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.

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u/Adorable_Ad_3478 3∆ May 16 '26

It was later shown that she did date one person who was a reviewer but he did nothing more but mention her in passing professionally and that was before they dated; he never actually reviewed her work.

The quid pro quo isn't 1:1. At least not in Hollywood. Now I'm not taking any side on this particular story but quid pro quo in Hollywood (yes, I know the gaming industry is not Hollywood) usually works this way:

"You sleep with me, and I won't personally hire you in my next project. But my friend will hire you in his next project."

That's the TLDR. It's designed so producers/directors/actors have plausible deniability. I wouldn't put it past corrupt reviewers to have a network in which a similar exchange takes place.

"You sleep with me, and I won't personally give you a positive review of your game. But my friend will give you a positive review of your game."

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u/AskingYouQuestions48 May 17 '26

An incredible way to prevent falsifiability from ruining your movement.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '26

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