THQ Nordic parent company apologizes for 8chan AMA
Co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors "condemns all unethical content this website stands for", regrets implicit endorsement
THQ Nordic AB has issued a statement after subsidiary company THQ Nordic GmbH Vienna hosted an Ask Me Anything session last week on 8chan, an anonymous forum known for racism, hate speech, and harassment that was also once temporarily stricken from Google search results for hosting child pornography.
The AMA took place on Tuesday. Shortly after its conclusion, THQ Nordic GmbH PR and marketing director Philipp Brock (who ran the session) offered a statement saying he did not understand the site's history, adding, "I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form." When asked for comment, THQ Nordic AB co-founder and group CEO Lars Wingefors initially said only that Brock had already addressed the matter.
Six days later, Wingefors has offered his own statement, addressed to THQ Nordic employees, partners, and consumers.
"This letter is to offer my sincerest apologies and regret for THQ Nordic GmbH Vienna's interaction with the controversial website 8chan last Tuesday, February 26. I condemn all unethical content this website stands for. Even if no one within the THQ Nordic Group would ever endorse such content, I realize simply appearing there gave an implicit impression that we did.
As Co-Founder and Group CEO of THQ Nordic AB, I take full responsibility for all of THQ Nordic GmbH's actions and communications. I have spent the past several days conducting an internal investigation into this matter. I assure you that every member of the organization has learned from this past week's events. I take this matter very seriously and we will take appropriate action to make sure we have the right policies and systems in place to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
As a Swedish based, fast growing group, we firmly support equality and diversity. We are also working actively to combat discrimination, harassment, and misconduct. We are already in the process of developing new work processes, based on the United Nations' SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and using the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards, and we will accelerate this work going forward.