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==Evidence of ethical concerns brought to light by Gamergate== ===GameJournoPros Email List=== On 17 September 2014, a private mailing list of some 150 members involved with gaming journalism was uncovered,<ref name=":0">[http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite "Exposed: The Secret Mailing List of the Gaming Journalism Elite"]. ''Breitbart News Network''. </ref><ref name=":5">http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141027VL200.html</ref> in which the members were apparently actively discussing how to influence the opinions, policies and reporting priorities of other publications.<ref name=":5" /> One of such aforementioned members, Greg Tito, was evidently actively coerced by multiple editors in the mailing list to shut down discussion in the Escapist forum.<ref name=":16">^http://techraptor.net/content/examination-game-journalism-professionals</ref> In late September, the list of all 150 members of the email list was published.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/21/GameJournoPros-we-reveal-every-journalist-on-the-list "The List: Every Journalist in the GameJournoPros Group Revealed"]. ''Breitbart News Network''. </ref><ref name=":5" /><ref>[http://apgnation.com/archives/2014/09/29/7694/breaking-the-chain-an-interview-with-william-usher "Breaking The Chain: An Interview With William Usher"]. ''APGNation''. </ref><ref name=":16" /> Greg Tito later stated that he had solicited the opinions of the other GJP members about the Escapist Forum discussions himself (source yt discussion with eric kain?). GameJournoPros is a mailing list in which video game journalists communicate regarding their job. Similar to [[wikipedia:JournoList|JournoList]],<ref name=":0" /> where over 400 "left-leaning" journalists colluded to force certain agendas in 2010,<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2010/07/22/JournoList--A-Disgrace-to-American-Journalism "JournoList: A Disgrace to American Journalism"]. ''Breitbart News Network''. </ref> it raised many concerns in the GamerGate community.'' The "onslaught" of the "Gamers are Dead" articles has also been compared to the similar actions by the members of J-List.''<sup>[to be deleted, leaving in just for now]</sup> Later, Kyle Orland claimed that JournoList was the "inspiration" for GameJournoPros.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/22/They-re-on-to-us-gaming-journalists-respond-to-their-critics-in-series-of-new-GameJournoPros-emails "'They're On To Us': Gaming Journalists Respond to Critics in Newly Revealed GameJournoPros Emails"]. ''Breitbart News Network''.</ref> ===Pinsof and GameJournoPros=== Allistair Pinsof is a former writer and journalist for [http://www.destructoid.com/ Destructoid], which is a gaming news, review and blog site. He was fired in 2013 after an article that he wrote was published on Destructoid. The article revealed that a fundraising campaign, ostensibly to help pay for life saving surgery, was actually intended to be used for gender reassignment surgery. The article sparked a controversy as it revealed the person that perpetrated the fraud was transgendered, which was not public information prior to the article.<ref>J. Christian. [http://www.examiner.com/article/several-senior-destructoid-employees-should-step-down "Several Senior Destructoid Employees Should Step Down"]. ''Examiner''.</ref><ref>Zarmena Khan. [http://pixelenemy.com/destructoid-writer-suspended-for-outing-trans-woman-who-held-fraudulent-fundraiser-for-srs/ "Destructoid writer suspended for outing trans* woman who held fraudulent fundraiser for SRS"]. ''Pixel Enemy''.</ref> However, with the recent exposure of the [[Proposed Wikipedia Entry#GameJournoPros Email List|Game Journo Pros]] group it was revealed that the decision to fire Pinsof was discussed at length in the group, with many advocating that he should be fired. It was also revealed through this group that an alleged blacklisting of Pinsof took place when Dale North, who was Destructoid Editor-in-Chief at the time, informed the Game Journo Pro group that Pinsof was looking to return to the industry and discouraged them from engaging him.<ref>Lance Liebl. [http://www.gamezone.com/originals/here-s-what-we-know-allistair-pinsof-destructoid-yanier-niero-gonzalez-game-journo-pros-and-more "Here’s what we know: Allistair Pinsof, Destructoid, Yanier "Niero" Gonzalez, Game Journo Pros and more"]. ''Game Zone''.</ref><ref>William Usher. [http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Destructoid-Allistair-Pinsof-Sour-Side-Games-Journalism-68039.html "Destructoid, Allistair Pinsof And The Sour Side Of Games Journalism"]. ''Cinema Blend''.</ref> Dale North has since resigned from Destructoid, citing disagreements with the management at the website.<ref>James Brightman. [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-10-21-destructoid-eic-quits-over-disagreement-with-management "Destructoid EIC quits over disagreement with management"]. ''Games Industry Biz''.</ref> ===Shadow of Mordor Paid Brand Deals=== In late September an popular Youtube video game reviewer known as Total Biscuit claimed that he had been offered a pre-release code for [https://www.shadowofmordor.com/agegate/ Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor] in exchange for agreeing to a "paid brand deal".<ref>Matt Growcott. [http://www.gamesreviews.com/news/09/totalbiscuit-reveals-shadow-mordor-code-branding-deal/ "TotalBiscuit Reveals Shady Shadow of Mordor Review Code Deal"]. ''GamesReviews''.</ref> The details of this brand deal were later passed on to critic and satirist Jim Sterling, who made the details public.<ref>Nathan Grayon. [http://kotaku.com/the-messy-story-behind-youtubers-taking-money-for-game-1644092214 "The Messy Story Behind YouTubers Taking Money For Game Coverage"]. ''Kotaku''.</ref> The deal was offered by PR company Plaid Social, granting Youtuber reviewers early access to the game and preventing them from discussing the game negatively under contract terms. The Youtuber reviewers were required to “Persuade users to purchase the game”, "promote positive sentiment about the game" and were told they "must not show bugs or glitches which may exist."<ref>Erik Kain. [http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/10/08/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-paid-branding-deals-should-have-gamergate-up-in-arms/ "'Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor' Paid Branding Deals Should Have #GamerGate Up In Arms"]. ''Forbes''.</ref> ===Data From 40,000 User Accounts Compromised At Firemonkeys Studios=== In September 2013, Firemonkeys Studio's community forums were breached in a hack attempt. In September 2014, EA (the parent company of Firemonkeys Studio) reported that as a result of the breach "customer email addresses were potentially obtained", but that an investigation had revealed no evidence to suggest further information was taken. During the attack the forums were taken offline and Firemonkeys Studio reported to users that this was temporary and for maintenance purposes, however the forums have never been restored.<ref name="FiremonkeysKotakuAu">Mark Serrels. [http://www.kotaku.com.au/2014/09/firemonkeys-hacked-last-year-didnt-immediately-inform-users/ "EA's Studio Firemonkeys Hacked Last Year, Didn't Immediately Inform Users"]. ''Kotaku Australia''.</ref> The source that revealed this breach (who has remained anonymous but claims to be a former employee) alleges that e-mail addresses, names and dates of birth were obtained; they also claim that EA suppressed information about the breach. At the time, Firemonkeys Studio had around 40,000 forum users. Under Australian law neither EA nor Firemonkeys Studio was required to disclose the hack.<ref>Jenna Pitcher. [http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/09/10/ea-firemonkeys-forums-hacked-last-year-user-data-compromised "EA Firemonkeys Forums Hacked Last Year, User Data Compromised"]. ''IGN UK''.</ref><ref>Lucian Ciolacu. [http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/gamer-information-exposed-in-electronic-arts-ea-studio-firemonkeys-breach-10092.html "Gamer Information Exposed in Electronic Arts (EA) Studio Firemonkeys Breach"]. ''Hot for Security''.</ref><ref>Ravi Sinha. [http://gamingbolt.com/ea-firemonkeys-forum-hacked-last-year-member-information-stolen-report "EA Firemonkeys Forum Hacked Last Year, Member Information Stolen – Report"]. ''Gaming Bolt''.</ref><ref name="FiremonkeysKotakuAu" /><ref>Zorine Te. [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/an-ea-studios-forums-were-hacked-in-2013-publisher/1100-6422222/ "An EA Studio's Forums Were Hacked In 2013; Publisher "Suppressed This Information" For a Year"]. ''Gamespot''.</ref><ref>William Usher. [http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Admits-40-000-Users-Were-Hacked-Whistleblower-Steps-Forward-67256.html "EA Admits 40,000 Users Were Hacked After Whistleblower Steps Forward"]. ''CinemaBlend''.</ref><ref>Brendan Sinclair. [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-09-10-ea-kept-quiet-on-real-racing-devs-forum-hack "EA kept quiet on Real Racing dev's forum hack"]. ''GamesIndustry''.</ref><ref>John Hertz. [http://gamerssphere.com/2014/09/10/ea-firemonkeys-forums-hacked-last-year-kept-secret/ "EA Firemonkeys Forums Hacked Last Year, Kept it as a Secret"]. ''Games Sphere''.</ref> ''[why is this here and is it even relevant? -- Ellen]'' ''[Because it was covered up due to personal relations][I think it's relevant without personal relationships being responsible for the cover-up, they still covered it up (allegedly) and it was uncovered in the wake of GG - SirBoodle]'' ===Patricia Hernandez's relationship with Anna Anthropy=== :Note: This entire paragraph needs a overhaul, so many policy violations Patricia Hernandez published a blog post on 26 June 2012 indicating that she was moving to Oakland, CA, with Anna Anthropy, following a period of several months in which the two lived together. (WP:RS) Tweets that have been made public strongly indicate that the two were close friends, and perhaps roommates, on 21 December 2012. (WP:OR) On 25 December 2012, Hernandez, as an employee of Kotaku, published an article covering Anthropy's game Drink. There was no apparent concise, upfront, or meaningful disclosure at the time the article was written that there existed any relationship between the writer (Hernandez) and game developer (Anthropy). On 15 January 2013, Hernandez published a second article on Anthropy's game The Hunt for Gay Planet that similarly lacked any distinct or notable disclosure of any conflict of interest. The articles have been retroactively modified to include disclosure of the pair's relationship in the aftermath of criticism. (WP:V) There are indications that they ceased relations as roommates but carried an ongoing friendship in the spring of 2013. (WP:OR) On 18 October 2013, Hernandez again wrote about Anthropy, again without initial disclosure, but has since updated said article as well due to the aforementioned criticism attributed to GamerGate proponents. (WP:V) Stephen Totilo, editor-in-chief of Kotaku, has stated that full disclosure of relationships between article writers and their subject(s) will be provided in the future. (WP:V) Patricia Hernandez' relationship with Christine Love also deserves mentioning since that situation mirrors the misconduct by Patricia in regards to Anna Anthropy. ===Brad Wardell Scandal=== In September 2012, gaming website [http://www.kotaku.co.uk/ Kotaku] ran an article stating that Brad Wardell had filed a lawsuit against former employee Alexandra Miseta, claiming that actions she took immediately before her departure from the company in August 2010 were a major contributing factor in the failure of the company's game ''Elemental: War of Magic'', which was released three weeks after Miseta's departure. The article also stated that Miseta had filed a lawsuit against Wardell for sexual harassment in December 2010, which was still ongoing at the time. The article alleged that "the timing of the new lawsuit suggests it could have more to do with the other court case than it does with Elemental."<ref>Kate Cox. [http://kotaku.com/5940401/pc-gaming-studio-said-she-ruined-their-game-but-only-after-she-sued-the-boss-for-sexual-harassment "PC Gaming Studio Said She Ruined Their Game, But Only After She Sued The Boss For Sexual Harassment"]. ''Kotaku''.</ref> Both of these lawsuits were later dismissed in a settlement and Miseta issued a public apology to Wardell and his company.<ref>Jason Schreier. [http://kotaku.com/stardock-lawsuits-dropped-ex-employee-apologizes-1377925759 "Stardock Lawsuits Dropped, Ex-Employee Apologizes"]. ''Kotaku''.</ref> Brad Wardell has been critical of the original Kotaku article, describing it as inappropriate and biased, he claims that some now viewed him as "tainted" as a result of the allegations and he holds Kotaku responsible for publishing court documents that he claims make "endless false accusations". <ref>The Escapist Staff. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/gamergate-interviews/12397-Brad-Wardell-GamerGate-Interview "Brad Wardell GamerGate Interview"]. ''The Escapist''.</ref> Wardell has also been critical of the journalist that wrote the original Kotaku article, he claims that "the freelancer had an agenda (in her case: Women are victims in the game industry)" and claims that she misrepresented his interactions with Miseta to that end. <ref>James Galizio. [http://techraptor.net/content/fire-away-interview-captain-brad-wardell-ceo-founder-stardock-corporation "An Interview with 'Captain' Brad Wardell; CEO and Founder of Stardock Corporation"]. ''TechRaptor''.</ref> ===Nathan Grayson's relationship with Robin Arnott===
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