Washington Post accused of activism for urging video game companies to take a stand on Roe v. Wade
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The Washington Post is facing accusations of activism over a report urging video game companies to take a stand on Roe v. Wade as the Supreme Court mulls overturning the decades-long precedent protecting the legalization of abortions on a federal level. On Wednesday, videogame reporters Nathan Grayson
were accused of activism over a report urging ]video game] companies to take a stand on Roe v. Wade as the ]Supreme Courtmulls overturning the decades-long precedent protecting the legalization of ]abortions. This article documents how the giants of the gaming industry are largely avoiding the abortions at a
The article started by citing Bungie, a “Destiny 2” studio owned by Sony. It published a statement “in favor of reproductive rights” which decried Roe v. Wade’s overturning. The journalists appeared to support the company despite its viral backlash from critics. They wrote, “Bungie, on its part, stood firm. “
The Post called the silence from the industry’s heavy hitters “especially conspicuous” since they were largely outspoken in their support for Black Lives Matter following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and anti-Asian hate during the COVID pandemic, noting, “In both of those cases, many big companies released statements, donated to charitable causes, updated internal policies and added in-game features to allow players to express their support. “
“The Washington Post contacted 20 major video game companies about whether they planned to make a statement regarding Roe’s potential repeal or provide employees with monetary aid in places where abortions would no longer be available. The paper stated that only Microsoft and Activision Blizzard replied with statements.
File photo – This July 3, 2014 photo shows Microsoft Corp. signage outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft on Thursday, July 17, 2014.
(AP Photo Ted S. Warren)
Microsoft, the company behind the popular Xbox console, told the Post it will “continue to do everything we can under the law to protect our employees’ rights and support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical health care — which already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care — regardless of where they live across the U.S.,” adding, “This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region. “
“Activision Blizzard,” the giant behind “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and “Candy Crush,” similarly said to the paper, “As a company, providing fair and equitable health care is a top priority, and we will closely monitor developments in the coming weeks and months. “
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The report highlighted what’s been called the “Mother’s Day strike,” a week-long protest from May 8-15 that urges participants to “stop working, shopping and eating out as a way to protest the possibility that Roe v. Wade could be overturned,” something several video game employees told the Post they were partaking. Not every game developer who supports abortion rights has been able take the week off to strike. One employee at Blizzard told The Post that she would like to take part, but she couldn’t afford it. “I understand the motivation behind it, but it is hard to imagine anyone who could strike like that without having to be dire in terms being able to live reasonably,” The Post wrote. It added, “Right now game workers want some stability with Roe V. Wade’s possible repeal threatening to shake their foundation. Their employers would have to commit to their reproductive health care. “
Protestors gather outside the Supreme Court in protest of abortion rights (Fox News Digital).
(Fox News Digital)
Grayson shared the report on Twitter, writing “NEW: @shannon_liao and I reached out to over 20 major video game companies about whether they intend to speak up in favor of reproductive rights or provide monetary aid to employees. Only a few of them said yes. Most said nothing. “
But critics blasted him and the Post, accusing them both of activism.
“Washington Post wants to bully video game companies into taking a stance on abortion and provide $$ for employees to get abortions. This is activism journalism — it’s disturbing,” Jason Rantz, a radio host, criticized the paper. Drew Holden, Free Beacon writer, reacted to the paper.
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“Bullying people into political activism is what passes for journalism these days,” RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway wrote.
“Activists pretending to be journalists call up companies asking why Taylor Swift’s silence seems so disconcerting,” Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire, tweeted.
” This seems more like lobbying that journalism,” Matt Lewis, senior columnist at Daily Beast, wrote.
“Activism, not journalism. “WaPo in a nutshell” Substack writer Andrew Sullivan also tweeted.
Photographer: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Others mocked the Post for pressing the video game industry to comment on abortion in the first place.
” Is it the expectation that Mario should be your moral epistemologist? Zaid Jilani, journalist, asked.
“As Roe V Wade repeal looms the toilet cleaning industry, especially Scrubbing Bubbles, remains mostly silent.,” Dana Loesch, a radio host, parodied the headline of the Post.
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“Notably, my local bodega guy has not weighed in either. Jezebel editor in chief Laura Bassett joked that the silence was deafening.
Fox News did not immediately respond with a comment.
I have been writing professionally for over 20 years and have a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional elements that affect people. I’m an experienced ghostwriter and editor, as well as an award-winning author of five novels.
