Pokemon Go director reveals harassment from #HearUsNiantic protester

Dylan Horetski
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Pokemon Go Director Michael Steranka has shared on Twitter that someone using the #HearUsNiantic protest hashtag has been harassing him and his family.

As a way to protest against the changes to Remote Raids back in April, #HearUsNiantic began trending across social media with fans pleading for Niantic to reverse the price increase and limitations.

On May 23, over a month after it first trended, Pokemon Go director Michael Steranka revealed that a user was using the hashtag in tweets harassing himself, his wife, and his newborn child.

It quickly went viral, with many putting their thoughts about the state of the game aside to condemn the person’s actions.

#HearUsNiantic protester harasses Pokemon Go director

“I decided to block and account for the first time today,” Michael Steranka revealed at the beginning of his tweet. “I usually pride myself on never blocking anybody, even though some people say some pretty hurtful things about me.”

Alongside the message, Steranka included screenshots of a Twitter account insulting him, his wife, as well as Michael’s newborn child.

“But this account, which was created just this month, seems to have been made with the sole intent of harassing me and insulting my family,” he added in a reply. “I hope we can all agree that this is not okay and something we should wholly reject from the community.”

The next day, Steranka shared that the account had been deleted and made sure to say thank you to those who condemned the user’s actions.

“Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who chimed in to condemn what that person said and also to those who reported their account. It really does mean a lot to me,” he said.

While it’s clear that Pokemon Go fans are not happy with some of Steranka’s decisions regarding the game recently, it appears that the community doesn’t want that level of harassment taking place within it.

For more Pokemon Go news and other viral stories, head over to check out our coverage.

About The Author

Dylan is a Senior Writer for Dexerto with knowledge in keyboards, headsets, and live streaming hardware. Outside of tech, he knows the latest happenings around Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. Contact Dylan at Dylan.Horetski@Dexerto.com