As a refresher, to doxx someone is, definitionally, "to publicly identify or publish private information about [them], especially as a form of punishment or revenge." The word arose from '90s hacker culture, to describe the digital unmasking of someone otherwise known only by a username by sharing their identity or personal information publicly. Although it remained in the fringe realm of 4chan message boards for ages, doxxing went mainstream in the 2010s, with the Gamergate fiasco.
I've spent more time than I'd like to admit consuming pickup artist content across every medium. I've watched TV shows, lurked in online forums, and read books - the legitimate ones from major publishers and some shady ones sold as e-books on dubious websites. I can partly chalk that up to the fact that, in the mid-2010s, pickup artist forums became politically relevant due to GamerGate, an online harassment campaign targeting women in the gaming industry.
In the mid-2010s, loosely organized online movements began spilling into the real world, catching popular culture off guard and leaving many journalists flat-footed in unfamiliar internet territory. You know their names. Pizzagate. QAnon. And the most consequential of all, MAGA: a mainstream political movement fueled in part by a fervent online contingent. But before all that came Gamergate, the proving ground where the tactics were tested.