The
FBI released a heavily redacted PDF dossier of its investigation into #gamergate. The conclusion in their own words;
"To date, all available investigative steps[1] failed to identity any subjects or actionable leads. San Francisco USAO [...] will not be able to prosecute any threats against victims or subject(s) ... [and that the] ... investigation be administratively closed due to lack of leads". [pp169]
Reading through the entire document its hardly surprising the investigation concluded the way it did as much of the 'evidence' amounts to little more then hearsay and conjecture at best, at worst, the product of self-aggrandizing histrionics, or of serially paranoid fantasists[2]; it's Eric Cartman jumped up on coffee using his extensive on/off repertoire of faux emotion/outrage trying to explain his way out of yet another scam before shouting "screw you guys".
The few incidents that
do warrant concern literally ("liderally") have nothing to do with "#gamergate" and instead are the direct consequence of petty in-group fighting, the alleged victims jostling for notoriety among their own peers, blow-back from constant ideologically testing and antagonising each other[3].
In this context the only meaningful conclusion to draw from the report is that #gamergate, as the cohesive movement media, critics and opponents vociferously claim it to be, simply does not exist as a reality, certainly not in any way an organised group frequently and disingenuously described as engaging in "
domestic terrorism"[4].
It's this negligently propagated narrative, that gamergate exists
exclusively to harass, abuse and commit "
online violence against women (in Tech)"[5], that has done more harm than good because it perpetuates the existence of a fictional monster, a Sasquatch fleetingly glimpsed in the woods, evidenced only through suspicious looking plaster-casts of manicured feet replete with partial impressions of toe-rings and traces of black nail-polish. As a result there is simply nothing cohesive for the FBI to investigate; a few individuals being 'stupid' does not a terrorist organisation make.
But like all things #gamergate, reality and the FBI's conclusion is being resoundingly criticised, dismissed or ignored for sake of the boogieman's continued existence[6];
"In the dark of night,
Say "gamergate" thrice,
For the boogieman to appear".
Resources-
Tips for dealing with online harassment or abuse.
Footnotes:
[1] investigatory steps mentioned in the Document included (but not specifically limited to) issuance of Grand Jury Subpoenas to Twitter, Google and Microsoft et al, other data requests to other service providers/websites, the use of the Palantir data-mining platform (not the NSA platform), moving the investigation to San Francisco, a number of dedicated agents, etc.
[2] on several occasions the Complainants appear to ignore Agents advice not to publicly discuss the incidents, even on occasion to the detriment of the safety of others. On different occasions same Complainants appear to be withholding critical information that might identity certain individuals, or assist their timeline discovery.
[3] gamergate is an effective smokescreen for its supposed victims to perpetrate their own particularly egregious activities.
[4] using Google Search, "gamergate domestic terrorism" currently returns c.29,000 hits (UK based search).
[5] using Google Search, "online violence against women in tech" currently returns c.5,000,000 hits (UK based search).
[6] the FBI report being "an injustice" is entirely relative as being a 'victim' of #gamergate turns out to be hugely lucrative
