Opinion - Essay & Statement Translated with AI assistance
By J-dawg The Brotherhood takes a cautious and skeptical stance on claims of abuse in social media spaces regarding gamers. For over a decade, we have seen our voices misrepresented, maligned, and suppressed in mainstream discourse. Given this history, we do not assume good-faith engagement from the industry or those who routinely defend it.
We've watched as false claims in broader culture spiral into global scandals, driven by media pressure, leading to snap verdicts widely adopted by the public. Many of these cases share a striking commonality: they oft center on topics arising from, or adjacent to what may be termed "Women’s Issues." IYKYK
The Brotherhood does not comment on such topics. As a gaming culture and arts group with a fraternal focus, these matters fall outside our mission, experience, and expertise.
Our primary concern is advocating for gamers and our shared culture. While we may occasionally step outside our gaming discussions to address bad actors harming the community, we do not seek that role, nor will it ever be our main focus.
That said, we will call out those who consistently act in bad faith—whether they are outsiders stirring division or abusers causing real harm, including to women or girls. When people behave this way in the gaming community, our members have the discretion to address it. Persistent troublemakers—gamer or not—eventually become everyone's problem.
We don’t tolerate it.
And so, we step up to address it now.
Most readers here recognize the journalist in the image below and may already know why her approach is not to be emulated. However, fewer may be aware of Jon del Arroz and why his actions serve as an even bigger warning.
This is Alyssa Mercante. She’s a gamer. Formerly of Kotaku.
To be clear, this is not a callout for Mercante—just a comparison. While many in the gaming community dislike her, she is at least undeniably a gamer. Her journalism may be lacking, and her treatment of people questionable, but she is one of us in that regard.
That cannot be said for del Arroz.
Jon del Arroz is not a gamer, nor has he ever been part of our culture.
Originally, this piece was meant to approach the subject with humor—after all, gaming culture thrives on taking things in stride. But Jon is not from our world, and that difference matters.
What follows is serious and cannot be overlooked. First, the easier point:
Due to his disruptive presence in gaming spaces, we strongly advise against following or engaging with Jon del Arroz on X. You’ll soon see why. Read on, then decide whether blocking him is the right move.
So, who is Jon del Arroz? Let’s let him speak for himself:
This is not a one-time lapse in judgment. This is his routine. Does this seem like good company? You decide.
The New Kotaku?
Jon del Arroz is affiliated with FandomPulse, a blog attempting to fill Kotaku’s semi-vacant niche of sensationalized, misleading gaming news. While the site’s main contributor appears to be John F. Trent, del Arroz actively spreads its exaggerated and often false stories. A recent example is the smear campaign against Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, which was widely debunked by the gaming community:
Example headline:
The reality—
Do these look like children to you?
Despite clear evidence refuting their claims from day one, FandomPulse has refused to retract its false reporting. As a community, we must reject these dishonest outlets if we want a gaming news landscape free from harmful misinformation.
GBAMFS rebukes this publication and its irresponsible, deeply flawed, and obnoxious false coverage on this story, and others.
[Instructions on how to evaluate its contents critically and non-commercially are provided here. Like Kotaku, the site effects plain ideological bias. Essentially a clearinghouse for trash-talk... this is not the work of well-balanced reporters.]
FandomPulse’s narrative was debunked immediately, yet they persist. Whether or not their accusations hold any biblical significance is for scholars to debate, but as gamers, we must uphold higher standards for truth in reporting.
We must not fall into the same trap that allowed Kotaku to degrade its own credibility until it collapsed under the weight of its falsehoods.
Some prominent voices in gaming commentary have spoken against this brand of disinformation.
(Another myth they promoted was that post-release, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a commercial failure. This turned out to be false with it selling over 2 million copies.)
Among them, YouTuber Vee has criticized the misleading narratives pushed by figures like del Arroz-
It is widely acknowledged that del Arroz is a serial interloper—jumping from fandom to fandom, causing chaos, and getting expelled. His presence harms the gaming community, and we oppose his influence.
It gets worse
This is not our usual coverage, but it must be addressed. Del Arroz’s actions have real-world consequences. His behavior may have contributed to the suicide of comic book artist Ed Piskor after Jon and his associates smeared him with unsubstantiated allegations.
Recently, he targeted a small YouTube gaming channel with the same baseless attacks. Once again, absent any real evidence—
GBAMFS condemns this behavior in the strongest terms.
This is a pattern. Del Arroz accuses, harasses, and smears...in at least one case, with a fatal outcome. Worse, he seems to acknowledge and even revel in the destruction he causes:
Profiting from Scandal:
He is evidently proud of himself.
Del Arroz, to all appearances operates as a provocateur—sabotaging communities for notoriety and profit. He also funds himself through pseudonymous erotic fiction written under female pen names.
Yes, really.
Take a moment to process that. We had to.
There is more, but at this stage, the key takeaway is clear: del Arroz is a toxic influence on gaming culture and beyond.
His associate's post before Piskor's suicide-
In Jon's own words–
Some community reactions to the outcome:
Afterwards, Jon & co portrayed themselves as victims of a smear campaign:–
Source thread: https://x.com/IM_Ramble/status/1775068431576183171
This is not the end of the examples that could be featured of the appalling and anti-social (if not worse) conduct on his part. If you really want to dig in, this X post is a signpost. If it seems like he's a man obsessed with every manner of scandal and degenerate behavior; that is what it seems like, doesn't it? Does one care to question why?
Conclusion–
Jon del Arroz is not just a nuisance in gaming spaces—he is a menace to any community he infiltrates. While we generally avoid engaging in such topics, his actions strongly interfere with our community's ability to learn about and enjoy gaming without a toxic, and harmful environment being created for others. That demands a response.
We urge appropriate action against him. To those who have ignored his conduct, reconsider any association. We must reject bad actors who seek to damage our community.
The gaming space deserves better!
There are further issues, and we extend notice of these because they imperil the well-being of others outside the gaming community, but suffer from the same cause-Jon del Arroz. It is a factual matter that this report is in reference to this Jon del Arroz (& his ex:) Past-
A pattern of abusive conduct, again :
Now:
Anabel of Hispanish Online posted this- we let her speak for herself-
Context | Comparison
Not unique - One of Jon's pen-named, woman-faced author profiles for his light erotic fiction novels, marketed towards women:
Needless to say we find this, too, to be unacceptable, appalling, and absolutely disgusting. To date, that profile is still up in spite of being reported by those interested in the wellbeing of Ms.Anabel, regardless of whether she is a gamer-we are dealing with a common problem here!
Note from Jdawg: There are hardly words for how dispiriting this entire chain of events was to learn about, and tell you here! Just wanted to play video games at the end of the day.... we have some real problems in this community, a lot of which come from outside of it!!
This man is a menace to society at large, not just the gaming community. Although there are others in the gaming space that pose their own problems to our community (and beyond,) we believe it is hard to find a clearer example of someone who does not belong here, or having the ears of gamers, than Jon del Arroz.
The gaming space deserves better!
Statement: We repudiate this non-gamer and nuisance individual about our gaming spaces. We encourage the removal of the profile noted above and demand action on the part of appropriate authorities to do what they can to address the ongoing pattern of abuse and misconduct by Arroz. To those among us pretending this isn't who he is and isn't a problem, you now can't say you don't know better, and it is spelled out in plain English.
This article is part of an ongoing series, last being 'Our statement on grifters in the gaming space...' This is a simplified version of the original, more expansive article:https://www.gbamfs.org/post/our-statement-on-abusers-in-the-gaming-space
J-Dawg is a die-hard gamer, devoted fan of traditional 2D animation, GBAMFS' founder, CEO and spokesman. You may follow the GBAMFS X account from this link: https://x.com/gbamfs Copyright GBAMFS 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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