IGN Staff Rebels Against Management Taking Down Pro-Gaza Statements

If you’ve been avoiding the world news as of late — and really, who could blame you — then you might not know that the conflict between Israel and Palestine has escalated to dangerous heights once again. I don’t want to disservice the complicated history and nuance in this conflict, so to phrase the most recent events as delicately and vaguely as possible… let’s say that the Palestinian side has been disproportionately affected.

In response to this, IGN — and a number of other gaming websites — published articles expressing support for the Palistinain people, and encouraged their readers to donate to charities that would lend them aid and support. This was heartfelt and encouraging, but also fairly controversial, as in the current US political space, we’re supposed to be firmly pro-Israel… to the point where showing any kind of support for Palestine could be viewed as problematic.

So about a day and some change after the IGN article went live, people noticed that it had strangely and unceremoniously been removed. When pressed for details why, IGN’s managers claimed that the original post made them seem like they were taking a “side” in this conflict, and thus, had been removed — while also promising to donate 25k to a charity that would help children on “both sides”.

A tale of editorial overreach and a minor disappointment, to be sure. But things were taken to another level earlier today when IGN staff members published an open letter condemning their management for removing their original post, and demanding that it gets reinstated ASAP.
 

We, the undersigned employees of IGN, are appalled by the recent management decision to subvert our editorial autonomy and remove our post directing aid to the Palestinian civilians currently suffering a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

In our original post, we offered our readers ways to support charities that help injured and sick children, supply educational resources and food assistance to victims, and provide emergency medical relief for those wounded or displaced by the conflict. We feel these efforts should not be controversial. All humans deserve access to these basic rights, and it is important for those with means to offer aid in times of humanitarian crisis.

So far, IGN’s management has not responded, but they also haven’t removed the open letter yet. By and large, the community is supporting IGN’s stance, although you would also be unsurprised to hear that some people are saying that IGN should be “staying out of politics”... among other things.

Anyway. The situation is getting pretty intense, so I’ll keep an eye on this one.