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An independent report on Facebook’s alleged liberal bias tells us nothing
Conservatives have long lamented that Facebook has a liberal, or anti-conservative, bias. Since the 2016 election, the company has been grilled on the issue by the White House more than once. In an attempt to clear the air, Facebook enlisted an independent third-party to decide once and for all if it does indeed have an anti-conservative bias. Last year, it asked former Republican Senator Jon Kyl and his team at Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review of the company's policies. The results are in, and for the most part, they tell us nothing.
15 Minutes of Fame: Progressive guild thrives under uncommon leadership team
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. There's plenty about Wreck List of Garrosh (US-H) that's a little different from your run-of-the-mill World of Warcraft guild. The sprawling social guild doused Ragnaros just days ago with a team of core raiders rooted by several members in their 50s and 60s. In fact, the guild is run primarily by women over the age of 50 -- "at age 51, I'm the baby of the group," admits guild leader Dkosmama. With a median member age of about 40, Wreck List boasts well over 200 members, half of them women. Even more remarkable than its unusual gender and age mix, though, are the guild's roots -- Wreck List is the unofficial guild of the popular progressive political blog Daily Kos. Not limited to members from the Daily Kos community, Wreck List is open to any player looking for a sanctuary from trade chat madness, away from "threatening racist, homophobic, and misogynist language and ideas." The group's official Declaration of Purpose clearly states that "while guild chat is mostly non-political, it is also where we express our leftist political views, which sometimes may include a sharp word or two about Republicans. Because many guild members did not come to the Wreck List through political blogs, we do not expect everyone to hold progressive views on all issues; however, we do expect that all members respect the liberal foundation of the guild." An unusual balance for an entire guild? We thought so, too, and sat down to visit with Dkosmama about the balance of ideas and free expression that makes this whole group hang together. Editor's note: This article focuses on this group's integration with the World of Warcraft and is not an endorsement or promotion of any particular political ideology or agenda. Please keep comments focused on the guild and its activities, rather than political ideologies.
New UK government a possible setback for game dev tax breaks
[James Stringer] A report from Develop claims that the much-lobbied game development tax breaks that UK developers have been seeking may have to wait a bit longer before coming to fruition. Sources close to the UK government told the site that the recently reorganized government -- a new coalition of Liberals and Conservatives -- will "look to find its feet" before any further discussion takes place on the previously greenlit tax break initiative. "We're not really sure what the future holds. It's very early days and we have to hold discussions and set in train how this is going to work," the source told Develop. That said, newly appointed, game-friendly Culture Minister Ed Vaizey could help to get plans quickly back on track. Vaizey has spoken out in defense of games in the past, even belonging to a group set to publicly defend the medium earlier this year. For the time being, a Treasury Department source added that the previous party's tax break bill is still "in motion" and that the new administration would "have to act to stop the plan." We're hoping it'll still be too busy finding those feet to stop it.
Survey: political preferences affect game preferences
Liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat -- whatever our political differences, as gamers we can all agree on what makes a good game, right? Not so fast. A new survey suggests that different political groups tend to have different tastes in games. The survey, conducted by Zogby International for USC Annenberg's Norman Lear Center, looked at the general media preferences of nearly 4,000 American adults of all political stripes. According to a press release (PDF), the survey found that liberals, in general tend to "play video games a lot more than other people" while conservatives "don't play a lot of video games." For the conservatives that do play, Madden was the No. 1 game while The Sims ranked highest for liberals. As for moderates. their top games included Donkey Kong, thus showing their preference for the less politically divisive era of the early '80s. Despite the differences, there is at least one game series that everyone can agree on. According to the Lear Center summary, "Mario was the most popular game across the political spectrum." As Mario himself might say, "Thanks-a so much for reconciling politically over my game." Read - Summary of results PDF - Press release
