There is a problem with a central figure within #GamerGate. The loss of his credibility will result in a cascade of doubts on previous information.
KingofPol (Pol) brought out two major pieces of information regarding #GamerGate: the Denton leak and the pro-GG Secret Skype Group. Let's mince this quick.
Secret Skype Group
On Wednesday November 6, 2014, Pol started a live stream where he was attempting to "burn it all down" in regards to the credibility of several notable #GamerGate members because of their connection to the "Secret Skype Group" (SSG). The evidence displayed was circumstantial at best. Pol mostly incriminated individuals due to their being in the group and not based on whether or not they said or typed anything. Pol has no audio logs from any of the conversations, creating a major lack of evidence. Moreover, only 3 people were known to be contributing to split activity, none of whom are worth any effort to out as they are unimportant people (and I will not name them).
Pol's ferocity and bloodthirst was wholly unfounded. It was both predictable and strangely out of context. Pol had announced on Tuesday November 5, 2014, that he was done with #GamerGate, a tweet that is no longer there. Frederick Brennan of Infinite Chan openly mused to Pol that Pol had be bought out by outside groups to disengage from #GamerGate, something that is currently not proven (not dismissed, but can be placed out of our minds for now). For Pol to have had that live stream is questionable, something I will address after the Denton leak.
What's important to remember here is the circumstantial nature of the evidence, the lack of audio logs proving the SSG to be designed to serve the interests of only those in the group, that the SSG was not secret, but open, and allowed anyone to join, and Pol's mindset (more on that after the Denton leak).
The Nick Denton Leak, or the "Astrotrufing of #GamerGate"
On Tuesday November 4, 2014, Pol released the image of a Facebook post by Nick Denton, claiming sources confirmed this to a be a legitimate posting by Denton. The post claims that Gawker Media's Denton hired individuals to infiltrate #GamerGate and engage in "tone policing" to cause infighting. thus slowing or derailing the movement. 19 hours later, Pol released a second tweet showing a follow up Facebook post by Denton which appears to address his original comment. Again, Pol claimed this information was vetted and verified.
Pol's stature and previous work has given him a great deal of leeway. Pol openly claimed that the information was passed on to Milo Yianopolous for vetting. Unfortunately, it appears Pol went ahead with the posting before verification from Milo came back. Looking at Twitter, the closest to verification we saw was Milo stating that the source provided to him by Pol was not the source he needed to verify the story. This is probably because of the information Pol had given: the original email with the original Denton leak came from on Rachael Morris (progg.gawkeremployee@gmail.com), who claims to work at Gawker in an administrative role, and was passed the leak. She decided to share it with Pol. Interestingly, Pol's claim was that Kotaku Editor in Chief Stephen Totilo was the source. We can see the disconnect.
To my knowledge, Pol never released any text or audio evidence that he was having conversations with Totilo, stating he did not want to out his source. Curious, because sharing his name invites great speculation. Totilo as the source came out when Pol was talking to Brennan regarding the leak. There is very likely a record of private communication through the Twitter direct mail system if it is true that Totilo and Pol were talking. It could be the case, but that's rabbit hole talk at this moment.
What we can state at this point is there is no connection between the Rachael Morris and Totilo. The Rachael Morris here does not exist. "progg.gawkeremployee@gmail.com" (at the time of the leak) is not a real email address. As Brennan points out in his lament against Pol, "Anything online can be forced, and online communication comes down to trust. Screenshots are easily forced using the developer tools in every browser."
What does it come down to?
So, who forged this information? Let's avoid the rabbit hole and focus in on whether or not it was forged by Pol. Occam's Razor can be employed here to see if Pol's leak was a creation of his own or a manipulation of his fatigued, theory hunting, crowd pleasing mind. In other words, did Pol want to gain something from this or was he tricked into believing it to be true?
The more probable answer is that Pol was a credulous fool. Using the SSG as an example, Pol likely linked nebulous statements made by Totilo (which I assume to be true that they were actually talking, but nothing concrete enough to share as Totilo to be the source, as Pol recognized that evidence would be torn apart) to the veracity of the Denton leak. The leak had bomb shell potential, clearly, and Pol was willing to stick his neck out and run it with the intent of a morale boost. An admirable move by Pol, alas it was for naught.
Pol has been heroic in his efforts to work on cultivating information for the expressed purpose of aiding #GamerGate, not because he wants fame or popularity. After all, Pol is a Registered Pysch Nurse in the mental health mess that is Florida. The money he earns from his online notoriety is insignificant to his income as a healthcare professional. Pol is entirely transparent with his online income and does donate it based on what his viewers want. Remember this when you are considering how to view Pol in the future.
How we should deal with Pol
Pol made two significant mistakes in two days. The Denton leak did not pan out. The stress from that knowing his reputation would take a hit is difficult for many of us to understand. Pronouncements of "not giving a fuck" does not negate that stress. Pol followed up by what can only be called lashing out at the community in a paranoid schizophrenic manner.
Ultimately, it was a mistake, compounded by his actions the following day. Pol has damaged his image within the community. Please take note of this. He is not, however, broken or unforgivable. He must be forgiven because he is a vital source of energy when it comes to digging. The overwhelming majority of #GamerGate is too goddamn lazy to send a daily email, let alone pressure sources for information. Pol is that warrior. Let us not cast him out for what he has done.
I think Pol was played. That's another post though. Pol had a lapse in judgement. We as a community should continue to listen to Pol, but with a clear warning: we want thorough verification before we trust again. Sources of Pol should note this. If you are sharing information with Pol, understand that you will be outed as a means of verification for the information being leaked. Anything less will not due now. Remember #GamerGate, trust but verify.
A personal message to KingofPol
It does not hurt me either way if I am wrong in my assessment of you. You understand how groups and minds can be manipulated with your psych and history background. If you willfully manufactured anything, you hurt the movement exponentially more than your hurt yourself. I believe you understand this and that is why I believe you did not. I would like clarification, though. Transparency is our battle cry and we must all adhere to it.
This has been an unedited rant. @nrokchi
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