Phil Mason, better known online as Thunderf00t, is a scientific researcher and YouTube bloviater who’s turned his hate-crush on video game critic Anita Sarkeesian into a surprisingly lucrative part-time job; his seemingly unending stream of YouTube videos attacking Sarkeesian, many of which have drawn hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, have without a doubt contributed mightily to the harassment directed against her by the online mob known as #Gamergate.
Now Mason is trying to defend himself against charges that he has become the de facto leader of a vast hate mob that harasses Sarkeesian and other women … by encouraging his followers to harass a woman who charged him with exactly this.
And a good number of Mason’s 400,000 YouTube followers have taken him up on this challenge, flooding the Yelp page of the business the woman runs with her husband with fraudulent one-star reviews and besieging her and her family business with angry and harassing phone calls (at least one of which the perpetrator has put online).
The story of this particular debacle began this past January when the YouTuber who calls herself Laughing Witch sent a letter to Mason’s employer, accusing the YouTuber of harassing Sarkeesian and other women and repeatedly suggesting that he and his followers were a bunch of Nazis. Her email was part of a letter-writing campaign by a number of feminist Youtubers who hoped their letters would get Mason fired from his research job.
Mason, who apparently faced no repercussions from the letter-writing campaign, decided last week to retaliate against Laughing Witch — real name Jennifer Keller. He posted a video about Keller’s letter, following up with a second video posting her name as well as screenshots from the web page of Porcelain Tub Restoration, the company she runs with her husband.
While Tunderf00t didn’t explicitly command his army to harass Keller and her husband, he suggested to his supporters that they post their thoughts about her on the business’s Yelp page — and they did, cratering the company’s rating with literally hundreds of fake one-star reviews.
Yelp has been removing the most obviously fake ones, as well as those referencing her letter about Thunderf00t, but many remain up as “not recommended” (in other words, questionable) reviews, including a number of clearly trollish ones accusing Keller of being a Nazi.
These negative reviews, as ludicrous as many of them are, have apparently hit the business hard. Keller and her husband have set up a FundAnything page in an attempt, they say, to make payroll in the wake of the attacks on their and their company’s reputation online. On the FundAnything page Keller’s husband, Paul Burns, writes:
We are getting slanderous lies about our services and people posting deplorable images on review sites, as well desecrating our star ratings and customers calling. No one clicks to a service company with 1 star rating.
According to Burns, the 26-year-old “family based service business with 14 employees” may be forced to close “because of a brutal mob attack on our social review sites.”
Mason’s response to this campaign being waged in his name? Another video, in which he declares that “Karma [is] ONLY A BITCH, if you are one!”
Except that this isn’t “karma,” a supernatural force that Mason, a self-avowed “skeptic,’ presumably doesn’t believe in anyway.
This is an organized harassment campaign, instigated and encouraged by Mason himself.
While I’ve enjoyed Laughing Witch’s videos in the past, I think the letter writing campaign was wrong. Writing employers is a low blow. And despite Mason’s many flaws as a thinker and a human being, he’s no Nazi.
But the wave of harassment he’s brought down on Keller — and which he has not made even the slightest attempt to rein in — is indefensible.
And it’s getting worse by the day: 8chan’s Baphomet forum, a haven for malicious doxers and harassers, has now jumped aboard this harassment train, targeting not only Keller but her supporters as well. They’ve doxed one other YouTuber already, and are working on doxing others.
In a Baphomet thread, one anon happily reports that the attacks on Keller are causing her great distress:
While Mason at first suggested that he would call off the attack if Keller apologized to him, he has since refused to accept her apology, and seems positively gleeful about the pain he’s caused her and her allies.
The internet has officially hit another new low.
I’ll post more on this as it develops.
NOTE: Thanks to Daily Kos blogger idlediletante (Margaret Pless), who provided me with a number of tips on this story. She’s written three posts on the subject so far:
Family Business Brigaded on Yelp by MRA YouTube Stars
Phil Mason is Working With Baphomet to Ruin DC Business
How it Feels to Be Targeted By An Internet Hate Mob: One Man’s Story
I looked up Phil Mason on Wikipedia and found a short article which was reasonably fair and balanced, and mentioned his current research topics/institutions. it’s obvious that there has been some conflict in the edit, and if it wasn’t for his anti-Sarkeesian activities his WP article wouldn’t meet notability criteria and would have been deleted.
What really surprised me is that Mason/Thunderfoot is mentioned as a source shed-loads of times in the dozens of pages ranting about Sarkeesian. See Talk:Anita Sarkeesian/Archive pages 1-umpteen. The company he keeps….
@delavrancea
The dark lord — he who serves Katie best — sleeps now, along with his magical furred companions.
When he rises, he will peruse your communique and render a verdict.
Do you amuse? If so, you may tarry here.
But if you are tedious, the ban hammer will fall.
– Warning: I accidentally the whole teal deer –
I’m in with the folks who were uncomfortable with the initial letter writing. Where TF makes a substantial income off of Patreon-backed videos alone—and Patreon is the thing that is directly rewards him for making videos—it feels like getting him fired from not-Patreon accomplishes little besides making his more difficult for being a hateful poopface. It won’t stop him making videos. It may even inspire him to shift to videos full time.
Plus, where TF is not using his “real job” to directly abuse people (as far as we know), it seems to me like there’s very little to gain by trying to get him fired from it. (Whereas reporting him to Patreon could potentially halt the financial rewards of him spewing hatred on the internet—and I’d bet dollars to donuts that if the financial reward went away, we would find that he is not nearly as principled about this stuff as he claims to be.)
Part of the “we fire professional athletes over abuse, why not TF” thing breaks down a bit for me because, while it’s easy to legally prove that SportsGuy X physically beat up RomanticPartner Y, it is frustratingly hard to legally “prove” that TF is gleefully and purposefully driving his followers to ruin other people’s lives.
If I were his employer, I sure wouldn’t want to employ an abusive poopface, and I would be grateful to be alerted to the fact that one of my employees was being an abusive poopface all over the internet. But I would also arch an eyebrow at “He’s a literal Nazi” if it showed up in my inbox from a coordinated group of strangers without some super straightforward proof—in large part because the internet is brimming with channers who set out to get people fired for teh lulz.
To be clear, I am 100% supportive of hateful online poopfaces FINALLY getting some consequences for their actions (seriously, wtf law enforcement). But I feel like it’s important to keep fighting for it to happen through legal, above-the-table means. As much as I want to pull my hair out waiting for the legal system to realize that the internet is A Thing, and it is an important Thing that affects real life, I am very wary of condoning an online culture where it’s okay to go after anyone who is a bad enough person and try to make their lives miserable. Even if they can be pretty easily proven to deserve it.
My main reason? GG/neoreactionary types already do this, and in their mind, this is what justifies their online terrorism. Those who have fully embraced the GG brainwashing really *do* think that they are bold vigilantes standing up for TruEthics(TM). None of them admit, even to themselves, that they hate Anita Sarkeesian because they hate and fear women. They have decided that they hate her because she is apparently a con artist and professional victim who is manipulating people and destroying video games. None of them admit that they hate Leigh Alexander because they want the playground all to themselves. They have decided they hate her because she is apparently an enemy of free speech, a misandrist [sic], and an online abuser.
And while it is eye-rollingly easy for any reasonable person to take all those arguments apart, and vindicate all of the Literally Who’s as simply being “Women on the internet who have opinions”, the Gators will never, ever admit that. And if there’s a pervasive precedent across the internet that, “If someone is really, really a bad person, then messing with them IRL is okay,” then reasonable people have that much less leverage to argue that hateful reactionaries shouldn’t be trying to make their targets’ lives a living hell. I sure know *I* would be freaked out if a Gator contacted my employers, calling for my termination because I frequent a site dedicated to the hatred of men, the slaughter of ancient land mammals, and the treasonous veneration of the great feminist overlord Katie. And I am sure that the Gator who did so would think I deserved it.
IMO, it’s much easier and more productive to say, “Contacting someone’s IRL employer—if that employee does not pose an immediate threat to their coworkers/customers/patients/students/etc.—is probably crossing the line”, then it is to have arguments over who does and does deserve to have their employer contacted.
BUT, but but but.
Laughing Witch’s letters are not AT ALL commensurate to TF’s horrific response. There is a screamingly obvious difference between a small group of people raising a specific, sincere complaint to someone’s employer—when that person has an alternative stream of income, no less—versus a mob of people making up garbage to publicly annihilate someone’s sole stream of income, all the while clamoring for their suicide. Gators (and the manuresphere as a whole, really) have a widespread policy of going straight to the nuclear option every time they are even slightly insulted, and this is so very far from okay it makes my brain hurt.
I really, really hope that Laughing Witch and her husband are okay, and that there are people in their life who have got their back both emotionally and legally. I hope that Yelp can get on the ball in stemming the abuse against them. I hope they are aware of Crash Override. I sincerely hope Patreon gets its act together and ends its dealings with TF over this.
Hello.
Well, i do not know the chemistry field, but he seems to publish regularly, and unless someone has a proof his papers are frauds, it is not reasonnable to get him on the “work” side. I mean, you can have a perk in a science field and be a jerk, in the science domain, you are mainly judged by the first point, and the second point hardly has an impact on how your papers are evaluated. Maybe the only scientific field where the two points can be quite interlinked is the sociology field.
So, i would not challenge this man skills in his science field.
However, his science field is chemistry, not sociology, so him trying to “debunk” Sarkeesian’s videos with so-called facts can not be considered as a “scientific” and “rational” answer, as he seems to pretend it is. It is like if an Agronomic field searcher “debunks” a Quantic physic field paper because the content does not pleased him with everyday “facts” (“Look, i let a camera in the box with the cat, and i can see he is still alive, so he can not be dead and alive at the same time, you liar !” like).
Well, he is allowed to answer the videos to provide his point of view, but it can not be called “in a scientific way”. Alas, him being a real scientist seems to put him in a position of being an argument from authority (even if it is not his field) for his supporters.
That said, it seems quite impossible to make someone like him change his mind. All his paradigm is so implanted in him that he is unlikely going to change. That is the problem with fundamentalism and extremism. And that is so bad and sad for someone posing as a skeptic and an atheist.
Have a nice day.
@Kootiepatra:
I believe I once called for you to be elected president in 2036. In the light of the entire that you have actuallied, I would like to repeat this call.
@delavrancea
“he hadnt done nos uch thing. he simply showed the evidence of th epeople who tried to destroy his career, the same people who bragged about it. They tried to destroy his life and …the fact taht you side with this peolpe is disgusting”
Firstly I should note that spellcheck is a friend you should spend more time with. Secondly losing his job would hardly ruin his life he makes plenty off of his patron. Thirdly if he didn’t want his followers to go after her Why publish her info at all? If he’s really being misrepresented in a way that could damage his career he could always threaten legal action. Finally this is hardly the first time he’s one something like this, if us siding with people trying to “ruin his life” is disgusting what does that make you siding with him?
@delavrancea
Weren’t you and your socks banned, y’know, on account of the whole neo-Nazi thing?
Oh well. Bro, you of all people siding with Thunderfailure isn’t going to help his “Totally not a Nazi” case any.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Especially when the second wrong is taken this far. For a man who makes so many videos ostensibly about philosophy and ethics, Phil Has demonstrated abysmal ignorance of both subjects.
Knock it off, Phil. You’re an embarrassment to atheists everywhere.
And everyone stop defending Laughing Witch for trying to get Phil fired. Nothing he has done publicly violated his job duties. Trying to stir up shit in someone’s personal or work life over an Internet argument is vindictive and petty.
If the tactics are unethical, regardless of whether you agree with the message, you don’t support the tactics.
dela said:
Dude, no.
There’s a reason that there’s a term for what he’s done (that being “malicious doxxing”).
Personally, I think that LW was in the wrong with (at least) the form of her letter writing, but she *didn’t* direct Teh Internets to attack a small business.
Ironically, if some of the information posted here is correct, TF’s reaction may be what actually impacts his livelihood.
The “Nazi” accusations are definitely a touch too far, especially in letters to his employer. It is undeniable however that Mason has engaged in Holocaust apologia – Most notably during one of his debates with Creationist Ray Comfort. I can only assume that since holocaust denial/apologism is illegal in the Czech Republic (where Mason lives and works), the letters were a misguided attempt to get him sacked and/or investigated for his comments. I agree with those that say this wasn’t a sensible thing to do.
However – The (severely) delayed reaction from Mason, the disproportionate response and how he revels so joyously and apologetically in the commanding of an angry mob to attack his critics on a personal and professional level is completely, utterly despicable. What is he trying to prove? That he’s better than his critics by taking their behaviour and exacerbating it tenfold?
I think the University that employs him has to do some serious soul searching about whether they want someone like that representing their institution. He was a vile internet misogynist before, but now he’s got his workplace involved in a controversy that resulted with him setting an internet hate mob on people who wrote to criticise him . How do his female colleagues feel about this? I wouldn’t be surprised or blame them if they’re extremely uncomfortable around him at best, and downright scared at worst.
There’s also the question of exactly how he got the address and personal details of the letter writing critic – Because if it’s from the correspondence sent to the University then that should be grounds for termination. The guy makes very little effort as it is to separate his professional life as a researcher to his secondary career as an internet misogynist as it is, and often even records his videos in the same rooms and labs where he works.
I really, really don’t think he deserves to keep his job as a researcher considering the above facts.
And to clarify: By “at least the form of her letter writing” I mean, “Writing someone’s employer to inform them that they’re employing a Nazi” without damn good evidence.
Many employers would like to know if they’re employing someone with extremist / hateful views – like it or not, your extracurriculars can impact your employer and they will take action if they think it necessary – but throwing accusations around because you don’t like someone* isn’t cool.
* I’ve actually never watched a TF video and I’m not likely to start now. My info’s just based on what I’ve read about him.
@rick re: “you are what you like”: It’s out there as a thing. I’m sure someone / multiple someones have written a paper on it, something like, “Personality Formation in the Absence of Institutional Inputs” or “Personalities Unmored from Tradition”.
On that, according to that somewhat reputable “let us guess who you are by looking at what you like” test (University of Cambridge), I’m a 36-year-old man
http://i.imgur.com/fN9SjcT.png
My husband’s a 34-year-old woman (though less “feminine” than I am “masculine” – 40%, I think).
Soooo…
Take that whole premise for what it’s worth.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/afa363329436c3bc0661483ae06cb5b2/tumblr_nh9fxvvOS51qaaytso1_400.gif
Professional sports players are celebrities. Their job is being in the public eye. Phil’s job is not. This is a bad analogy.
Unless his behavior is directly related to his job, writing letters to get him fired is wrong.
He’s an asshole, but setting him on fire would still be wrong. Punching him would be wrong. Stealing from him would be wrong. Just because someone is a jerk doesn’t mean we’re free to treat them however we like. Our inner demons might tempt us, but morality is ignoring our base instincts and continuing to apply our ethical code to all people. Revenge is not an option.
@delphi_ote:
“Professional sports players are celebrities. Their job is being in the public eye. Phil’s job is not. This is a bad analogy.”
Someone who has 400,000 Youtube subscribers and gets a substantial secondary income (Perhaps even greater than his salary?) by putting their face in front of a camera to complain about feminists *is* in the public eye. Since he makes very little attempt to separate his two careers, often filming his videos at his place of work, I don’t think it is completely unreasonable to write a letter to his employer discussing concerns. My problem with the letter was the fact it referred to him as a Nazi, an allegation which is clearly not true – Rather than the fact the letter was actually written.
“Just because someone is a jerk doesn’t mean we’re free to treat them however we like.”
That’s very noble of you, but I guess you forgot to relay this info to Dr. Mason himself. He’s the one going for “revenge” in this instance, doing unto others what was done to him and then some. I’m reacting accordingly by submitting a report to Patreon of Mason using his platform as a Patreon creator to dox and mobilize a hate mob – Something that is very clearly breaking the Terms of Service of Patreon.
I’d encourage everyone to do the same.
she didn’t just try to get fired, she tried to get him ARRESTED! because she didn’t like what he said on youtube, she tried to get him ARRESTED based on lies that she had made up.
He posts videos at his place of employment? I haven’t read the letter, so I can’t speak to the content of it, but this makes me think the existence of a letter in and of itself isn’t wrong. If he’s filming there, he’s effectively speaking as a representative of the institution and they have every right to know.
Milkshake fan,
What? You shouldn’t make such a serious claim without actually explaining what you’re talking about.
Is it clearly not true, though? I haven’t read LW’s letter, so I don’t have an opinion on whether or not she went too far (though it sounds like she did)… But, like, I honestly thought he was a Nazi, and the past couple hours of Google-flavoured research haven’t turned up anything to make me believe otherwise. He at least has some pro-Nazi sympathies.
Czech law:
she didn’t just send it to his boss, she sent the letter to his local POLICE, which included the lies about him worshipping Hitler and praising the holocaust. Why would she send it to the police unless she wanted him ARRESTED?
So he’s breaking the law of where he works, EJ? Interesting.
I wouldn’t have called him a literal nazi, that’s damn hard to prove but he really waffled on such a simple holocaust question and he waited a YEAR to go after Laughing Witch, waiting until she was starting to get enough clout to actual be a threat and then squshes her like a bug.
I also hate that “Dr.” Mason lends his I AM A SCIENTIST LISTEN TO ME SICENCE shit to topics he knows nothing about. He’s an organic fucking chemist, he’s not a biologist, sociologist, anthropologist or any other ist that would make him able to actually comment on things like gender issues and race equality. But people listen to him because SCIENCE. Like having doctor in your name automatically makes you right about everything and not, you know, really good at writing papers your professors like.
Oh yeah and what David didn’t bother to mention is that laughing witch contacted him and asked him to write this article! So it wouldn’t have really been an apology if she was at the same time going behind the scenes asking david to write a hit piece!
@Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Sorry, I don’t know how to quote because i’m pretty new to commenting on WHTM.
I’d say it’s an untrue accusation because there is no evidence of him being a Nazi or sharing any sympathies with Nazis. I detest Mason’s abhorrent anti-feminist rhetoric, attitude and actions as much as anyone and hope he suffers some severe consequences because of this (Such as having his Patreon suspended or being permanently barred from the service), but calling him a Nazi just seems to be a cheap shot given how wide an array of legitimate criticisms there are against the things he does and says.
As mentioned above, some of his debates have seen him rattling off some comments that could be seen as holocaust apologism – Saying it was “necessary” to act as a warning to prevent bigger Genocides in future Clearly this is utter nonsense (Holocaust wasn’t the first genocide nor was it the last) but I still don’t think these comments make him a Nazi – Just an utter idiot who is out of his depth when talking about anything other than Chemistry.
@weirwoodtreehugger
Yep, he has definitely done some videos from his place of employment.