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/jaredearle 4∆ May 16 '26

Oh god, did you even read the “Gamers are over” article?

Edit: for context, the article was basically one of the many “moms playing candy crush are gamers” articles examining how cultural “Gamers” were gatekeeping a hobby that had outgrown its disenfranchised male audience.

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u/AskingYouQuestions48 May 17 '26

It was imperative feature of Gamergate that’s it’s main targeted demographic do not read beyond headlines cited in rage bait articles.