British Police Withdraw from Ecuadorian Embassy Housing Julian Assange
British police have been withdrawn from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has sought refuge since 2012.
Latest News
Cracked.com Editor Temporarily Banned from Reddit
The executive editor of Cracked.com, Jason “David Wong” Pargin inadvertently made himself the victim of internet slapstick this week after he was temporarily “shadowbanned” on Reddit for breaking a rule just moments after he accused his critics of violating it
Internet Governance Forum Plans New ‘Anti-Cyberviolence’ Push
The United Nations report on “cyberviolence against women and girls,” which called on national governments to censor the internet, was withdrawn for revision earlier this week following widespread criticism and mockery. But a new hashtag by the U.N-created Internet Governance Forum (IGF) designed to spread the concept even further is still scheduled for today.
Breitbart’s Milo Yiannopoulos Banned from University Debate About… Censorship
Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos has been banned by his own alma mater, the University of Manchester, from participating in a debate on campus about free speech.
U.N. Broadband Commission Pulls Feminist ‘Cyber Violence’ Report
An extraordinary United Nations report on “Cyberviolence Against Women and Girls” has been withdrawn pending revision by the U.N. Broadband Commission, the body that published it. This followed widespread criticism from across the political spectrum.
Online retailer Direct 2 Drive trolls Social Justice Warriors
Direct 2 Drive, an online games retailer, has adopted the PR strategy of the moment: relentless mockery of hand-wringing social justice warriors on the web. D2D recently launched a tongue-in-cheek “Trigger Warning Week,” a limited offer of 50 – 80%
The Authoritarian Left Is Getting Comically Desperate
For those who follow the unfolding battle between cultural libertarianism and nannying authoritarians, it has been an interesting few weeks. Late last month, a report from U.N. Women called on national governments to enforce censorship of the internet. It cited the
Jack Dorsey Returns as Permanent Twitter CEO
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has been voted in as the permanent CEO of Twitter by the social media site’s board. This follows a three-month stretch as interim CEO following the resignation of his predecessor, Dick Costolo in July. Dorsey co-founded Twitter
Oregon Shooting Leads To Speculation About 4chan
State officials have estimated that between 7 and 13 people have been killed at a mass shooting the Umpqua Community College in Oregon. Media outlets have drawn a link between the shooter and /r9k/, a board for social recluses on the
Crowdfunding Site Patreon Hacked
Crowdfunding site Patreon yesterday announced that a hacker had gained unauthorised access to its user database, as well as email addresses, posts, registered names, and some billing and shipping addresses. In a post on the site, Patreon CEO Jack Conte
Progressive Columnist Arthur Chu Wants to Kill Web Freedom
Radical cultural authoritarian and Salon contributor Arthur Chu has called for the repeal of a key legal foundation of free and open discourse in the U.S, which protects web hosts from legal liability for third-party comments on their sites. In an article
Free Speech May Be Unintentionally Strengthened … By Zoe Quinn
A high-profile gag order filed in the state of Massachusetts by Zoe Quinn, a controversial progressive games developer, against her ex-boyfriend Eron Gjoni, has been vacated. The case raised questions of how far the law can silence individuals on the grounds of
SPJ considers games journalism awards
After a year of unprecedented rebellion against media elites by gamers, the Society of Professional Journalists has “tentatively agreed” to host gaming journalism awards, in an apparent attempt to improve ethical standards in the games press. Board member Michael Koretzky,
Hellraising website 4chan under new ownership
The anonymous imageboard 4chan is under new ownership. Christopher Poole (aka “moot”), its founder and long-term administrator, has announced that the site has been sold to Hiroyuki Nishimura, the Japanese imageboard pioneer who inspired the creation of the site. 4chan
Left-Wing Dominance of Academia Faces Challenge
For decades, academia has been stereotyped as a bastion of left-wing dogma. That may be about to change. Hailed by Steven Pinker as “one of the most important papers in the recent history of the social sciences,” a team of leading
GamerGate: A Year in Review
One year has passed since the start of GamerGate, an online uprising of gamers against poor journalistic standards, political correctness, and moral crusaders in the world of video games. The gamers’ rebellion has had an extraordinary impact. In addition to
Social Justice Warriors Attack Tabletop Gaming, Get Their Facts Hopelessly Wrong
DriveThruRPG, one of the largest online distributors of role-playing games, is embroiled in controversy because online social justice activists discovered the site was selling an RPG entitled Tournament of Rapists. RPGs often describe gory battles in fictional settings, and aren’t known for avoiding violent themes. Rolemaster, for
The EU Gave Video Game Developers £2.4m Last Year. Why?
The European Union paid out £2.4 million of taxpayers’ money to game developers under the ‘Creative Europe’ programme last year, according to the Daily Express. Thirty-one game developers, including four from the UK, successfully received payouts sometimes exceeding £100,000. It isn’t necessarily a
Vox Day book turns Amazon Kindle store into battleground
The online culture wars have moved out of comments sections and into Amazon’s Kindle Store. Following the publication of a book by the controversial sci-fi author Theodore Beale aka Vox Day, two parody e-books surged to the top of the store’s
Cultural Libertarians From History
I recently wrote about a new wave of academics and media personalities, whom I call cultural libertarians. These iconoclasts are resisting the nannying puritanism of both left- and right-wing cultural elites and “social justice warriors.”
Ice-T to gamers: “The press will always be the enemy”
It’s the anniversary of GamerGate, and the movement just got a birthday present. Earlier today, musician and actor Ice-T attracted support from gamers after he condemned outrage culture and misrepresentations of gamers in the press. Ice-T’s comments came after GamerGate
Rise of the Cultural Libertarians
A new force is emerging in the culture wars. Authoritarians of all stripes, from religious reactionaries to left-wing “social justice warriors,” are coming under fire from a new wave of thinkers, commentators, and new media stars who reject virtually all of their
Why Do People Imitate Oppressed Minorities?
Last summer, veteran Washington Post columnist George Will argued that victimhood in America, thanks to the efforts of progressives, had become a “coveted status that confers privilege.” The column was highly controversial, and generated significant outrage.
Soccer Fans Rejoice: The 4chan Summer Cup Is The Sporting Event Of The Year
The Women’s World Cup is over, and soccer fans across the civilised world are no doubt starting to feel the pangs of withdrawal. They need not despair. Although the WWC was just as thrilling as we all expected, there’s another
Society of Professional Journalists’ #GamerGate Debate Suspended By Bomb Threat
The Society of Professional Journalists’ debate on the GamerGate controversy had to be evacuated earlier today after the venue hosting the event was targeted by multiple bomb threats. Police arrived at the venue shortly after 2pm, interrupting a panel discussing how the
