Sock Puppet Advocacy
Aug. 26th, 2024 07:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingA Prominent Accessibility Advocate Worked With Studios and Inspired Change. But She Never Actually Existed.
https://www.ign.com/articles/a-prominent-accessibility-advocate-worked-with-studios-and-inspired-change-but-she-never-actually-existed
In 2019, the games accessibility community mourned the death of Susan Banks. Now, evidence suggests she may have never existed to begin with. [...] Each of Craven’s partners embedded themselves into varying marginalized communities, with each allegedly being Deaf, a person of color, queer, and having some form of major health episodes like cancer. And through Craven’s varying social media accounts and presence in the industry, he was able to ensure each partner remained visible. Their work, whether written or through social media advocacy, reached thousands. From AAA studios to different community spaces, Banks, Hamid, and Vaughan entrenched themselves into the gaming industry.
Don't get me wrong; all accessibility is good accessibility.
At the same time, this is what I mean when I say that I'm skeptical of how conversations surrounding sensitive issues tend to play out on social media. Often, the loudest and angriest voices are given center stage, thus pushing aside the softer and quieter and more marginalized voices.
And again, all steps toward accommodating diversity are good. But it's still frustrating to think about the real people who were pushed away from the conversation because of the existence of an aggressive network of sock puppets.
I actually just listened to an Irish RTÉ podcast miniseries that covers a similar case of someone using the persona of a disabled person to advocate for disability rights who was then caught out by her fans on TikTok, and it's wild: https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/series/40750-the-real-carrie-jade/
https://www.ign.com/articles/a-prominent-accessibility-advocate-worked-with-studios-and-inspired-change-but-she-never-actually-existed
In 2019, the games accessibility community mourned the death of Susan Banks. Now, evidence suggests she may have never existed to begin with. [...] Each of Craven’s partners embedded themselves into varying marginalized communities, with each allegedly being Deaf, a person of color, queer, and having some form of major health episodes like cancer. And through Craven’s varying social media accounts and presence in the industry, he was able to ensure each partner remained visible. Their work, whether written or through social media advocacy, reached thousands. From AAA studios to different community spaces, Banks, Hamid, and Vaughan entrenched themselves into the gaming industry.
Don't get me wrong; all accessibility is good accessibility.
At the same time, this is what I mean when I say that I'm skeptical of how conversations surrounding sensitive issues tend to play out on social media. Often, the loudest and angriest voices are given center stage, thus pushing aside the softer and quieter and more marginalized voices.
And again, all steps toward accommodating diversity are good. But it's still frustrating to think about the real people who were pushed away from the conversation because of the existence of an aggressive network of sock puppets.
I actually just listened to an Irish RTÉ podcast miniseries that covers a similar case of someone using the persona of a disabled person to advocate for disability rights who was then caught out by her fans on TikTok, and it's wild: https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/series/40750-the-real-carrie-jade/
