#Bendgate was so last month. A new viral hashtag is taking over Twitter, and no, it has nothing to do with iPhones. Instead, the hashtag plays off the same themes from this summer's popular #GamerGate discussions.
#GamerGate first made its rounds in August after a blog post went viral from an ex-boyfriend of video game developer Zoe Quinn. In the post, he alleges that Quinn was only successful because of her sexual relationship with a video game journalist.
Even though the allegations where found to be false, it led to the rise of the popular #GamerGate campaign, a cause dedicated to journalistic integrity. But the movement morphed into something much uglier and came to represent the misogyny and harassment women in the game industry experience.
After writer Tauriq Moosa tweeted a link to a conversation he had about PS4 versus XBox One to show that at least gamers are still talking about games and "not yelling about women," one Twitter follower wondered what would happen if #GamerGate was applied to the publishing industry.
And thus, #ReaderGate was born.
Using #ReaderGate, Twitter users are exploring themes similar to #GamerGate, encouraging book reviewers to get back to the basics. And of course, what would Twitter be without the jokes.
Check of the best #ReaderGate tweets below.
Don't understand #ReaderGate? Maybe this graphic will help. pic.twitter.com/NwK7LHGvka
— Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke) November 6, 2014
Huckleberry Finn is just a fun adventure story for kids! SJWs, stop making it about race! #readergate — Greta Christina (@GretaChristina) November 6, 2014
Why are SJWs like Upton Sinclair trying to force their political BS into the meatpacking industry? Go make your own industry. #Readergate
— Super NES Chalmers (@UnseenPerfidy) November 6, 2014
Best way to fix problems in billion dollar book industry is to target self-published authors with less than 1000 readers #Readergate — Tauriq Moosa (@tauriqmoosa) November 6, 2014
What happened to judging books on their merits? Typeface, legibility, length. Objective measurements, not emotional agendas! #readergate
— Alexandra Erin (@alexandraerin) November 6, 2014
#ReaderGate goeth #Medieval pic.twitter.com/dKvFCNPZMQ — Heina Dadabhoy (@heinousdealings) November 6, 2014
Photo Credit: Rosmary/ Flickr
