Brianna Wu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brianna Wu
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Wu in 2015
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| Born | July 6, 1977 West Virginia, U.S.
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| Known for | Commentary on issues related to women in gaming |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Wu |
Brianna Wu (born July 6, 1977) is an American video game developer and computer programmer. She helped start a company called Giant Spacekat, which makes video games. This company is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Brianna Wu also writes and talks about topics related to the video game industry.
In 2018, Wu ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress in Massachusetts but did not win. She tried again in 2020 but stopped her campaign early due to worries about the spread of COVID-19.
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Early Life and Education
Brianna Wu was born in West Virginia. She grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, with her adoptive parents. Her father was a retired doctor, and her mother ran several small businesses. She went to the University of Mississippi to study journalism and political science. She also wrote for the school newspaper. She left college in 2001.
Career in Technology
When she was 19, Wu started a small animation studio. She wanted to create an animated TV show, but this project was not successful. After that, she left college and moved to Washington, D.C.. There, she worked for several years helping to raise money for political causes.
Later, she worked as a journalist. However, when the iPhone came out, she felt inspired. She decided to become a graphic designer and create video games.
Starting Giant Spacekat
In 2010, Brianna Wu co-founded a company called Giant Spacekat with Amanda Stenquist Warner. Wu also co-hosted a weekly podcast called Isometric. This podcast started in May 2014 and talked about the video game industry. The Isometric podcast ended in April 2016. After that, Wu and the same co-hosts started a new podcast called Disruption. This new show on Relay FM covers technology and culture.
Revolution 60 Game
Brianna Wu was the main person in charge of developing Giant Spacekat's game, Revolution 60. This game is special because it features female main characters. Many people felt these characters were similar to the women who started the game studio.
The game was shown at a big event called PAX East in March 2013. It was even named one of the top 10 best independent games at the conference. Revolution 60 was made using the Unreal Engine and cost a few hundred thousand dollars to create. It was first released for iOS devices, like iPhones and iPads, in July 2014. Later, in September 2016, a special version of Revolution 60 became available on Steam and iOS.
Political Involvement
After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Brianna Wu decided to run for Congress. She wanted to represent a district in the Boston area. Her main goals included protecting privacy rights and stopping online harassment. She also wanted to improve the economy in Massachusetts.
She challenged a representative named Stephen F. Lynch in the 8th district. Wu announced her campaign on Twitter. She believed that Lynch did not fully represent the Democratic ideas. She supported unions and fair agreements for workers. Wu also felt that Massachusetts gives more money to the federal government than it gets back. She hoped to use this to help Massachusetts in negotiations. She also wanted the Boston area to become a major technology center, like the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wu also said she ran for office because she disagreed with then-President Donald Trump. She felt Congress was not doing enough about technology issues. She also thought the Democratic Party needed to connect better with voters.
Some experts thought it would be hard for Wu to win against Lynch. Lynch had strong ties to labor unions and came from a more traditional part of the district. However, others thought that changes in the population might help Wu.
In February 2017, Wu got attention on Twitter for talking about space. She warned about the military use of space. She also worried about private companies having too much control over the Moon. She later deleted some tweets after people criticized her.
In late 2017, Wu used a live streaming service called Twitch to talk about her campaign. This was a new way for a politician to reach voters. She said that young people often feel disconnected from politics. She believed Twitch was a great way to connect with them. Wu played a video game called Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus during her stream.
Wu lost to Stephen Lynch in the Democratic primary election on September 4, 2018. She received about 23% of the votes, while Lynch received 71%.
2020 Congressional Campaign
Brianna Wu ran for Congress again in 2020, once more challenging Stephen Lynch. She focused on technology issues. For example, she supported some ideas about breaking up large technology companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google. She believed that the government had not been strict enough about stopping monopolies in recent years.
She also supported the Green New Deal. This plan aims to shift the United States to using 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.
In April 2020, Wu stopped her campaign for Congress. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was worried that her staff or supporters might get sick.
Views on Current Issues
Since the start of the Gaza war, Brianna Wu has spoken out strongly in support of Israel. She has written that she believes some people on the political left are not supporting their Jewish friends enough. She also said that she noticed a casual dislike of Jewish people in some progressive groups.
Wu has also shared her thoughts on transgender women in women's sports. She believes that efforts to include transgender women in all women's sports might have accidentally helped anti-trans initiatives gain more support.
Personal Life
In 2008, Brianna Wu married Frank Wu. He is an artist who has won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist four times. In 2020, she co-founded Rebellion PAC with Cenk Uygur. This group focuses on running ads against Donald Trump and encouraging people to vote for progressive causes.
Online Harassment
In October 2014, Brianna Wu posted messages on Twitter about a group called Gamergate. She made fun of them for being upset about women working in the video game industry. While she was looking at an online forum, anonymous users shared her private information, including her home address.
After this, Wu started getting many serious threats of violence and death. These threats included her address, which made her leave her home. Many people believe these threats came from Gamergate supporters. In December, Wu said she received emails with pictures of hurt animals from people who said they were Gamergate supporters. This happened after her dog had recently passed away.
Brianna Wu, along with Anita Sarkeesian and Zoë Quinn, was one of the main targets of Gamergate harassment. In February 2015, she said that by attacking her so strongly, the harassers were actually helping her gain attention. This attention, she felt, would help bring about the changes in the game industry that they were afraid of.
Wu started a fund to help women who were targeted by Gamergate. Her family also offered a reward for information that would lead to the arrest of those who sent the death threats. By February 2015, she was spending a full day each week talking to law enforcement. She also only attended events in the U.S. with security guards. In March 2015, she said she had received 48 death threats in six months. As of May 2019, she and her husband were still living under different names for safety.
In early 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) finished its investigation into the threats. The FBI found four men who sent threats, and two of them admitted to it. One said it was a "joke" but understood it was a crime. However, the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts decided not to press charges. Wu was very upset by this decision. Later, after a shooting in 2019, she said the FBI needed special agents who understand online culture, especially sites like 8chan.
In August 2021, The Washington Post reported that despite the attempts to harm her career and safety, Wu has become a strong supporter of forgiving those who apologize and show they have changed. However, insults and continued harassment still happen much more often than apologies.
Brianna Wu has said that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of the harassment she experienced.
