daily Dot said Gamergate helped create QAnon by using online groups of people who spread false information. She noted that both movements use similar tactics, such as making false accusations and organizing harassment. Kate Knibbs of Wired called Gamergate "proto-QAnon," saying both movements are loosely organized and spread across online platforms. She said it was hard to know how many people truly believed in the ideas behind these movements.
In 2015, Yasmin Kafai, an education researcher, said Gamergate changed how people see the situation for women and minorities in gaming, even if it did not change their actual experiences. In 2016, Sarah Jeong of The Washington Post compared the Pizzagate conspiracy theory to Gamergate, saying both involved organized harassment based on lies. In 2017, Sean Murray of TheGamer said Gamergate raised awareness about online harassment of women. Katherine Cross of The Daily Beast said the same tactics used in Gamergate were later used to attack CNN.
In 2018, Kishonna Gray, a researcher, said the gaming industry and companies were involved in the abuse that happened during Gamergate. She said the industry’s history of treating women poorly helped Gamergate gain power. Vox said Gamergate showed extreme right-wing groups how to attack their enemies online, and these methods are now common. By 2018, supporters of Gamergate were still active and had become more visible during the Trump presidency.
In 2019, Talia Lavin of The New Republic said Gamergate tested how online trolls could harm people they saw as enemies. She said the tactics used during Gamergate became more advanced over time. A writer for Slate said Gamergate was still active on Reddit and that its members continued to harass journalists. However, efforts to support diversity in gaming and socially conscious journalism continued. A writer for The New York Times said Gamergate showed how to wage a "post-truth" information war, where facts are less important than beliefs. A writer for TechCrunch said mainstream media had not learned how to stop tactics like those used in Gamergate. A writer for NPR said Gamergate was a warning about how bad actors could misuse social networks.
In 2019, Anita Sarkeesian said Gamergate’s real goals were to spread racism, sexism, and hatred toward transgender people. She said the movement’s claim about ethics in games journalism was later mocked as a false argument. She criticized the video game industry for not responding properly to the harm caused by Gamergate.