1mo ago

Steam is 'an unsafe place for teens and young adults': US senator warns Gabe Newell of 'more intense scrutiny' from the government if Valve doesn't take action against extremist content

www.pcgamer.com Steam is 'an unsafe place for teens and young adults': US senator warns Gabe Newell of 'more intense scrutiny' from the government if Valve doesn't take action against extremist content

US Senator Mark Warner comes less than a week after an ADL report accusing Steam of "normalizing hate and extremism in the gaming community."

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www.pcgamer.com /software/platforms/steam-is-an-unsafe-place-for-teens-and-young-adults-us-senator-warns-gabe-newell-of-more-intense-scrutiny-from-the-government-if-valve-doesnt-take-action-against-extremist-content/

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If you follow the links, they refer to copy pasta's of hatefull stuff including swastikas but no breakdown of what is counted, the use of the happy merchant (a meme with an antisemitic origin used to convey greed) and the use of pepe the frog in profile pics (pepe is a symbol of hate according to the ADL).
The issue I have with the whole here is that I don't subscribe to the premise on which the analysis is based.
IF you assume pepe is a hate symbol, then each case it is used is an expression of hate and furtherance of that hate. I however reject the premise that pepe is a symbol of hate.
The use of the happy merchant is a bit more of a problem, because I see the antisemitic message it has. However I also see a lot of stupid people that don't.. and have seen the image used (probably in antisemitic context referring to greed) but people associate it with greed primarily.. so this one is an issue, I think I refuse part of the premise, namely that the antisemitism part is a dominant factor when the image is used.
These are the 2 main examples, a lot more in the report that have similar caveats.
- I love that people are still doubling down on people pepe means Nazi. ADL big ol swing and a miss.
  
  Pepe to me seems like the opposite of the Confederate flag.
  Pepe is an internet meme that is in some cases used by racist and hateful people to carry their message, but the primary function is internet nonsense.
  The Confederate flag is a symbol or hate and oppression that in some situations is used to express country & westerns ideals of freedom and roaming the country with not a care in the world.. without the racist subtext... however you cannot deny the basis of its use and thus should not use it.
  
  was going to say the same thing, pepe is internet nonsense, but didn't have the words.
  
  That's why these conversations are so cool. It helps all of us give words to some of the things we cannot express properly. Why I also enjoy reading co tributuins by others.. especially if they challenge my preconceptions.
  
  Some cases is an understatement. Ever since The_Donald and Kekistan, Pepe has become a hate symbol due to the wide adoption by far right trolls. Pepe might've never meant to be that, but neither was the Swastika or the roman salute, or other symbols that the Nazis adopted for themselves. The more pressing issue is that you should really not give people on Steam the benefit of the doubt of arguing in good faith. The whole gamergate movement is alive and well there.
  
  As I said before I reject your premise about pepe and it's use. And the swatsticka is a false equivalence.
  I have seen zero substantiation of this overly broad statement except for some ADL fundametalists making claims and the alt-right whacos making claims. I consider both camps equally fringe.
  Also keep telling all these people they are racist loonatics.. at some point they might start to believe you are make it a self fulfilling prophecy. The alt right does the same.. we co-opt the meme and tell people they are one of us.. because we meme the same we must be the same.. or something..
  
  I have seen zero substantiation of this overly broad statement except for some ADL fundametalists making claims and the alt-right whacos making claims.
  I don't care for American institutions, I simply speak out of personal experience on that matter of what I experienced and seen firsthand in many places.
  Also keep telling all these people they are racist loonatics.. at some point they might start to believe you are make it a self fulfilling prophecy.
  Ah, yes. They're only racist because I called them racist. That's the typical bullshit excuse racists use, claiming that the other side pushed them to become racist.
  Here we see that you are also arguing in bad faith, and not just out of ignorance.
  
  Could the first point on anecdotal evidence be that you see very specific instances. And/or confirmation bias? I'm not saying your observations are invalid... Just maybe not representative for the bulk of use cases.. pepe is in reaction emojis on discord.. in gifs on keyboards.. and he is just silly. Does that mean all people that use them are aware of what the dogwistle to some might be.. I'd argue .. they are not.
  And I think that in regards to calling people racist for doing innocuous things does have the potential to alienate people from your stance and that void is something the alt right gladly fills. And I think that is a danger that should be acknowledged. And I don't mean be kind to open Nazis.. I more mean "don't ascribe to malice what can easily be explained by incompetence".
  
  Discord is equally full of racist gamergate incels. Not sure what keyboards you're referring to that have any sort of gifs, but I also fail to see how any of that is prove of it not being used by those people.
  And if you think crying about black NPCs in video games, or other anti-woke shit, is not being racist / hateful, then you're just part of the same problem.
  I've posted in elsewhere already but: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P55t6eryY3g
  
  There you go again.. creating this distance and making me out as a bad guy.. I'm wondering what your end game is?
  So is discord a Nazi bar? Is that what you are saying? Because I've found myself in plenty of discords of games that have fun low key communities with an image of peppe holding a cool sign amongst all the other game and internet nonsense..
  And yes the radicalization pipeline is freaking scary. But keep in mind that constantly alienating people like what you seem to be doing.. creates the vacuum to be filled.
  Years ago when Rogan was still a rube interviewing deer hunters, taxidermists, astronauts and other real people.. I Nopee out when the peterson, Jones lineup became common.. I saw the swing happening.. it was vicious.. and I'll bet they took a whole swath of his audience with them.
  The left needs to provide a narrative, something that people can latch on to and aspire to.. to pull them in, because the policies and goals are what we all need. At this moment screetching, calling everyone a Nazi and alienating people is not helping anyone..
  
  I don't alienate anyone other than those who clearly are hateful and toxic in nature, including trolls arguing in bad faith, such as you who loves to put words into my mouth. And I'm not a "screeching" libtard or whatever your US centric green hair memes are.
  Rogan has always been a far right pundit btw. That's kinda the point I'm trying to make here. Radicalization happens not by telling people to swing the Nazi flag, but subtly through stupid memes and how woke culture is going to ruin their lives.
  
  With friends like you...
  
  Iirc, when the ADL put out their guidance on Pepe, it was during the 2016 election when Pepe was being actively coopted by alt-rightera and neo Nazis. One of those "take something innocuous and poison it by using it as a pseudo secret signal to other bigots.
  I vaguely recall them saying that Pepe was a hate symbol only insofar as it was being used for that purpose. I wonder if that changed, or if this investigation is ignoring that nuance to hamfist a "hate speech" argument.
  
  I fear it is the latter. Nuance seems to get lost over time. It's maybe the opposite of black people in the US using the N word amongst themselves in an attempt to take it back.. I don't think that this was successful by any measure as it just caused the racist to point at it and say.. see they even say it about themselves because only hoodlums (what a word) use it...
  
  If you look at the same section of the ADL website that Pepe is in, you'll see the first page is just full of simple numbers (symbols are listed alphabetically). I don't see anyone doing a similar study to the one posted here, but with "100%" instead of Pepe.
  Also, side note, ADL lists "ACAB" as a hate symbol because some skinheads are racist and use the phrase. They have a similar disclaimer in the Pepe listing that context is an important consideration.

113 comments