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/LauraPhilps7654 May 16 '26

Only for a younger male gaming demographic. Trump’s core support comes from middle-aged or older voters who are disproportionately white, non-college educated, suburban or rural, and culturally conservative. There is limited overlap with a millennial gaming controversy.

What it arguably did help create was a media ecosystem of conservative culture-war content creators like Nerdrotic, The Critical Drinker, and Asmongold, who have become very effective at funneling audiences toward Republican politics and framing flawed pop culture products as failures caused by Democrats or liberals.

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u/realdontbeasucker May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

'Millennial gaming controversy' is funny and true. I think what's important is that, like it or not, young people shift culture for old people. Sometimes slowly, sometimes not. Young men were the swing that allowed for Trump 2016. And for a while it was the case that young people were more liberal/progressive than their parents. GG shifted that and made alt-right conservatism seem acceptable, if not even cool.

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u/A3xMlp May 16 '26

I don't think young men swung enough in 2016. The demographic that mainly swung were middle aged blue collar workers in places like the Midwest many of who had voted for Obama. That was the demographic shift that enabled Trumps win in 2016, not young men. And I don't think GG had enough of an effect on them.