this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
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Following his trial for defamation of the families of the children and school staff killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is using Valve Corp.’s Steam, the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games, to sell an Infowars-themed video game. Jones claims to have earned hundreds of thousands in revenue from the video game, yet he has refused to pay the Sandy Hook families. Alex Jones: NWO Wars also mirrors and cartoonishly repackages the conspiracy theorist’s regularly violent, hateful rhetoric despite the platform’s policies against hate speech.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Why not? It’s not like the kids are going to boycott them. Boycotts are only for easy to refuse things. Or things that sound good in a instagram post.

Not for actual thinks they like and can’t live without.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's how boycotts have always worked. Boycotts have only been successful when people already didn't like the thing they were boycotting.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

I looovvveee tollhouse cookies, crunch bars, KitKats and stouffer’s French bread pizzas but I still don’t buy them, even though they are like the only people to make a wide range of frozen dinners, and I am not even a little bit salty about it, definitely, not at all…

So yeah, some people do stick to their morals over creature comforts.

Even when it really sucks.

I did just remember Schwann’s is a thing though, so maybe nestle is good for something at least.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Valve allowing that dingus to sell a game while refusing to pay his victims families?

Sounds like a good reason to boycott to me.

But no one will.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I understand now! Yes, that would be an excellent reason for a boycott, but it never works because people never seem to be willing to sacrifice even the smallest amount of convenience for the greater good. I'd be in, and a lot of others probably would be too, but how does one even organize something like that? I think that's another part of the problem. For a boycott to work, it has to be well planned and organized.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

I boycott Nestlé, and I have ran into someone in the world who does the same.

So in my little town if there is a chance that the two of us ran into each other at the same Walmart, right as I was explaining to my kid why we couldn’t buy that type of bottled water, I think that there are a bunch of us boycotting nestle while unorganized.

Overtime cents add up to dollars, even if we can’t bring them down, we can still help them not grow as quickly.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

To the best of my knowledge Valve allows basically everything that's not outright illegal. They aren't nearly as much of a "good" corporation as they're often framed as. They'll happily provide a platform for and take their 30% from anyone, including racists, misogynists, homophobes, etc.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Or maybe they don't see it's their place to gatekeep the store based on their own morals. If you start - where do you draw the line? Some examples like such games may be obvious, but there will be a lot more that are less so.

If people disagree with the message - nobody forces them to buy it after all and you can block any game from even showing up for you in the store, in my opinion it's plenty enough from the valve's part. I'd rather be the judge myself as to what I want and what I don't want to see and play, rather than any corporation.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I find the "where do you stop" argument to be riddled with holes. Laws are essentially written to explicitly outline boundries and moderation policies are basically just internal laws. Like Canadian law has very specific laws regarding what constitutes hate speech, here is what that looks like.

First you outline protected grounds. In Canada this is race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted. (note: pardons are only available via democratic votes or through appeals in Canada)

There's a stage where you determine what context stuff is in. Like whether it is being performed publicly or privately but marketing a video game is definitely publicly so in tgis context we can skip to it's last part where you explicitly define hate speech. Hate speech is rhetoric that :

  • Describes group members as animals, subhuman or genetically inferior

  • Suggests group members are behind a conspiracy to gain control by plotting to destroy western civilization

  • Denying, minimizing or celebrating past persecution or tragedies that happened to group members

  • Labelling group members as child abusers, pedophiles or criminals who prey on children Blaming group members for problems like crime and disease

  • Calling group members liars, cheats, criminals or any other term meant to provoke a strong reaction including usage of known slurs in the context of intended harm to group members.

These rules likely wouldn't touch some hateful rhetoric that sneaks through under the wire disguised in very abstracted metaphor but it creates a pretty distinct pass fail bar that would catch explicit hate speech on their platform.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

By those rules we can’t even criticize Hamas or Houthis

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

They used to disallow adult games, they don’t allow NFT or crypto.

They have drawn plenty of lines, and moved them when it benefits them. They are just like any other corporation, they just hide it really well and the fans forgive or hide the rest for them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Didn't they also rule against AI artwork? Seems that where their pocket book and legal worries are concerned, Valve treads lightly. Moral concerns and societal obligations? Not so much.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

They also told a dev to stop developing a game since if they gave the go ahead Nintendo could potentially go after them.

They care about money more than anything else, just like any other corporation.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Are you talking about the dolphin emulator per chance?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No, someone was developing a fan demake of a valve game for the Nintendo 64, and since the tools to develop a game for the Nintendo 64 aren't legally available and it's being used for valve's IP then nintendo would be able to go after valve.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

All right, I’m not great on coding but surely you can make your own tool that can compile into a game that can get a Nintendo 64 to work without using Nintendo’s tools which I am assuming is the problem

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Valve allows a lot of games I’d question like the Kyle riddenhouse game or whatever that loser is that went across state borders to shoot people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

i just don't see how hard it could be to assassinate alex jones. pretty sure 3 or 4 intelligent people could coordinate the whole thing.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

3 or 4? 1 person is with a $300 Walmart hunting rifle could pull it t off.

People don’t realize how much one dedicated person and a decent rifle can do, especially when no one is expecting it and the assassin doesn’t care about their future or anything but their objective

Hell do it dc sniper style, park a car and modify the trunk.

No one would see anything but an empty car parked down the block from his house or office.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s more complicated than that. Probably best he dies of normal causes so no insane conspiracy’s pop up. Even then that’s too good for him.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

oh no. let his idiot followers think it was a conspiracy. the more riled up they get, the more likely they'll do something stupid that ends with them in prison or dead. no, let's stir the pot.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don’t think my sanity can tolerate more insane shit. Living in the US sucks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

i think the next time they grab up torches and pitchforks, the military will intervene. that's probably our best hope since most of the good citizens of the left are cowards. the sooner we get it over with, the sooner this country can go forward.