For some reason, THQ Nordic's PR and marketing division thought it'd be a great idea to hold an AMA (Ask Me Anything) related to the game publisher this afternoon over on 8Chan. As you might imagine, that didn't sit very well with many who immediately questioned why THQ Nordic would opt to do such a thing in association with a website that has an egregious reputation.

For the uninitiated, 8Chan is an imageboard website that in the past has been linked with such disturbing content related to child pornography. Google Search went as far to blacklist 8Chan in 2015 citing "suspected child abuse content" as the main factor in doing so. Essentially, 8Chan's reputation is less than stellar, to put it very mildly.

Despite this content being frequently associated with 8Chan though, THQ Nordic still opted to host an AMA on the site today. THQ said it was approached in a "friendly and polite manner" about the prospect of the AMA on 8Chan and went on to say that some dude named Mark would take care of the "nasty stuff" that might appear in the thread.

As you might imagine, it didn't take long for those at THQ to realize they should have thought this through a bit more. A few hours after initially promoting the AMA, THQ Nordic's PR and Marketing Director Philipp Brock tweeted out an apology through the official publisher's account. Brock claimed he wasn't aware of the site's history and said he does not condone "child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form." Brock also claimed sole responsibility for the entire event ending by saying that it's something they regret.

Even if Brock's ignorance over the history of 8Chan is to be believed, some of the replies within raised some red flags themselves. We won't be linking the thread itself in this article, but you're more than welcome to go look it up yourself.

Amidst all the commotion surrounding this story today, I feel bad for the developers associated with THQ Nordic. The publisher has definitely been dragged through the mud this afternoon but if you ask me, it shouldn't be reflective of the games that the company puts out. This whole saga seems to be stemming from one PR person's bad decision. While it is a decision that reflects the brand as a whole, it's not one I would lay at the feet of those who are working hard to release new titles under the publisher in the coming years.

There are a lot of good people that I've had the pleasure of meeting over the years associated with THQ Nordic and they've been nothing but cordial, down to earth, and incredibly friendly in the time I've spent with them. If you're going to blame anyone for this whole mess, look directly to Brock and the PR team at THQ Nordic more so than those creating the actual products that the company releases.