Gamergate is described as a culture war over cultural diversification, artistic recognition, feminism in video games, social criticism in video games, and the social identity of gamers. Gamergate supporters frequently denied that the harassment took place, falsely claiming it to be manufactured by the victims. These claims were widely dismissed as trivial, conspiracy theories, baseless, or unrelated to actual issues of ethics in gaming and journalism. Gamergaters created conspiracy theories falsely accusing Quinn of an unethical relationship with journalist Nathan Grayson, and more broadly alleging unethical collusion between the press and feminists, progressives, and social critics.
Gamergate proponents ('Gamergaters') stated that they were a social movement, but lacked well-defined goals, a coherent message, and leaders. The harassment campaign included doxing, threats of rape, and death threats. Beginning in August 2014, Gamergate targeted women in the video game industry, most notably feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu, among others. Gamergate was a misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism and progressivism in video game culture, conducted using the hashtag '#Gamergate'.
