Matt Wieteska

Matt Wieteska

@gamecat.bsky.social

Freelance Writer, Game Designer, Director. Co-founder @badscientistaudio Previously: Writer @ Techland; Head of Production @ Six to Start; Creative Lead on Marvel Move; Voice Director & Radio Abel creator on Zombies, Run!

520 followers453 following554 posts

Matt Wieteska reposted

Hell Frasier: Bloodline
@babadooknukem.bsky.social

We tried "everyone is entitled to an opinion" for three straight decades and all we have to show for it is four thousand cases of measles and a death cult running the government. It's time for people who don't know what they're talking about to shut the fuck up.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Kieron Gillen
@kierongillen.bsky.social

My mind is just collapsing at the "we have far-right entryist groups offering themselves as middle-men to hook you up with professional hitmen, but our big priority is covering up pride pins" of the present BBC.

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *

Matt Wieteska reposted

Kate Nevens (she/her)
@katenevens.bsky.social

Awful news to wake up to today. New oil and gas fields won't bring down our bills and won't create secure jobs, and will only cause untold damage to our climate. We need a Just Transition now, and governments brave enough to end our reliance on fossil fuels

Scottish Greens@scottishgreens.org

🚨 BREAKING: The UK Labour Government have approved the Jackdaw gas field. This a devastating betrayal of future generations. Jackdaw will make the UK even more dependent on the global gas market. This will do nothing to lower household energy bills and it is dishonest to pretend that it will.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Dave Gilbert
@wadjeteyegames.com

Hey Scottish voice actors! If you're interested in auditioning for this, DM me for the deets!

Dave Gilbert@wadjeteyegames.com

Attention Scottish voice actors! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎤 We’re gearing up to cast an upcoming project, which will require an (almost) all Scottish cast! So watch this space, if it’s nae bother.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Josh Shepperd
@joshshepperd.bsky.social

This is effectively the beginning of the end of the best public media production culture in the world. Brexit destroyed the entire country.

Michael Savage@michaelsavage.bsky.social

NEW: BBC confirms BBC Three, BBC Scotland, Radio 4 Extra channels to go, but there is an even more worrying development. After all the cuts so far, the BBC is not even HALF WAY to its £500m savings target. Some big calls to come... www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...

theguardian.comBBC Three and BBC Scotland TV channels to be shut down next yearCorporation announces broadcast closures and job losses in effort to find savings of £500m

Matt Wieteska reposted

A.R. Moxon
@juliusgoat.bsky.social

If our system of justice can determine that shooting a one year-old is justified, then we do not have a system of justice, and our goal should be the eradication of the system we have and its replacement with something better.

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social

JUST IN: The police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley as he sat in his mother’s lap in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Miss., in June “was justified,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office said on Monday. Her office will not charge the white officer who shot the child.

mississippifreepress.orgKohen Wiley Shooting ‘Was Justified,’ Mississippi AG SaysThe police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley as he sat in his mother’s lap in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Miss., in June “was justified,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s…

Matt Wieteska reposted

rax ‘levon honkers’ king
@raxkingisdead.bsky.social

something that occurred to me is, everyone knows it’s possible to become a musician with work and practice. but you can’t work on and practice music while staring slackjawed at your phone. the real promise of generative AI is the ability to ‘make’ ‘art’ without reducing your slackjawed scroll time

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Matt Wieteska reposted

Chris Person
@papapishu.bsky.social

Octopus is the easiest thing to cut out of your diet on moral grounds because it’s basically never around, probably has dreams and emotions and tastes like a tire.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof
@evanbernick.bsky.social

I am entirely serious when I say that this should be seen as a moderate position. It specifically and surgically dismantles institutions that did not exist pre-9/11 and assigns their functions much as they were assigned pre-9/11.

Truthout@truthout.org

Rep. Delia C. Ramirez has introduced a bill that would abolish not just ICE, but the DHS altogether, repealing the 2002 law establishing the agency and replacing it with one focused on protecting civil and human rights.

truthout.orgRep. Delia Ramirez Introduces Landmark Bill to Abolish DHS, ICE, and CBPThe Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002 as part of the Bush administration’s war on terror.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Jason Read
@jasonread.bsky.social

The flying car is an extension of the asocial sociality of the automobile; it is only a fantasy if you are the only one that has one.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Cathode Ray Vaughn
@schneidremarks.bsky.social

There are so, so many verified diaries of white Union soldiers at the beginning of the war saying "I don't know about this, I condemn the deplorable violence" and then they get down there and see slavery with their own eyes and immediately go "John Brown was right we gotta kill these motherfuckers"

Erik Loomis@erikloomis.bsky.social

And we can certainly condemn his violence. But let’s step back and remember just how horrible slavery was. On December 20, 1858, Brown, who had briefly returned to Kansas, led a party into Missouri to free slaves.

Matt Wieteska
@gamecat.bsky.social

Not to dunk on a two-foot hoop, but "this thing is cool to me and I therefore refuse to interrogate its substance, morality or likely impact on the future of our society" is at least 75% of how we got into this mess

Matt Wieteska reposted

michael lutz
@ztul.bsky.social

Replying to @ztul.bsky.social

I know it's grim but if we're gonna get through this we're all gonna have to take a deep breath and decide to be the grownups again

Matt Wieteska reposted

Evan Greer
@evangreer.bsky.social

Hey media outlets maybe stop doing antisemites work for them by conflating "committed Zionists who are defending a genocide at all costs' with "Jewish leaders" ? www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-...

dublinlive.ieJewish leaders call for cancellation of Fontaines D.C. gigs in ManchesterThe Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region has called for Fontaines D.C.'s Manchester gigs at Heaton Park to be cancelled, citing concerns over 'inflammatory rhetoric' from the...

Matt Wieteska reposted

Luke Plunkett
@lukeplunkett.com

huge bummer having a jewish website put your game on a listicle does not make you a zionist. a 5-min phonecall could have sorted this all out.

Aftermath@aftermath.site

Games event criticized after dumping sponsor over 'Zionist' allegations: aftermath.site/freeplay-paral...

Matt Wieteska reposted

union person
@junlper.beer

this is the ultimate end point of capitalism, ai will completely atomize everyone and there will be zero shared experiences. there will be no culture, only pure consumption. this must be resisted

Matt Wieteska reposted

Kairon
@caired.bsky.social

Replying to @caired.bsky.social

Oh, I think this is where I picked up this honestly great perspective: bsky.app/profile/stcy...

Stacey Mason@stcymsn.bsky.social

Wow we’re having “games are art” discourse again! Just gonna leave this here. From my dissertation:

Matt Wieteska reposted

KC from NIBCARD Games
@nibcard.bsky.social

Hi, we failed to reach our KS goal to host AB Con this year. But we are not giving up. Our team have been planning and we have made a part payment for venue Please if you’d still want to support us, here is a link: remoteworkready.selar.com/06lc7z888a Please also share to your community.

remoteworkready.selar.comBuy AB Con X Campaign by African Boardgames Convention on SelarAB Con X: Help Us Make 10 Years HappenAB Con is turning 10.For the past decade, AB Con has brought gamers, designers, publishers, creators and communities together to play, learn, connect and grow Afr...

Matt Wieteska reposted

Eric Lang
@ericlang.bsky.social

I know it’s a rough time to be asking for money, and ignore this if you don’t have the means But the folks at Nibcard are doing amazing things for gaming against impossible odds.

KC from NIBCARD Games@nibcard.bsky.social

Hi, we failed to reach our KS goal to host AB Con this year. But we are not giving up. Our team have been planning and we have made a part payment for venue Please if you’d still want to support us, here is a link: remoteworkready.selar.com/06lc7z888a Please also share to your community.

remoteworkready.selar.comBuy AB Con X Campaign by African Boardgames Convention on SelarAB Con X: Help Us Make 10 Years HappenAB Con is turning 10.For the past decade, AB Con has brought gamers, designers, publishers, creators and communities together to play, learn, connect and grow Afr...
Matt Wieteska
@gamecat.bsky.social

What is the actual medical value of "getting the hell outside at all today what is it about this final fantasy that's more interesting than playing football with your cousin"?

Matt Wieteska reposted

Tim Carmody
@tcarmody.bsky.social

With capitalism (and later with bureaucracy), this process has been called “alienation”

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Matt Wieteska
@gamecat.bsky.social

Completely ignoring how absolutely pathetic this is, it sure does feel like every "feature" these soulless husks describe is basically just "talk to me in a different font"

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Matt Wieteska reposted

Hannah Vardit
@hannahvardit.bsky.social

i worry that men think being A Good Guy is dramatically and heroically intervening on behalf of an endangered woman and then being publicly rewarded on a grand scale when actually being A Good Guy is just usually saying, “hey man that’s not funny” or “wow that’s fucked up” and there is no reward

Matt Wieteska reposted

davemakes🔶
@mixolumia.com

the obliteration of the video games industry has to be one of the biggest destabilizing events to ever hit the neurodivergent population of earth. this was... the job we could do

Matt Wieteska reposted

Nick Pettigrew
@nick-pettigrew.bsky.social

Waiting for Burnham to say "We appreciate that some people may wish to slash at RNLI boats with what appears to be an illegal bladed article while shouting abuse and we hear their concerns". Take one step towards fascists, they take three steps back & say 'meet me halfway'. No pasáran.

Matt Wieteska reposted

Solomon
@solomonrmissouri.com

Replying to @solomonrmissouri.com

The entire outfit was shoulder… the computer can’t understand the seduction of shoulder!!!!!!!