CIIS Public Programs presents
Life after Gamergate: A Conversation with Zoë Quinn
Wednesday, September 27 – 7pm
You’ve heard about the dark side of the internet—hackers, anonymous mobs attacking an unlucky victim, revenge porn—but that kind of thing would never happen to you, right? Zoë Quinn used to feel the same way. She is a video game developer whose ex-boyfriend unleashed a rambling blog post strategically built out of half-truths, lies, and private information, which he used to incite a mob hell-bent on ruining her life. They began by hacking her accounts and stealing nude photos. Then they harassed her family, friends, and colleagues. Finally they escalated the attack into stalking her while making threats to rape and murder her. This mob organized into a so-called movement known as Gamergate. What started out in a dark corner of the internet grew into an all-out culture war that helped shape the alt-right and has become increasingly mainstream. From trolling, to cyberbullying, to fake news, to threats, online abuse can and does happen to anyone. It’s designed to get someone to hide out of fear, and it can be devastating. Instead of disappearing, Zoë fought back. She started Crash Override Network, a crisis hotline and advocacy group. After working for years with the biggest names in tech, law, media, and online security, as well as thousands of targets of online abuse, she is armed with a wealth of knowledge, which she has poured into her book CRASH OVERRIDE: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate. CRASH OVERRIDE is part fierce, funny memoir, part bold manifesto, and part field guide for combating online harassment. Join Zoë for a rare public conversation about her experience at the center of the Gamergate controversy and her journey to overcome it by working to make the internet a better, safer place for everyone.