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We build our argument from a comparative analysis of two case studies: (1) digital journalistic responses to GamerGate and (2) Twitter\u2019s account verification \u2018checkmark\u2019 system from 2021 to 2022. These phenomena showcase the linkages between the gendered and raced policing of journalists and users during GamerGate and the rise of \u2018authenticity\u2019 as a key resource for journalists and other platformed creators in the present. We draw on digital games, journalism and critical media studies to analyse the work of \u2018authenticity\u2019. We argue that platform affordances such as identity verification badges are fundamentally implicated in the work of users to appear \u2018real\u2019, even as the visibility requisite for realness brings uneven risks for marginalised cultural workers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448231158387","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,11]],"date-time":"2023-03-11T02:05:39Z","timestamp":1678500339000},"page":"6695-6714","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Verified play, precarious work: GamerGate and platformed authenticity in the cultural industries"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0641-2239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nelanthi","family":"Hewa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Toronto, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1975-5046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christine H.","family":"Tran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Toronto, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-14614448231158387","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1329878X16665177"},{"key":"bibr2-14614448231158387","unstructured":"Amaro R (2019) Becoming digital. e-flux, February. 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