We at the Daily Lobo recently published a review of “Hogwarts Legacy,” the controversial new video game set in the Harry Potter universe. In the process of editing the review, we failed to address the antisemitic tropes included in the game’s storyline.
Along with this, we did not properly address the arguments and goals put forward by members and allies of the queer and transgender community who boycotted the game. The game’s storyline features goblins as the primary villain. These “goblins” stem from antisemitic stereotypes, a commonly held criticism of the original book series as well. The characters are treated like second-class citizens within the world, according to Forbes. The decision to include this villain instead of another, not rooted in antisemitic stereotypes, should have been discussed in our review; instead, we failed to research or mention it entirely, even though we reviewed the storyline specifically.
The controversy that preceded the game’s release resulted in a boycott led by trans, queer and Jewish activists. Those who participated did so to reduce the relevancy, and thus the gain, of the original author of the books, J.K. Rowling, according to VOX. Rowling, who still received royalties from the game, is a strong proponent of anti-trans legislation and rhetoric, and in recent years, has faced controversy for her views on transgender rights, according to Forbes.
While she was not directly involved in the production of Hogwarts legacy, according to VOX, the game still supports the franchise she created, and, with “Hogwarts Legacy” receiving $850 million in sales at the time of publication, she’s set to profit greatly from her royalties. Protesters boycotted the game on those principles — in our review, we incorrectly stated that opponents' called to stop the game's release entirely, rather than boycotting the game once released.
In a similar vein, we positioned detractors as simply “people who are transgender;” though the boycott comes from many outside the transgender community as well.
By failing to address the antisemitic stereotypes in the game and misattributing the sentiments expressed by activists protesting the game, we did not provide an accurate or beneficial review of the entire game. Instead, we ignored real concerns about the bigotry associated with it.
The review also had errors in what versions of the game are available for users. We stated that it performs worse on older-generation hardware, but at the time published, the game had not yet been released with software that would allow you to play it on older-gen hardware, according to Insider.
The content of the review we published on “Hogwarts Legacy” was a failure of the Daily Lobo editorial board to not properly research and understand the larger context of the story we published. This is not okay — if we strive to be a trusted news source for the student body, we must do better, and journalistic integrity extends to reviews as well. We apologize for the ignorance that went into the editorial process of the review on Hogwarts Legacy.
This editorial is unsigned as it represents the views of the Daily Lobo editorial board.
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