The person half the community love to hate while the other half think she’s a hero is back in the spotlight thanks to some very strange posters that appeared to popup around E3 this past week.
According to a post on Destructoid the below posters were seen around E3
Popping up all around E3 this morning are a series of posters aimed at attacking feminist video game critic Anita Sarkeesian. Walking to the convention this morning I saw over a dozen of the posters in just a few minutes. The background of the posters features #GamerGate written repeatedly in light grey text.
The black and white posters clearly show Sarkeesian’s face with a play on her Fem Frequency account now saying Fem Freak and the statement “All your tropes belong to us honey”
The background is made up of #GamerGate text in light grey writing.
I’m not a fan of Anita at all but I don’t like to see this sort of thing. She’s got just as much right as anyone else to air her opinions and she shouldn’t be publicly shamed for that.
However that’s not why I’m writing this, to be honest I’m more worried about how Destructoid has covered this as some of their claims instantly set off my bullsh!t meter.
It seems these posters were created by a group known as “Unsavoury Agents”. The group frequently create art designed to turn groups against each other and cause public anger. The group is also known to place razor blades underneath these posters to cause harm to those who try to remove them.
The idea that people put razor blades behind posters, or in candy and fruit, instantly sounds like an old wives tale and as such I took to google to see if this claim could be backed up.
First up the Unsavoury Agents group does exist but their art doesn’t appear to be linked at all and they mainly target political opponents like Hilary Clinton and The Bush family. But also things like Abortion Barbie and 911.
Then there isn’t a single reference I can find to these guys every putting razor blades behind posters.
After that we did some more research and found some other posters in the same fashion that have been posted anonymously like this one and this one. But again both of these are political statements and again there is no reference to razor blades at all.
So not only are the claims that the Unsavoury Agent are behind it without merit the outrageous claim about the razor blades is also not backed up with any facts.
How are we supposed to completely discredit the GamerGate movement when things like the Destructoid piece are posted without backing and then replicated all over the rest of the gaming sites. Since when did the idea of research get thrown out of the window just because a journalist doesn’t like what a group stands for. (Or implies they stand for)
Imagine it this way, if this wasn’t Anita or related to gaming would we be so quick to dismiss this as being some sort of publicity stunt? That outrageous claim has about as much factual backing as the razor blade claim.
Come on people we can do better than this and this post really is just about ethics in journalism.
Last Updated: June 19, 2015
Paul_3891
June 19, 2015 at 12:04
i cannot stand this poser of a woman, really annoying. would support her if so went to poor countrys like africa and hoped people by building homes etc
Ragnar The Vengeful
June 19, 2015 at 12:55
Poor countries in africa? I wish someone supported your education.
Blood Emperor Trevor
June 19, 2015 at 13:36
Don’t laugh. I once had someone with a matric education ask me if there’s a breakdown of how many people from South America voted for Obama in the American elections. I couldn’t even make a sarcastic comment because my brain temporarily shut down to protect itself.
Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire
June 19, 2015 at 13:19
Africa isn’t a countrY.
Plural of countrY: countrIES.
And hoping isn’t the same as helping.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:21
LIES! Africa is a country! It’s a federation of fiefdoms, governed by Uncle Bob and the African Union
Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire
June 19, 2015 at 13:24
I help you are right
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:25
I help so too! 😀
skeglareekus
July 14, 2015 at 02:30
Yeah dude isnt afreca like a dictatorship or somthing?
Mistake Not...
June 19, 2015 at 12:07
This happens so often. Journalistic websites, gaming or not, post articles read by thousands with no research done. All they need to do is spend 10 minutes Googling or simply use some common sense, but that seems too much.
Case in point: http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800
Thanks for actually checking the facts. (I still don’t understand GamerGate, though)
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
June 19, 2015 at 13:02
No person who loves gaming understands Gamersgate.
And that is the way it should be.
Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire
June 19, 2015 at 13:20
Eggjackly
Hammersteyn
June 19, 2015 at 12:13
The only thing that bothers me about Anita is that I can never looked at checkered shirts the same way again
Kervyn Cloete
June 19, 2015 at 12:23
Only now? George Lucas ruined that for me years ago!
Hammersteyn
June 19, 2015 at 12:54
LOL!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:24
Yeah, she’s single-handedly ruined checkered shirts…. incidentally, radical feminists (the ones with the rainbow-coloured hair, and hatred of all things male) have also ruined doc martin boots. :/ These days I have to settle for Hi-Tecs or Caterpillar boots. It’s a damn travesty! A DAMN TRAVESTY!!!
I just hope they don’t ruin camo pants too, because when I play Battlefield 4, I like to wear full-camo. FULL CAMO!!!!
Hammersteyn
June 19, 2015 at 13:42
rofl!
Blood Emperor Trevor
June 19, 2015 at 12:24
My first page of Google results for “unsavoury agents razor blades” turned up more hits for Agents of SHIELD and nothing factual about actual razor blades. I’m guessing the source is the always-reputable “some guy on reddit who heard it from another guy on twitter”.
“which are affixed in such a way that they cannot be removed without being scraped off with a chisel” I believe it’s called “glue” and secondly I don’t imagine you remove posters with a chisel.
And anyway, whoever put those posters up is a sad little person.
Ranting Raptor
June 19, 2015 at 12:28
I don’t like her, but this is not needed. It’s a tad bit childish.
That being said however, they are simply playing by the same rules she is (The posters. Not the razor blades and bad reporting). She often publicly criticizes and tries to shame companies and people:
Trevor Matrix
June 19, 2015 at 15:50
Makes me wonder: Is Anita going to see Magic Mike XXL?
Ranting Raptor
June 22, 2015 at 08:17
Can you just imagine….
Glen
June 19, 2015 at 12:28
Once again, both sides have accomplished nothing other than proving that they are equally ridiculous
Goal9
June 19, 2015 at 12:33
Did Anita put these up herself the night before they way she previously made false accusations? I also wouldn’t be surprised if some of these “videogame journalism” did it themselves to get more clicks to their sites.
Goal9
June 19, 2015 at 12:45
There’s also something about the posters themselves; I cant put my finger on it but it’s too well put together to be something that the likes of 4chan would put together. It’s so on the nose…
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:27
You mean, you smell a Brianna Wu?
Goal9
June 19, 2015 at 13:29
Ha – could very well be. But I mean it’s so “GAMERGATE IS EVIL. WOMANZ NEED TO BE OPPRESSED” in it’s subtext.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:57
That speaks to my paranoia! 😀 But, given the antics of #FullMcintosh it really wouldn’t surprise me.
#tinfoilHat
Lord Chaos
June 19, 2015 at 12:37
This is getting truly boring now. Leave her alone, you don’t even need to give her the rope she needs to hang herself with, her antics are enough. No need to dip to the same level.
Ugh
June 19, 2015 at 13:04
What gets me is this bullshit that when ever there is a Scandal of some sort it needs to end with the word Gate.. Watergate was 40 odd years ago.. fucking get over it.
Ranting Raptor
June 19, 2015 at 13:05
Lol. That heading is actually perfect for a buzzfeed like article:
“Hey did you hear about the Anita Sarkeesian posters at E3? What happened next will….”
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:08
Or a Gawker “article” 😀
Ranting Raptor
June 19, 2015 at 14:01
hahahaha
HellTeddy
June 19, 2015 at 13:09
You don’t like this kind of thing?
Anita names and shames people to accept her ideology, this poster seems to me like people are pointing at her and mocking her for saying REALY STUPID SHIT.
Dare I say, this is beautiful.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:19
I agree, Anita and FullMcintosh love to dish it out. It’s a beautiful thing to see when the (presumed) unwashed gaming masses say “No. Fuck you!”
Gavin Mannion
June 19, 2015 at 13:43
Well to be fair I said I didn’t like Anita either… People shouldn’t be publicly ridiculed… unless they are Jack Thompson
Ohm
June 19, 2015 at 14:05
When you present your opinions and ideas out in the public, you can expect public criticism and ridicule. Anita is no different to Jack.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 14:07
Also, Anita hasn’t allowed anyone to critique her views. She hasn’t made herself available to academic criticism in debates or on her youtube channel.
Therefore, the only real way to deal with her is to mock her! Because clearly, either she’s unable to defend her views or she’s merely an opportunist riding the gamergate train.
Ohm
June 19, 2015 at 14:10
Very true, fair criticism is met with accusations of misogyny, as is with mocking. If the outcome is the same, ya may as well have get some entertainment out of it.
Gavin Mannion
June 19, 2015 at 14:25
Yes but there are many places to criticise her. Her video’s are on public billboards so the responses shouldn’t really be either.
Ohm
June 19, 2015 at 14:42
It does not matter where her ‘work’ is presented, nor should it matter where the criticism presented when both are out in the open. People are using what ever means they have since media takes the idea of Anita’s little victim complex and exploits it for their own gain because people are suckers female victimhood. Presenting and allowing fair criticism of her claims makes would hurt their bottom line.
Vulcha
June 19, 2015 at 15:34
Game developers don’t publish their games on YouTube but that’s where she chooses to publish her videos… Sorry, had to point that out. The point is that she has publicly blasted the industry over a variety of media. A public poster is therefore an equally valid medium.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 14:06
I think at this stage (and I’m speaking as a guy who enjoyed her first video, but then caught on to the ruse), Anita and Jonathan SHOULD be ridiculed. They should be mocked in public. They’ve been doing it to companies, individuals, groups etc.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:14
My bullshit meter went off when I read about the razor blades. There’s a serious lack of critical thinking when it comes to reporting on gamergate (from some media outlets). The default position appears to be “These are the bad guys – so let’s just throw faeces at the wall. Our readers will believe whatever sticks”. What’s funny is that sort of slack-reporting is exactly what Gamergate tries to expose.
Yes… some among you may be eager to retort that the movement crawled out of Zoe Quin’s over-active vagina, but 9 months later it’s the strongest opponent to corruption and collusion in the games media. That can’t be denied. It’s origins (at this stage) no longer matters. With the rise of gamergate sites like deepfreeze.it, KIA, I’ve never seen gamers organise themselves like this. It’s unprecedented.
Back in the 90s and early 00s Gamers needed the games media to fight Jack Thompson, to help legitimise gaming, but now… we’re doing it ourselves. Gamers have found their collective balls, and it’s a beautiful thing to behold.
Kikmi
June 19, 2015 at 13:37
What fucking idiot thinks this crack headed bigot is a hero?
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 19, 2015 at 13:50
You know who…? Drugged-up fun-hating, man-hating carebear crack heads, who think everything single thing is offensive!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
June 19, 2015 at 13:47
Oigh… “Did you do your research before you posted the article?” “Yes, every rumour out there mentions a blade behind a poster and accuses art companies for creating these stylised posters…”
If an article, like the one mentioned above, is posted, do they not get reviewed by an editor? Or at least one that is worth the grain of salt they used to pick said journalist?
I really hope that not all is lost for humanity….My spaceship is still in developmental phase, i.e. the duct tape keeps pulling off of the petrol can…
The Sten
June 19, 2015 at 14:09
More like “All your attention are belong to us honey”