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That is very true, but you also have to keep in mind the flip side of this. The people who know the most about a subject, including ourselves, are likely the ones who will be most biased about it.

Not saying that is exactly what happened in the NYT piece, but that is certainly feasible in situations like this. The first person who writes the article is the person who was on duty in the newsroom or its virtual equivalent when the news broke. They don't know the details or history of the greater issue, so they stick to reporting the facts. Later, journalists with more domain expertise rewrite and add to the story. Maybe in this instance they are already knowledgeable about Reddit's questionable history with sexism. They see a story about a sexist website deposing a female CEO who is a controversial figure in gender relations (for lack of a better term). Suddenly the story gets reframed with that in mind. The extra opinion is only added because they know more about the subject.



In this case, Mike Isaac, the original writer, seems to have a good amount of domain expertise, as starting last week he has been posting frequently on Reddit in an official role, discussing/answering questions about his reporting on the site. (Also claims to have been a redditor for five years, presumably on some other account.)

Oddly, all of his official account's posts have been in the GamerGate subreddit.

https://www.reddit.com/user/MikeIsaac


Good catch.

Up until now, no one has pointed out the article eerily resembles the tones that began GamerGate.

The more you look at it, the more it appears to be a deliberate troll to highlight the irony of injecting identity politics into journalism.

He's a trojan horse. https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/3cur16/im_m...

Also, so called "anti-gamer gaters" don't simply go off and offer AMA's to "gamergaters".

Anti-GG's modus operandi is to cast aside any discussion as misogyny or harassment.

Both sides harass each other, unfortunately.


It's funny that a writer for the New York Times is apparently tainted because he held an AMA.

An AMA which he held deliberately vague and where he made various of the claims that critics of "GamerGate" make to begin with, for which he was amply downvoted at times: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/3cur16/im_m...

https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/3cur16/im_m...

https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/3cur16/im_m...

Again, what does this say about an ideology that sees someone writing for a giant publication as "tainted" simply for posting in a certain Subreddit, even if he largely agrees with them?


The people who know the most about a subject, including ourselves, are likely the ones who will be most biased about it.

Which isn't necessarily any worse than the external bias that the reporter/editor may have when covering a subject. And that bias is amplified coming from a place of ignorance.




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