'Same playbook, just on a wider scale'
Josh Topolsky: It seems like we’re in a particularly rotten place in America right now. We have Trump controlling the White House in a way—and with people like Steve Bannon—that seems dangerous. It feels somewhat out of control. I assume you’re following this pretty closely.
Brianna Wu: Steve Bannon—this is the editor in charge of Breitbart—legitimized vast parts of Gamergate. This is extremely personal to me.
JT: He is, in many ways, a major figure in the “alt-right” and Gamergate movements which are linked. I mean, they seem very linked to me.
BW: It’s the same people. It’s the exact same people; same playbook, just on a wider scale.
JT: Let’s talk a little bit about your experience with Gamergate. You dealt with enormous amounts of harassment from these people. Really violent and vile.
BW: Violent. I had to leave my house. They targeted my company’s financials repeatedly.
This is a great listen.
Wu speaks from first-hand experience to the source, damaging effects, and cascading effect of Gamergate and it’s current place in American politics.
It’s easy not to take a term with the word “gamer” in it seriously. But, as Wu explains, the lack of serious investigation into Gamergate and knowledge of tech in general is likely a big part how we ended up in this mess. It’s candidates like Wu—with deep knowledge of tech, engineering, privacy, and security—that will truly revolutionize the US government and make America 21st century ready again.