The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a press release declaring that it had reached a settlement with Warner Bros. over claims that the games publisher had failed to disclose the fact that it had paid prominent YouTube personalities for coverage of its 2014 game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. In its statement, the FTC used Pewdiepie as an example of one of the YouTubers who had taken money from the publisher in exchange for a gameplay video.
As we previously wrote, Pewdiepie disclosed (at least in text) that his video was sponsored, and that it wasn’t a review at all. These are just some of the facts that aren’t being widely reported by the press, which is pushing the narrative that gamers in general, and proponents of the much-maligned #GamerGate movement are ignoring the issue. #GamerGate purports to be a movement about the ethics in games journalism, but its critics claim it’s a front for the harassment of women in video games despite its many female supporters.
FTC finds PewDiePie and WB guilty of ethical breaches. GamerGate says "not a journalist, no problem" then goes back to shouting about SJWs.
— Andrew Todd (@mistertodd) July 13, 2016
In the interest of full disclosure, I bought into the popular narrative and personally made the mistake of accusing John Bain for erroneously taking credit for uncovering the issue. I was rightfully called out for my error by the community. Having since researched the matter, it’s plain to see that #GamerGate’s influence in the FTC ruling was downplayed, if not completely erased by the gaming press.
Evidence shows that prominent games YouTuber John Bain, better known as TotalBiscuit, was the first to uncover the issue, shedding light on the shocking practice. Arguing for ethics in the video game industry, TotalBiscuit expressed steadfast support for #GamerGate and anyone concerned that members of the press and YouTubers were colluding with game developers. Gamers were right to worry.
Writing in a tweet, TotalBiscuit revealed that Warner Bros. only provided YouTube channels with early copies of the game in exchange for brand deals. Those, like TotalBiscuit, who refused to accept the deal were not given early access. Anyone who accepted the deal agreed to highlight certain elements of the game in a positive light, with final approval from the game publisher.
As an FYI, Shadow of Mordor on PC was given out early to a bunch of Youtube channels for brand deals. Expect lots of content on launch
— John Bain (@Totalbiscuit) September 28, 2014
“The problem is that you can’t review, first impressions, critique or whatever this game on PC prior to launch or even on launch (unless you weaseled your way in as we did) if you don’t take a deal that specifically says ‘you can’t say bad things.’ You don’t see a problem with that? It is the worst case scenario in which a company withholds review copies to maximise potential exposure while keeping critique at bay, it’s about as anti-consumer as it gets,” wrote TotalBiscuit at the time.
Further bringing the issue into the limelight, TotalBiscuit has since made videos about the importance of proper disclosure on YouTube.
At The Escapist, Jim Sterling (who’s unaffiliated with #GamerGate) received a copy of the contract being offered to YouTubers and made a video decrying the practice.
While very few outlets covered the practice to any extent, #GamerGate supporters like John Bain were the first to blow the whistle and make it enough of an issue forcing the FTC to look into it. To Kotaku’s credit, Nathan Grayson was one of the few members of the press to take the issue seriously, offering TotalBiscuit credit for his diligence in exposing the practice.
Pro-#GamerGate journalist William Usher also made extensive inquiries into the matter, soliciting feedback from mainstream outlets like IGN, which rebuffed his requests for discussion. On the Reddit community KotakuInAction, multiple threads sprung up to discuss the issue.
Furthermore, a letter campaign by #GamerGate supporters called “Operation UV” saw hundreds, if not thousands of complaints to the FTC pleading the organization to look into the issue. As one participant noted, “Man this is a weird side-effect of a harassment movement.”
The movement’s detractors have attempted to claim that the FTC only took action because of articles on industry website Gamasutra, and that the influence of #GamerGate supporters was negligible. However, mass e-mails by its proponents encompass a lot more than just non-disclosure on YouTube, which Gamasutra’s coverage was limited to at the time. Evidence shows that the letter campaign also raised concerns over undisclosed affiliate links in product reviews, news, comments, and even Tweets. The FTC guidelines addressed all the specific complaints raised by the gamers, not just the issue of unpaid YouTube endorsements.
Given the facts, it’s plain to see that the #GamerGate movement was unfairly maligned by the same people who are now trying to take credit for the important, and lasting changes to online journalism to the ultimate benefit of consumers.
