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**Update 1 – 2015-07-21 – 20:10: CEST****

As if DDoS attacks wasn´t bad enough…When I originally published this article about Gawker on the 18th of July, we started to get hundreds and hundreds of brute force attacks against our homepage. And it didn´t stop before last night (July 20th). We have never (ever) been under such a heavy attack before, at least not when it comes to brute force attacks. As for the attacker ip´s and such, most ip´s are of American origin. However, I think that the vast majority of the attacks has been done via bots, since the same password and username has been used over and over again. Nevertheless, I found this to be rather alarming, as we have already experienced DDoS attacks for several days now. I can´t prove who´s behind these attacks, but I don´t believe for a second that it´s just a coincidence that the attacks start shortly after we´have published an article of sensitive or controversial nature (like when we published this article about Gawker).

Anyhow, now you know the deal. So we will do our very best to upgrade our defenses against DDoS attacks and brute force attacks. As for Gawker, I guess that you have already heard that Editor-in-chief Max Read and executive editor Tommy Craggs has resigned from Gawker Media? If not, then now you know. And it´s 100% true, just take a look at the pictures down below:

That´s a good start for sure. However, will this really improve Gawkers ethics and journalistic standards and practices? I hardly doubt it. As Gawker is Gawker, “Same, same but different” you know…Oh well, Hulk Hogan couldn´t care less though. As he has a 100 million-dollar lawsuit going down with Gawker. So that´s going to become a real nail biter of a court case for sure.

Source:

theguardian

reddit

https://archive.is/73jJX

https://archive.is/zrtDf

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Gawker today, gone tomorrow

I thought that I had heard and seen everything there is to know about Gawker up to this point. Well, I was wrong. It´s not entirely all my fault though, as I had no idea that Gawker was founded back in 2003 (by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers). So they have been around for a very long time (+12 years), and during those years, Gawker has done quite a “few” unethical moves as so-called “journalists.”. And I’m not just talking about “clickbait,” “ragebait” and “yellow journalism,” no. I’m also talking about everything from leaking Tarantino´s script for “Hateful Eight,” spreading Hulk Hogans sex tape to publishing an article about David Geithner (Condé Nast´s CFO) sex life (Geithner´s private mails) on their homepage.

And the list over Gawker´s unethical journalism practices is a never-ending story really. As they´ve been working like this for many years now. As for me, I have made mistakes as a writer/journalist, but I’m not even close to any of Gawker´s journalistic blunders. Still, I have learned my lessons the hard way. In fact, I even have a post-it note nailed to my wall over GOOD journalistic practices (Journalism ethics and standards). And those would be the following:

– No clickbait

– No ragebait

– No yellow journalism

– Double check facts, evidence, etc.

– Proofread twice

– Always check with both sides of a story (reach out for a comment if possible )

– Rumors remain rumors until proven otherwise

– Always disclose any kind of relationship (videos, articles and so on)

– If you´re not 100% sure that it´s true, then don´t claim it to be true

– Avoid E-celeb drama

– IF any mistakes has been made, then apologize publicly and correct the error (s) asap!

Let´s just say that I want to be able to sleep at night, I also want to be able to look myself in the mirror in the morning. As I got a conscience and good morals. So I don´t want to sell my soul and walk down the same path as Gawker has chosen. Because I’m not willing to become everything that I despise just so that I can earn a lot of money. It´s simply not worthy it, at least not from my stand point. Besides, the world is dark and evil enough as it already is. So I sure don´t want to add any more darkness to the mix. That´s also why I’m somewhat shocked to hear that Gawker is said to have over 23 million visits per month (2015) according to SimilarWeb (a third-party web analytics app). Like, how is that even possible? (why do people even read their garbage in the first place?). Hell, Gawker even has a 630 global rank on Alexa.

Sure, one could argue that the main problem isn´t really Gawker, that the “real” problem would instead by Gawkers audience and readers. As Gawker simply creates content that their readers love to read (if people want to read garbage, then there will always be someone who’s ready to satisfy that need. Money talks…). And keep in mind that Gawker has been around since 2003, so they have spitted out their venom for over 12 years now. Then again, I don´t know how many of those +23 million visits per month that´s generated via ragebait articles.

The boycott against Gawker

Anyhow, despite that, the fact still remains. Gawker has no morals, no conscience nor any “good” journalism ethics. That´s also why the boycott against Gawker has taken off like a space shuttle (mainly due to the recent events with Hulk Hogan and David Geithner). And you know what? Gawker had it coming, and Hulk Hogan might just body slam them to hell with his 100 million dollar lawsuit. You should also keep in mind that David Geithner (Condé Nast´s CFO) might sue Gawker as well, because of their recent article about him.

Gawkers crimes over the years

So, how many crimes and “bad” ethnical practices has Gawker pulled over the years? A whole lot, to be honest, more than I could ever imagine. However, I have listed some of Gawkers most famous journalistic meltdowns down below:



Source: Wikipedia



Gawker Stalker – On March 14, 2006, Gawker.com launched Gawker Stalker Maps, a mashup of the site’s Gawker Stalker feature and Google Maps.

Hulk Hogan Sex Tape – On October 4, 2012, Daulerio posted a short clip of Hulk Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge having sex

Condé Nast CFO – Escort Outing – On July 16, 2015, Jordan Sargent posted a story about a gay porn star’s alleged text correspondence with an executive from Condé Nast. The article claimed the individual had planned to go to Chicago to meet the escort, and pay him $2,500 for sex.



Anti-Gawker supporters joins Gamergate to fight Gawker

All of this combined has made a lot of people really angry, and rightfully so. What´s extra interesting in this case is that anti-Gawker supporters have joined the #GamerGate movement. That came as no surprise to me though, as #GamerGate is no fans of Gawker. So you could say that people have joined forces to pull the plug on Gawker (thus the Gawker boycott). And by the looks of things, Gawker is down for the count really good this time. So “if” Hulk Hogan wins his lawsuit against Gawker, and “if” the boycott against Gawker becomes a huge success (which would result in advertisers removing their ads from Gawker´s homepage).

Then Gawker “might” just not be able to recover from all of this. In short, Gawker´s days as Internet´s nr 1 assho** could soon be over.



Even GamerGhazi thinks that Gawker has gone to far

I should also mention that it´s not “just” #GamerGate and anti-Gawker supporters who think that Gawker has hit the rock bottom with their recent articles. Nope, because even GamerGhazi (Aka anti-Gamergate) thinks that Gawker has gone too far. So even though there is more than one side that´s involved in the Gawker conflict/boycott, everyone can still agree on the fact that Gawker has messed up really hard this time.

Blame everything on #GamerGate

So I find it to be rather funny that “some” people blame everything on #GamerGate. Like it´s their fault that Gawker exists, and that GG is to blame for their fishy articles and broken journalistic practices. Gawker is Gawker. It’s as easy as that. That´s also the reason why Gawker is going to get what they deserve in the end, as karma tends to bite you in the ass when you least expect it.

With this said, I want to dedicate Ministry´s song “Thieves” to Gawker. As I find it to be a rather suitable song given the current situation. Other than that, feel free to comment what you think about Gawker and their most recent articles.

Source:

news.com.au

usatoday

oneangrygamer

https://archive.is/WLmaI

https://archive.is/f1Ja0

***Disclaimer***

This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.



Robin “V-Act” Ek

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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Tags: #GamerGate, Ethics, Gawker, Gawker media, Hulk Hogan