Vice was one of the leading voices that falsely claimed that #GamerGate was about harassment, misogyny, and sending death and rape threats to female game developers. It turns out that after some of their outspoken anti-#GamerGate staff were fired for alleged sexual misconduct, sexual assault and rape, several more of their top executives are now being suspended for sexual misconduct following an investigation that spawned after an exposé by the New York Times was published back on December 23rd, 2017.

According to a report from the CBC that was published on January 2nd, 2018, Vice has suspended the company’s president, Andrew Creighton, and the chief digital officer, Mike Germano.

Both executives were part of the New York Times exposé, where it was revealed that in Creighton’s case the company had paid out a hefty $135,000 settlement after an employee was allegedly fired for not reciprocating Creighton’s sexual advances.

Germano had also allegedly pulled a woman onto his lap during a party and also made it known that there were certain women he didn’t want to hire in order to have sex with them.

Following the New York Times piece, co-founders Suroosh Alvi and Shane Smith released a joint statement, apologizing for the inordinate amount of sexual misconduct and “harassment” culture cultivated at Vice, stating that they’ve been working to weed out “misogynistic” views from the media conglomerate…

“Vice began 23 years ago as a punk magazine exploring the subversive counterculture that our writers, our readers and we were a part of. We were vehemently anti-censorship, anti-establishment and apolitical, and we wanted to build a company based on egalitarian principles. “Ten years ago, we set out on a new journey, moving beyond covering just streetwear, drugs and sex, to news and social justice issues. Over the last decade, we have severed ties with colleagues who espoused misogynistic and extremist ideologies, and evolved Vice from a publication with a tiny staff to a media company employing thousands of the most talented creative minds all over the world.”

Vice was renown for publishing anti-#GamerGate articles during the early days of the consumer revolt. Gamers called out major news media organizations for their corrupt behavior and advocated for better ethics in media journalism. #GamerGate denizens took the fight to the doorstep of the FTC in order to encourage better disclosure practices among YouTubers and video game reviewers. After enough pressure, many enthusiast outlets did update their disclosure practices.

Despite publishing multiple lies and defamatory comments about #GamerGate, the consumer revolt has managed to stand tall in reputation above many of its detractors, who have fallen victim to the exact same kind of conduct for which they accused the gamers of #GamerGate.

(Thanks for the news tip Migi)