everyone is a badass until there’s a knock at the door
November 11, 2019 8:55 PM   Subscribe

Shenzhen Tech Girl Naomi Wu, Part 3: Defunding, Deplatforming, and Detention. After her run-ins with Vice, as she had documented previously, and the fallout from that, Naomi Wu finds herself once again being used by Western entertainment-journalism (this time Hasan Minhaj's show) in a China-critical piece that she had no say over. Sometime later, she was detained. Was it related? Who can say?
posted by cendawanita (37 comments total) 40 users marked this as a favorite
 


Hers is one of the technical/hobbyist channels I watch. We do a lot of the same things, 3D print / desktop CNC / low count SMD PCB devices. Her channel is the reason I covet the 7 watt laser module for my SainSmart.

I had no idea she was in such a precarious position. I'm super pissed that anyone would be cavalier about her safety. After it was spelled out in a written agreement, no less.

GodDAMNit.
posted by Horkus at 10:06 PM on November 11, 2019 [7 favorites]


While it's fucked up if Minhaj's show used her clips out of context in a way that potentially endangered her, I would be highly skeptical of Wu's claims given her previous track record.

For example, she now implies that Vice sought her out to expose her in some way, when she has (or had) long courted press, and received a deal of positive coverage. Indeed, the Vice/Motherboard story was positive as well, her problems only came about when she flipped out on the female reporter for perfectly legitimate fact checking towards the end of the process, in apparent anger that she was not able to completely control the story.

She and her followers doxxed and harassed Vice journalists on Twitter and other platforms, which is why she was eventually removed from several. Wu's description of the supposed danger she was in did not track with many people familiar with China, and she never experienced any of the supposed retaliation from authorities that she was predicting from the Vice article, which came out over a year ago.
posted by belgium69 at 10:18 PM on November 11, 2019 [4 favorites]


Never heard of her before, but I think it's pretty obvious that she's queer and was extremely worried about vice outing her, which they ignored, and when she did something objectionable to get them to respond to her worries, screwed her over for. And then they gaslighted her over it.

I'm sure people familiar with china said she wasn't at risk, but are they queer women who live in china? I think you have to listen to women when they talk about their experiences, and the risks they face, and not dismiss them. Nor was her worries only about the authorities, it was about her livelihood, which is based in large part on her reputation and business relationships.

And people seem like they ignore experts on china when it's convenient. For example Bunnie Huang said he told Make's CEO that she was a real maker, and he still posted shit saying she was fake after she criticized the Shenzen maker fair for not including women. And yes the CEO apologized, and yes she accepted his apology, but as bunnie said, apologizing for breaking a vase doesn't fix that vase.

Just... everything about this makes me mad. Everything except this video about her helping fix an iron lung and then encouraging people to use their tools and skills to serve others, that just made me smile, and then subscribe.
posted by gryftir at 10:42 PM on November 11, 2019 [21 favorites]


Perfectly legitimate fact-checking is not what I would describe what Sarah Jeong did. I don't make conclusions about police violence in NYC by checking in with friends who are married to Canadians living in Toronto. So why did Jeong used her friends and her own experience in South Korea to explain China? And I'm glad Wu didn't in fact experience the level of retaliation necessary to garner sympathy
posted by cendawanita at 10:44 PM on November 11, 2019 [9 favorites]


(and after that it was all the wank about crazy rich asians, and what became apparent to my people here who were aware of both that it's crystal clear Americans are Americans.)
posted by cendawanita at 10:47 PM on November 11, 2019 [3 favorites]


Ok, taking a break but just want to apologize if the female reporter referred is not in fact Jeong.
posted by cendawanita at 10:49 PM on November 11, 2019 [1 favorite]


Sarah Jeong is not the author of the Vice piece, Wu's dispute with Jeong came from Twitter and was after everything blew up with Vice. This is from the original piece, by Sarah Emerson:
Wu’s form of activism can also be hostile and combative. She wields her impressive Twitter presence to confront people she disagrees with. I know this from personal experience, as Wu took issue with my reporting after I returned from China.

Wu told me she didn’t want to discuss her marital status, but before publishing the piece, I followed up with her. I hoped to discuss the Reddit conspiracy theory that claimed someone she’s in a relationship with was behind her work. Wu has spent significant energy proving these conspiracy theories false, and shutting down this harassment has inspired other women who have faced similar treatment online.

“Do you actually have time to hop on Skype to go over the Reddit conspiracy theory?” I wrote. “It would be really helpful [to] address these allegations. I saw that video where you say you're [name redacted’s] wife—and I'd like to discuss the unfairness of assuming a woman receives help, just because her partner works/worked in a similar industry. If you don't want to discuss this at all, I understand and won't push. I think the Reddit conspiracy theory is vicious, but since this profile is long and comprehensive, I'd love to highlight your opinions about prototype bias, gender expectations, and racism as they relate to the rumor. Let me know how that sounds, and what you're comfortable with.”

At the same time Wu responded to me, she started tweeting about VICE. Over the next several weeks, Wu publicly shopped our correspondence to journalists and tagged me, my former colleague, my editor, and VICE in dozens of tweets; her followers sent me many more.

In emails, Wu accused me of blackmailing her and writing a “hit piece.” Without having seen the story, she wrote that if I published the article under my byline, VICE “will throw you to the wolves.”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll direct my tweets to your name- see if they come help under the VICE brand or make an excuse why they should stay out of it so they can blame you later for acting alone and cut you loose- with a reputation written where it can never be erased as the female journalist who signal-boosts harassment campaigns against women in tech,” she wrote.

Wu asked to see a draft of the story prior to publication, which we declined to do as it is against our editorial policy. She took issue with other standard editorial protocols, such as when a fact-checker reached out to other sources for this piece.

“We just need whatever article you vomit out to determine in just how many ways you violated basic journalistic ethics,” Wu wrote in an email to my editor.
Wu has undoubtedly received a deal of misogynist abuse, and crappy behavior from people like the Make CEO, but after watching it unfold at the time and following it since then, I have not seen anything to suggest that Vice acted unethically, and have only seen Wu double down on conspiracy and exaggeration since then, such as suggesting that defense of Sarah Jeong when she was hired by NYT (and attacked by right wing gamergate trolls) was evidence of a plot against her.
posted by belgium69 at 10:50 PM on November 11, 2019 [12 favorites]


Ok noted on the reporter we're talking about here. I'll push back on Vice being blameless, because Wu isn't living somewhere she could depend on the institutions to protect her rights. It's not sufficient to simply say that it's helpful to address the allegations, and make it like she's at fault for really really not wanting to explicitly raise it because there are unexpressed cultural forces at stake here.

Oh yeah, she's definitely mad about Jeong and definitely getting into catastrophizing and conspiracy thinking wasn't helpful, but in her own way she's expressing what she's observing about the class that she's an outgroup of.

That still doesn't take away western journalists being irresponsible with local sources. This is not a new thing. It's also real that her gender expression makes it 'hard' to gather support because it feels unfeminist.
posted by cendawanita at 10:57 PM on November 11, 2019 [15 favorites]


It's all weird, I guess. If she's being put in danger because an old clip of her defending the government appeared in something critical of the Chinese government, that's so frightening. But then it's into how Youtube is deliberately censoring her... at a time when tons of creators have been flailing about the algorithm being hard to manage. She implies her Twitter suspension is because of the NYT at the same time as lots of people are complaining about Twitter not being accountable and people winding up reported and suspended for next to no reason while the platform does nothing about the flagrantly awful.

I think what I'm most worried about is that it looks like she might be wrong but not deliberately so? That part of her audience might be encouraging that part of the narrative for their reasons, not hers, in a way that ultimately could harm her but not them. I don't, at least, think that there's any reason to question that her being technical just because clearly she doesn't work alone, any more than I think the Bon Appetit people secretly can't cook. It's gross and sad that she seems to have wound up in this position because of that.
posted by Sequence at 11:10 PM on November 11, 2019 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I don't know what is going on at YT, on the one hand they are so incredibly opaque that it would be impossible to tell if someone was being deliberately screwed over, but on the other hand my gut reaction is to doubt that that's the case. But then (on the gripping hand) you look at the whole thing where lgbt videos were being marked adult and demonetized consistently, and have to scratch your head.

But from her perspective as a PRC citizen, I'm not sure how much reason there would be for her to believe that faceless bureaucracy and vendetta wouldn't exist together.
posted by gryftir at 11:26 PM on November 11, 2019 [5 favorites]


I mean, from having read both pieces I think maybe Wu thought that Vice agreeing not to discuss her relationships meant that the article wouldn't mention the subject at all, and then had a threat response to Emerson pushing on the "no relationships talk" stipulation. It's easy to dismiss her because of how bad her response was, but she does actually have valid concerns over her safety given that, you know, one of the things she's worried about is being outed and/or disappeared.

From a Western journalist perspective, asking again about relationships is just a "hey might as well try" question and trying to control what parts of your life journalists can or can't write about stifles journalistic integrity, but to Wu that bit of boundary-pushing & the fact that the article might have brought up relationships that could be dangerous to her if publicized must have read as a serious threat. Like, I don't know what the rest of that email chain was like, but I can completely believe that Vice dismissed her concerns instead of trying to understand and assuage them and then that built into a total clusterfuck.

It just looks like Western journalists using US boundaries and standards for people everywhere in the world. Like, it would be totally okay and normal to push a bit on relationship talk for an American woman, or to use a public news clip of an American activist on your show, but a lot of people who aren't from Mainland don't understand how high the stakes are there.
posted by storytam at 11:38 PM on November 11, 2019 [31 favorites]


To expand on Storytam's point, it looks like a North American journalist from the South Korean diaspora used that experience to judge the behaviour of a woman from mainland China.
posted by Braeburn at 1:44 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


I admire her for trying to present her own narrative, especially as it clashes with American preconceptions of what China is really like.

Still, all this bullshit can only suck for her. Getting kicked off Patreon & Twitter and dicked around by YouTube really gets in the way of getting paid for the work she does.

I contribute to her through Tipeee. If you want to do something practical in this situation, then chip in with some funds.
posted by happyinmotion at 1:46 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


The Malaysian version of this is why I left the country for good, why I avoid using my legal last name openly, and why - even with mixed feelings - I'm pursuing Australian citizenship once I become eligible next year. Potentially with a new legal last name.

I've been following Naomi's situation for a while and I've been utterly frustrated at the American PoC response to her. Like cendawanita said, it really showed that ultimately, Americans are Americans first and foremost, and that the gap between Mainland and Western Diaspora (never mind Eastern diaspora) is wide and unfathomable.
posted by divabat at 1:47 AM on November 12, 2019 [34 favorites]


Thanks everyone for keeping it reasonable and raising reasonable questions. I'm a bit less handcuffed now in what I can talk about, although it's debatable if it's smart, but fingers crossed.

>her problems only came about when she flipped out on the female reporter for perfectly legitimate fact-checking towards the end of the process, in apparent anger that she was not able to completely control the story.

Sorry, asking a high profile lesbian in an authoritarian country that still jails LGBT activists about someone you know for a fact is her beard when you have agreed not to discuss this is not "perfectly legitimate fact checking".

Key issues:

1. Every journalist I had met with up until that point had agreed to "No discussion of relationships or sexual orientation". Most were initially surprised by what is obviously meant, but quickly realized the issue and were very good about it.

2. China issues: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-14/many-gay-chinese-prefer-fake-marriages-facing-family-home Nearly every picture of me for the last four years has my wedding ring in it. This is normal for us, and saves a lot of hassles- particularly with parents and business dealings. If I had my way I would have never had to be open about it. Vice had other ideas.

3. I spent three full days with Sarah Emerson (whom I don't blame for all this, everything I've been told indicates she was duped by Jason Koebler who needed someone I would trust, I think she did the interview in good faith but he had other plans). During those three days Sarah she did something I did not allow any other journalist to do- visit and film in my home. I only allowed this because of the agreement and because I had to put to rest rumors that I was fake- which I did by spending several hours fabricating a robot to pour drinks for them while they filmed. Once you are in my home- the whole thing is really clear, sleeping arrangements and such.

Once you have seen first hand what my arrangement is, and know my orientation "Heeeeeeey how about that husband of yours?" is no longer a good-faith question. But it's a question that *sounds* innocent to readers who don't know what Vice knew when they asked.

Vice has a circulation of over 1 million- and is widely translated and distributed all over Chinese social media. Which is why I agreed to interview with them- a slightly higher online profile could translate into a degree of latitude with my open and illegal VPN activity. Being popular in the West and giving face to China can make you a *lot* safer. Unlike Reddit, 4chan, or other places the rumors that "it must be a White man responsible for all my work" were circulated. If Vice brings it up, it's going on Weibo, they will dig- and that can get very, very bad.

>I saw that video where you say you're [name redacted’s] wife

1. I could say nothing- which would make me guilty by omission, it would be the same as admitting it was true in the eyes of most. "What are you hiding?" was a very dangerous question at the time for people to start asking.

2. I could admit to having a foreign "husband"- but provide no detail other than that. With Vice's circulation, I would immediately be accused by Chinese of being influenced by “Western hostile forces”. Given that I had already engaged in socially disruptive conduct over the inclusion of Chinese women at tech events: https://imgur.com/gallery/pk2Xd The Feminist Five had been jailed for doing something far more innocent. Of course the gov knows about me, but Chinese netizens are another matter. I'd be in very deep shit, very quickly if my campaigning for inclusion could be chalked up to me being the puppet of a foreigner.

The minute the Human Flesh Search Engine was launched in response to my "husband", I'd be outed. I have enough past partners that would would speak up- thinking she was defending me, plenty of photos with dates floating. My arrangement would not hold up to the kind of scrutiny that Vice discussing it would bring to bear from Chinese netizens (and did not, I was effectively outed by them).

I spelled this out for Vice- I begged them for a month. I asked them to consult *any* China foreign correspondent and verify what I was saying. I contacted over a dozen journalists for help they refused, I contacted journalist ethics orgs- was told Vice was not breaking the law. I contacted the EFF, women in tech orgs- and was ignored. This was not me "angry I could not control the story" and instantly doxxing someone- this was me begging for someone to verify what I was saying with experts who deal with Chinese sources for a month.

Then there was another problem- which I can't go into. But suffice to say it was made absolutely clear that it was critical that my story "not embarrass China". And sorry, you do what you have to do at that point. But I did everything in my power to get some mediation, some arbitration, someone to say either I was full of shit or not- but all the people who say I did the "wrong thing" afterward- were completely unwilling to step up and help before I did. Vice came to China- I didn't go there, they asked to interview me, then after they left decided to put eyes on something that it was made absolutely clear could result in detention. I'm sorry I got my dirty blood over their nice clean knife but none of this was initiated by me, up until Vice everyone who interviewed me had nothing but good things to say. But afterward, yes their spin and smear campaign was very effective- it's what they do for a living, I make stuff.

What Netflix did is pretty straight forward and easy to verify. You don't include high profile Chinese nationals- in any context, in a video critical of their countries leadership without their permission. That's why all the others in their video were overseas residents because it's insanely dangerous to even be adjacent to this stuff.

As far as the NYT/YouTube/Twitter thing I know I sound like an absolute nutter which is why I provided such meticulous documentation (although being a nutter is still on the table). I can try to provide more detail on what's going on there but yeah- I absolutely get how it sounds. I still have my Twitter account permanently locked right after tweeting about the NYT theft of my content and challenging them to...er something like a dual. Which has happened three times before when I tweeted about their theft- only then I could unlock it.
posted by NaomiWu at 2:18 AM on November 12, 2019 [151 favorites]


Oh, verification:
https://youtu.be/4VKZTmTP7oY
At the bottom of this video's description, it says
"NaomiWu on metafilter.com is me."

I guess I could shoot a pic if that's needed...
posted by NaomiWu at 2:26 AM on November 12, 2019 [9 favorites]


Hey! Welcome Naomi! Thank you (genuinely!) for taking the time to clarify. Can't speak for anyone else but I really appreciate it :)
posted by cendawanita at 2:38 AM on November 12, 2019 [21 favorites]


Thanks very much for sharing your experience and perspective Naomi. :)
posted by smoke at 2:50 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


Hey Naomi, thanks for dropping by. Solidarity with you.
posted by divabat at 2:55 AM on November 12, 2019 [10 favorites]


For anybody who wants the bottom line of this incident, because it’s hundreds of words into the Medium piece— Wu did a video feature for the Wall Street Journal years ago under a written agreement with the Wall Street Journal. Minhaj’s show on Netflix used the video in an episode critical of the Chinese government, albeit in a way that suggests Wu actually supports certain government policies. Shortly after that, Wu was detained by the government. She believes that they are related, and is upset/angry that Minhaj used footage of her in a project where China was criticized.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:55 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


Thanks everyone, I appreciate it.

Few more replies-

>I would be highly skeptical of Wu's claims given her previous track record.

My claim to have been...detained? It's a CGI van and police station I'm leaving? My claim my content was stolen? There's a link right there in the article? My claim Netflix spliced me into a video critical of China, again link. These aren't claims- they are verifiable facts.

The recent throttling and shadowbanning, yeah that's a problem- I can't prove it. And my channel will die with me unable to prove it and they know it.

>For example, she now implies that Vice sought her out to expose her in some way, when she has (or had) long courted press, and received a deal of positive coverage.

Yes. Up until Vice- no problems with anyone that interviewed me, nothing but good interactions- Newsweek, WSJ and tons of others. Up until Vice interviewed me, can Vice say the same? No, they are known for doing exactly this, time and again. They are the ones with a track record, not me.

>Wu's description of the supposed danger she was in did not track with many people familiar with China.

Who is "many people"? I asked Vice to produce a single China academic or correspondent- foreign or Chinese willing to say it was unlikely I would be at risk. Not one. No Chinese national currently residing in the PRC has said it. It's not even a debate- they literally could not find anyone to prop up and say that. Just Sarah Jeong, who was considered a sufficient authority on China having been born in Korea and immigrated as an infant.

My "supposed danger"
My neighborhood
(and this was for a post mild by my standards)

They are real keen on having someone like me with such a large platform, in the public eye, to be sure.

I have the largest English language Twitter account of any PRC national, here's what they are doing to Chinese Twitter users with accounts a fraction of my size.

They handed out stickers- and were jailed. I ran around half-naked in a disruptive tech wearable, plainclothes police on my tail, shouting at the crowd in Mandarin about lack of inclusion of Chinese women at the event and the next year when they still would not let us speak landed a drone on the roof of the organizer and hacked their wifi.

There is no credible case to be made that the danger is not considerable. No one is saying that because to downplay the danger is ridiculous and flys in the face of logic and all reporting coming out of China. They aren't saying anything- because they don't have to, they have the power and can do what they want to people like me with absolute impunity.

>and she never experienced any of the supposed retaliation from authorities that she was predicting from the Vice article, which came out over a year ago.

Dude they pulled up and dragged me off the street into a fucking van.
posted by NaomiWu at 4:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [72 favorites]


Hey, I noticed Belgium69 didn't comment any more after Naomi defended herself. Is this what we do now on blogs and response pieces: throw out venomous accusations then run off into the shadows?

@NaomiWu: I have just learned about you and I have to say, I have the utmost respect for you. I am also going to admit that because I am not Chinese, not living in China, and not part of the LGBT community, I can't have any idea what this struggle is like. So, I'm going to be doing what other white American men should be doing: shutting the fuck up while you tell your story.
posted by Chocomog at 5:25 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mod note: Just as a quick note, members live in various time zones all over the world, and beyond that are not necessarily online/on Metafilter at any given time, so while it's fine to disagree with their comments, we cannot necessarily expect someone to be present at all times, and shouldn't go after people on this basis. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:19 AM on November 12, 2019 [26 favorites]


Naomi - I wasn't familiar with you before this, but I just want to tell you how much of a badass you are. A hero. As a lesbian, I feel so proud.
posted by FirstMateKate at 7:57 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


Can’t believe I had to click through an advisory on imgur agreeing that I was over 18 and ok to see erotic imagery of....a woman in an LCD halter top that entirely covered her breasts.
posted by toodleydoodley at 8:13 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


Naomi - I wasn't familiar with you before this, but I just want to tell you how much of a badass you are. A hero. As a lesbian, I feel so proud.
posted by FirstMateKate at 11:57 PM on November 12 [1 favorite +] [!]



Naomi - I was familiar with you before this (omg I'm actually talking to Naomi Wu hashtag fanboi), but I just want to tell you how much of a badass you are. A hero. As a straight American male who lives in China & speaks the language & works adjacent to media, but specifically as a human, I feel so proud. And scared.
posted by saysthis but inspired by FirstMateKate at 11:57 PM on November 12 [1 favorite +] [!]



One thing everyone in this thread and on this site should keep in mind - if metafilter wasn't squarely in the sights of media censors in China, it is now. Read every single link Naomi posted, and feel free to read all the other ones you find. Her concerns throughout this ordeal are reasonable, real, and worth taking the time to understand in detail.
posted by saysthis at 9:27 AM on November 12, 2019 [13 favorites]


Thank you so much for replying here Naomi, I followed you on Twitter and you're a personal inspiration to me in so many ways. Thanks for the context on your recent life, I really hope things improve.
posted by Braeburn at 10:05 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that- you can ignore them, but that does not mean they’ll ignore you, or that their attention won’t put you in harm’s way.

This happens a lot IRL.
posted by Chuffy at 1:36 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Hey Naomi - I'm very happy to see you on here, and very sorry that western media continue to be complete shits to you.

I'd like to especially note how once again, this idea that a "victim" needs to be "perfect" gets strategically deployed by the powerful to silence people who don't manage to quite tick all the boxes of what a "good victim" is meant to be.
posted by Zarkonnen at 2:27 PM on November 12, 2019 [13 favorites]


@Chocomog @FirstMateKate @saysthis @Braeburn and everyone else thank you so much!

> @Zarkonnen I'd like to especially note how once again, this idea that a "victim" needs to be "perfect" gets strategically deployed by the powerful to silence people who don't manage to quite tick all the boxes of what a "good victim" is meant to be.

It's quite a bit worse than that. They feel I'm not a "good victim" (100% ideologically compliant) so therefor have it coming.

Like this. No citations or links, and I'm banned from the sub so I can't respond to the character assassination. It's a mod- it will get repeated, this becomes "truth". I've seen it a hundred times. People online think I'm a terrible person because of things that 90% of the time I never said, never actually happened or were willfully taken out of context.

Here's me not being "civil and respectful" (aka. disagreeing while they perceive me to be below them in their arbitrary social hierarchy- early lesson learned)

It's like some kind of scaled-up version of mean girls in high-school, I'll never understand adults behaving this way. I don't even have major disagreements with them, I was targeted for ongoing, exhausting online harassment- why the hell would I be not only abandoned, but targeted by the anti-harassment people?

Oh, and link for the "fake maker" crowd if anyone starts that shit. Anytime, any test.
posted by NaomiWu at 3:58 PM on November 12, 2019 [15 favorites]


NaomiWu, welcome. I clicked through to a few of the links you've given to Reddit and YCombinator, and I have to say, in addition to everything else you're dealing with, I'm sorry people are such shits to you.

For anyone else trying to make sense of all of this, in addition to the linked material in the FPP and NaomiWu's comments, Rebecca Watson's video on the subject is a good explainer/interpreter.
posted by biogeo at 6:16 PM on November 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


Hey Naomi- love your videos; been watching the original batches of projects, the 3d printer and laser cutter work, and the walks through Shenzhen. It's a view into another world that is hard for Americans to understand- it has so many things in common, and so many differences from our daily lived experiences. I hope it gets better for you, and that the authorities realize that you're giving people a window into a place that is far away and as different from our assumptions as anywhere. I hope to be able to see you take on new interesting projects soon. Liked and subscribed, notifications are on.
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:58 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Naomi is the very best. Sending respect and love from Canada.
posted by scruss at 9:30 AM on November 13, 2019


Mod note: One deleted. Sorry but saying "I don't in any way mean to diminish your personal fear or experience," when in fact doing exactly that isn't okay, and claiming expertise because of living/working in an area and knowing people who haven't had the same experience isn't okay. (cf, "I don't believe catcalls are a big deal because my wife doesn't get catcalls"). Succinctly, from the FAQ: It's not okay to put other people's health, safety, and identity up for debate.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:21 AM on November 14, 2019 [11 favorites]


It’s hardly the worst part of all this, but the fact that Naomi feels she has to stick her hand into the hornets nest of Anglo culture wars by posting to both r/GamerGhazi and r/KotakuInAction in order to defend herself is also pretty crappy.

The likelihood of one of those blowing up in your face because you’ve overstepped some line that to an outsider is completely invisible must be fairly high.
posted by pharm at 2:36 AM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


This is the first I've heard of NaomiWu.
Her work and bravery are both impressive.
posted by ®@ at 2:00 PM on November 18, 2019


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