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16 September 2014updated 24 Jun 2021 12:58pm

Wikileaks wades into #GamerGate, says Nato as corrupt as video games journalism

Just when it seemed the worst "scandal" in media couldn't get any more conspiracy theoryish, Julian Assange appears.

By Media Mole

The world of video games is being rocked right now by #GamerGate, which is either a rolling scandal of epic proportions concerning corruption and nepotism in games journalism and development, or a misogynist hate campaign orchestrated by a bunch of men who hate the idea of women having opinions about their hobby.

It turns out Julian Assange has been watching the whole thing unfold from his room in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and he’s picked a side. You’ll never guess which one:

Assange has also been taking part in an AMA session on reddit today, kicking off some further #GamerGate drama in the process – he replied to a question about it from a user who others noticed had been “shadow banned”. In the context of reddit, a shadow ban means a user can use reddit and post comments like anyone else, but nobody else will see what they post unless a mod or admin approves it. Since #GamerGate is essentially predicated on the private lives of several women within the gaming scene, a lot of people have been getting shadow banned recently.

Is it a conspiracy? Is it censorship against those who seek the truth, as many have alleged? If it is, it’s incredibly ironic to shadow ban someone for posting about reddit censorship in a thread about The Anti-Secrecy Campaigner himself, as many posters pointed out.

Except, turns out the guy was banned several days ago, and that specific question was the only one let through by the (supposedly censorious) admins. Woops.

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