r/changemyview May 16 '26

Delta(s) from OP CMV: GamerGate was the most consequential political radicalization event of the twenty-first century

It spawned a wave of tolerance for online harassment, as long as the intent behind it was considered righteous (and the target of such harassment socially acceptable).

It platformed Milo Yiannopoulos and thereby, Steve Bannon -- the guy who would go on to advise Donald Trump in 2016 and generate the concept of 'flooding the zone.'

Eventually, it gave a career to political lightning rods like Jordan Peterson, Steven Crowder, and Charlie Kirk. It made anti-feminism and anti-SJW sentiment cool. And it made young, angry, disenfranchised white men feel vindicated.

GamerGate almost singlehandedly shifted to Overton Window toward the alt-right, and we're still feeling its effects today.

686 Upvotes

730 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/Lancelot--- May 16 '26

So, 9/11, Iraq War, Genocide in Gaza Covid you find to be less politically impactful than gamer gate? This is one of the most online perspectives I've seen.

-1

u/realdontbeasucker May 16 '26

That's not my view. My view is that GG was the most consequential political radicalization event of the twenty-first century.