Actually It S About Ethics

2014catchphraseclassic

Published August 15, 2026

"Actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism" is a catchphrase that mocks Gamergate supporters by pasting the line onto stills from horror movies and video games. The joke took off in October 2014 after a Twitter user captioned a scene from the film It, and single-topic Tumblr blogs pushed it into wider circulation within days.

catchphrase memesculture war memesgamingsarcasm memesmid 2010s memes

Overview

"Actually It's About Ethics" is short for "Actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism," a line Gamergate supporters used so often in 2014 that critics turned it into a joke by pasting it onto screenshots from horror films and video games1. The gag treats the phrase as an all-purpose excuse, framing menacing images of clowns, killers, and monsters as if they too were only concerned with press ethics2.

The format is simple. Take a still that clearly depicts something horrifying, add the sentence in plain white caption text, and let the mismatch do the work3. That gap between the sinister image and the earnest talking point is the whole punchline, which is why the meme reads instantly even to people who never followed the Gamergate arguments themselves1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (origin) / Tumblr (viral spread)
Creator
Alejandrobot
Date
2014

The earliest known pairing of the phrase with a horror still came from Twitter user Alejandrobot on October 15th, 2014, who captioned a shot from the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's It2. The tweet picked up momentum quickly, collecting more than 3,000 favorites and over 2,000 retweets within two weeks1.

The joke worked because Gamergate proponents had been repeating the "ethics in gaming journalism" framing constantly on Twitter, and Alejandrobot's caption weaponized that repetition against them by dropping it into a context where it obviously did not belong1.

How It Spread

On October 24th, 2014, two single-topic Tumblr blogs, itsaboutethicsingamesjournalism and actuallyethics, launched to collect more entries in the same format1. The same day, BoingBoing covered the meme, and Buzzfeed followed with its own writeup the next day2.

Also on October 24th, The Washington Post ran an interview with Gamergate supporters who insisted the movement really was about journalism ethics, giving the parody even more raw material to work with3. That same day, Twitter user zpxlng introduced the hashtag #germergoat with a tweet that pulled in more than 700 retweets in under 24 hours, which became a common tag for posting new captioned stills1.

From there, the phrase settled in as shorthand well beyond image macros. People still drop "actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism" into unrelated arguments as a punchline whenever someone offers an obviously bad-faith justification2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Actually It S About Ethics

2014catchphraseclassic

Published August 15, 2026

"Actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism" is a catchphrase that mocks Gamergate supporters by pasting the line onto stills from horror movies and video games. The joke took off in October 2014 after a Twitter user captioned a scene from the film It, and single-topic Tumblr blogs pushed it into wider circulation within days.

catchphrase memes culture war memes gaming sarcasm memes mid 2010s memes

Overview

"Actually It's About Ethics" is short for "Actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism," a line Gamergate supporters used so often in 2014 that critics turned it into a joke by pasting it onto screenshots from horror films and video games1. The gag treats the phrase as an all-purpose excuse, framing menacing images of clowns, killers, and monsters as if they too were only concerned with press ethics2.

The format is simple. Take a still that clearly depicts something horrifying, add the sentence in plain white caption text, and let the mismatch do the work3. That gap between the sinister image and the earnest talking point is the whole punchline, which is why the meme reads instantly even to people who never followed the Gamergate arguments themselves1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (origin) / Tumblr (viral spread)
Creator
Alejandrobot
Date
2014

The earliest known pairing of the phrase with a horror still came from Twitter user Alejandrobot on October 15th, 2014, who captioned a shot from the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's It2. The tweet picked up momentum quickly, collecting more than 3,000 favorites and over 2,000 retweets within two weeks1.

The joke worked because Gamergate proponents had been repeating the "ethics in gaming journalism" framing constantly on Twitter, and Alejandrobot's caption weaponized that repetition against them by dropping it into a context where it obviously did not belong1.

How It Spread

On October 24th, 2014, two single-topic Tumblr blogs, itsaboutethicsingamesjournalism and actuallyethics, launched to collect more entries in the same format1. The same day, BoingBoing covered the meme, and Buzzfeed followed with its own writeup the next day2.

Also on October 24th, The Washington Post ran an interview with Gamergate supporters who insisted the movement really was about journalism ethics, giving the parody even more raw material to work with3. That same day, Twitter user zpxlng introduced the hashtag #germergoat with a tweet that pulled in more than 700 retweets in under 24 hours, which became a common tag for posting new captioned stills1.

From there, the phrase settled in as shorthand well beyond image macros. People still drop "actually it's about ethics in gaming journalism" into unrelated arguments as a punchline whenever someone offers an obviously bad-faith justification2.

Frequently Asked Questions