Speakers Corner: Gamers working to fight hate speech

Teens and even adults who love video games say the biggest draw is an escape from the real world. But there’s an uglier side many are forced to deal with — harassment and racism. One group is working to put a stop to it.

Keon Johnson, who lives in Toronto, is an avid gamer and there’s a lot he likes about it.

“You actually meet a lot of cool people online. Some people are really nice.”

But he, and many others, say there’s another side that oftentimes ruins the fun.

“People call me by like certain slurs like how my colour is or what represents me,” Johnson said.

It happens in chat forums, where gamers communicate with each other.

CityNews talked with several gamers who say the issue is almost an everyday occurrence.

“I have seen so many racist, homophobic and sexist comments in the gaming world, almost as soon as you log in,” said Aidan Hollyoak, a Toronto gamer.

“When you go online and you’re playing around, it is just so toxic. You ask yourself: ‘What am I doing to myself?” said Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, Founder of Melanin Gamers.

She and her sibling created The Watch — a global social media group working to combat hate speech in the gaming world.

“This is a way we can genuinely make some tangible change and hold people accountable.”

The Watch is asking people to report racism and hate speech so they can compile a list and present it to game developers.

“Then we can actually get a new reporting system in place that will pull people up and punish people who are doing this and also shed light on the fact that this is happening,” Ashalley-Anthony said.

Many games already have a reporting system in place, but gamers who call out hate speech say it does little to prevent it.

“I found you could report them but a lot of times it wouldn’t go through and they wouldn’t ban them,” said Hollyoak.

“It’s actually easier to report a cheater than to report someone being sexist or racist,” Ashalley-Anthony said.

“The Watch is hoping to change that. They want a sit down meeting with game developers, or the very least, have the developers acknowledge that this is a problem and do something about it.

“It’s almost like their silence is compliance,” Ashalley-Anthony said. “Like it’s fine that they’re doing this. I’m not saying they think that, but that’s what it feels like.”

As for Johnson and the other gamers we spoke with, they plan to report the hate speech they’ve seen and are thankful for The Watch and its mission.

“It seems like they’re taking it a step in the right way so it’s good thing to hear,” he said.

If you’re interested in sharing your experiences with The Watch you can find them on Twitter by searching the handle @HelpKeepWatch.

If you have an issue story or question you’d like us to look into reach out to us here: Speakers Corner.