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The absurdity of the #Gamergate “ethics in journalism” argument, explained in memes

The internet movement #Gamergate has grown into a monster. Over the past few weeks, the hashtag has become a breeding ground for heated arguments about sexual harassment, feminism, and journalistic integrity.

According to members of the Gamergate community, it began as a conversation about “ethics in gaming journalism.” The initial claim was that indie game developers and the online gaming press have grown too close together for journalistic integrity to exist. This claim has been largely debunked.

The same movement, though, has a contingency of users who have threatened women in the gaming industry by posting their addresses on the internet and threatening to assault them. Two women, neither a gaming journalist, have been tweeted at 74,140 times. That’s more than any gaming journalist has been tweeted at using the hashtag.

Despite story after story showing that journalistic integrity isn’t the focus of the movement, members continue to assert that it is, which last week finally tipped over into hilarious parody. The tumblr Actually Ethics, is collecting the best of these meme parodies to show just how futile that response is.

Here are a few great ones:

ethics in journalism 1

(Actually Ethics)

ethics in journalism 2

(Actually Ethics)

ethics in journalism 3

(Actually Ethics)

ethics in journalism 4

(Actually Ethics)

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