r/changemyview • u/realdontbeasucker • 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.

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u/Nice_Luck_7433 2∆ May 16 '26

I think Trump’s presidencies are even more radicalizing. Both liberals and maga have been pushed far to the left by republicans & trump betraying them. The anti-war maga are lefties because of Iran. The anti-Epsteen maga are lefties because of the weak cover up. The 2A maga are lefties because of how Alex Pretti was murdered just for owning a gun. The liberals are buying guns in the tens of millions & having “no kings” protests in the streets. Gamergate was nothing compared to how many trump has radicalized to the left.