Gamergate (harassment campaign)

Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" primarily in 2014 and 2015. Beginning in August 2014, Gamergate targeted women in the video game industry, most notably feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and video game developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu. The harassment campaign included doxing, rape threats, and death threats.

Gamergate proponents ("Gamergaters") stated that they were a social movement; they lacked well-defined goals, a coherent message, and leaders, making Gamergate difficult to define. Gamergaters claimed to promote ethics in video game journalism, claimed to be protecting the "gamer" identity, and opposed what they asserted as "political correctness" in video games.

Gamergaters created conspiracy theories falsely accusing Quinn of an unethical relationship with video game journalist Nathan Grayson. More broadly, they alleged unethical collusion between the press and feminists, progressives, and social critics. These claims were widely dismissed as trivial, conspiracy theories, baseless, or unrelated to actual issues of ethics in gaming and journalism. Gamergate supporters frequently denied that the harassment took place, falsely claiming it to be manufactured by the victims.

Gamergate has been described as a culture war over cultural diversification, artistic recognition, feminism in video games, social criticism in video games, and the social identity of gamers. Many supporters of Gamergate opposed the increasing influence of feminism and so-called "social justice warriors" on video game culture. Gamergate led figures both inside and outside the gaming industry to focus on methods of addressing online harassment, ways to minimize harm, and prevent similar events. Gamergate has been viewed as a contributor to the alt-right and other right-wing movements.