> Also the responsibility to do good journalism lies with the journalist and their publication, not the game company (the game company cannot objectively cover their own game anyhow). That was a mistake the gamergaters made a lot, and further damaged their credibility.

There’s definitely room to blame both - just as it’s wrong to offer a bribe even if it’s not accepted - but I think it was quite telling how the mob just wasn’t interested in that. There’s probably an interesting story about power gradients and how large companies can manipulate reviews to their advantage by withholding access - similar to how the car review industry works - but it just wasn’t what people were there for.