#Gamergate

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in September 2014.

The "heckler's veto" is a fairly well-known concept in debates about freedom of speech. Here's an example: An extremely controversial speaker is invited to give a speech on campus. Opponents find out about the speech and write threat-filled letters to the newspaper, create hateful graffiti across the campus and threaten to disrupt the speech in a potentially-violent way.

Not wanting trouble, the president of the college cancels the invitation to the speaker. The result is that the aggressive opponents have prevented speech that they hate. That is the heckler's veto.

Something like the heckler's veto may be happening in the game industry. Women who critique the messages in some video games have had their photos and personal information hacked, and even received death threats. Is this a new media heckler's veto? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is an online threat just as serious as a face-to-face threat? Why or why not? Should online threats be investigated as possible crimes?

•"The Internet is looking for a reason to be a total scumbag to you." Is that statement true or not?

•Why do people go to all the trouble of hacking photos and making threats?

•Is the situation in the NPR story a heckler's veto?

•Is the gaming world sexist?

•Is there an answer to this type of harassment?