Update 2: THQ Nordic PR and marketing director Philipp Brock has been pressed as to why he kept the 8chan Ask Me Anything (AMA) going even after huge waves of criticism started coming, he said: "I was fucking overwhelmed with a plethora of different emotions to be honest."
PCGamesInsider.biz emailed THQ Nordic Lars Wingefors around the time that the AMA started; he replied in its aftermath, referring us to the statement that Brock had posted on Twitter.
Update: THQ Nordic PR and marketing director Philipp Brock has issued a statement via the game publisher's Twitter account (below) apologising for the decision to take part in an AMA on controversial image board 8chan.
"I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site," Brock wrote.
"I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form. I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my (!) decision, and promise to be far more vigorous in my assessment of these activities in the future. This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place."
"I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site. I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form. (...)
— THQNordic (@THQNordic) February 26, 2019
Original story: The THQ Nordic Ask Me Anything (AMA) on 8chan promoted by the company's Twitter account was, in fact, legitimate and not a hack as many had assumed.
Speaking to PCGamesInsider.biz on the phone, PR and marketing director Philipp Brock - one of the people responding to questions on the controversial image board - reiterated what the THQ Nordic Twitter account (below) had said; that the publisher was approached by a member of the 8chan community to answer questions.
8chan started off in 2013 as a "free-speech alternative" to 4chan. As a result of its content, the image board was blacklisted by Google for its content back in August 2015.
the opportunity was here and we took it, we got apporached in a very friendly and polite manner and were assured, said person (shoutout to Mark) will take care of the nasty stuff. so, here we are.
— THQNordic (@THQNordic) February 26, 2019
The announcement of the AMA on Twitter caused something of a stir, with many members of the games community speculating that the publisher's social media accounts had been hacked. 8chan, after all, has its roots in the internet pranks and lulz culture of 4chan.
Elsewhere, there was concern about THQ Nordic associating itself with what can only be described as a controversial website that has in the past featured very adult and illegal content such as child pornography, according to The Daily Dot, and is otherwise known for hate speech.
A full comment from the company is incoming. More as this develops
