Media in the Post #GamerGate Era: Coverage of Reactionary Fan Anger and the Terrorism of the Privileged

Abstract

History has recorded the aggressive fandom campaigns of the 2010s, which drove vulnerable minority actors from their careers and homes. #GamerGate was the most iconic of these movements with its claim to focus on the ethics in games journalism. This article examines select news coverage of the #GamerGate movement from its initial outset in 2014 to today to identify how the movement changed news reporting’s approach to fandom harassment stories. #GamerGate’s development and deployment media of frames were examined to see how the repertoires of contention shaped during this period played into social and political events that followed.