Blame GamerGate’s Bad Rep on Smears and Shoddy Journalism
At least to some extent, the “harassment mob” label was intended to neutralize GamerGate as a voice against progressivist extremism. As one pro-“social justice” blogger wrote with satisfaction, “GamerGate was quickly and correctly equated with chubby unwashed freaks who hated women… They struck back at women enjoying a pastime they liked with threats of rape and death and so excluded themselves from any serious debate.”
Regrettably, most of the media helped perpetuate this false image. When it came to claims of harassment by GamerGate, most journalists abandoned customary skepticism and adopted the “Listen and believe” stance counseled by Sarkeesian. Yet, even without questioning that the threats and abuse occurred, the lack of evidence tying these actions to GamerGate should have raised questions. A Boston Magazine story even discussed a video threatening Wu as an example of GamerGate harassment—nearly two months after Buzzfeed reported that the video was the work of a trolling comedian out to mock and spoof GamerGate.
Meanwhile, accounts by GamerGate supporters have been largely ignored. Even
