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Bully hunter girls4/9/2023 “Most gamers don’t experience harassment, and more importantly, 99%+ of gamers don’t do the harassing. “The way BullyHunters represented the gaming community was wrong and disingenuous,” SteelSeries’ statement reads. SteelSeries, which has been at the center of the debate since the campaign was first announced, posted a public statement on Facebook addressing its participation and condemning the organization’s tactics. “Various tweets show wrongdoing by host, Zombi Unicorn, which are actions that Diverse Gaming Coalition does not condone”īoth Vertagear and the Diverse Gaming Coalition say in independent statements that Bully Hunters campaign organizers gave them inadequate information, but the companies continued regardless. Our biggest mistake was not thoroughly vetting the details of the campaign to ensure that the execution would be up to the proper standards expected, and we apologize for that and the horrendous results of this event.” “However, the information that we received before the start of the campaign not only contradicted the execution of it, but we discovered after the fact that it was sorely lacking. “When we were approached with the background and goals of Bully Hunters, we put our faith in the cause and the organizers,” Vertagear’s statement reads. The methods used to bring attention to the harassment that women face left the companies feeling uncomfortable with how the issue was represented, according to public statements on Facebook. Even the Bully Hunters website and Twitter account were taken down over the weekend.Ĭompanies like Vertagear, CyberPowerPC and SteelSeries - as well as nonprofit bodies like Diverse Gaming Coalition that partnered with the organization - are now distancing themselves from Bully Hunters following the overwhelmingly negative response to the event. Critics on Twitter started pointing at holes in the event’s setup, which led to almost everyone involved backing away from the disastrous stream. Every aspect of the event was scrutinized - from the staged gameplay to the mental health statistics provided on stream. The backlash that was already brewing after initial news reports became unmanageable following the event. “The way BullyHunters represented the gaming community was wrong and disingenuous” Paste Games’ assistant editor Holly Green wrote about her concerns, pointing out that, “Not only does engaging griefers and trolls validate their negative behavior, it can also backfire and antagonize them, increasing the aggression towards their targets.” It was the group’s anti-harassment techniques, however - which encouraged players to go in and take out bad actors - that drew the most ire. Even the use of pre-recorded footage during a live event raised alarms. Their concerns were compounded after one host’s personal history of antagonizing people on Twitter and using homophobic language was dredged up, and questions about the involvement of companies like SteelSeries were aired. Reporters and other industry members criticized the group’s harassment countermeasures before the livestream ever kicked off. A debut livestream, which reportedly featured pre-recorded, staged gameplay footage and specially branded SteelSeries headphones used for charity giveaways, aired Thursday night. The Bully Hunters website described the collective as a “vigilante hit squad of elite female gamers” who will enter CS:GO games when called upon, evaluate the situation and take out an offending player if the case is determined to be severe enough. Original story: In just under 72 hours, the vigilante gaming group Bully Hunters went from an idealistic anti-harassment campaign to a prime example of what can happen when seemingly good intentions go wrong.īully Hunters is an initiative produced by marketing agency FCB Chicago, composed of an all-female organization made up of Counter - Strike: Global Offensive players trying to raise awareness of in-game harassment. SteelSeries helped connect us with a few gamers and provided some headsets for the live event. In most cases they were just supporting the cause. “All other organizations mentioned in the campaign did not provide any kind of financial or formal sponsorship. “The sole creator of the campaign was FCB Chicago,” Cooke said. “As this effort did not live up to our high standards, we decided to end this program, but hope the conversation it has raised around ending harassment in gaming continues,” Cooke said.Ĭooke added that FCB is looking “forward to finding new, more effective ways in the future to fight bullying in gaming and will share details on those when we are ready.”Ĭooke also cleared up a few unanswered questions about the campaign - mainly who was paid and whether the brand partners received any compensation for their role in the initiative. Update: Brandon Cooke, FCB’s global chief communications officer, told Polygon via email today that the Bully Hunters program has come to an end.
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