Voting irregularities discovered at Hugo Awards, which recognize outstanding science fiction and fantasy works
Glasgow 2024 Hugo Awards Statement – 22nd July 2024 | Glasgow 2024
https://glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/statement-22-july-2024/
The Hugo Awards are given to science fiction and fantasy novels, films, manga, and other works, as well as to authors and individuals of outstanding achievement. While literary awards are usually judged by a selection committee made up of authors and critics, the Hugo Awards are unique in that they are decided by votes from participants at the World Science Fiction Convention, i.e., ordinary fans. In other words, in order to be eligible to vote for the Hugo Awards, you must purchase a membership to the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) and attend the World Science Fiction Convention.
By Sanna Pudas
The WSFS Constitution states, 'In all matters arising under this Constitution, only natural persons may propose, nominate, or vote, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution. No person may cast more than one vote in any vote or matter.'
However, according to the Hugo Awards Management Subcommittee, many of the votes for the 2024 Hugo Awards were cast by 'accounts that do not meet the criteria for natural persons,' including those using obvious pseudonyms, names with only the first letter of the first name changed, or names using consecutive numbers. The final total number of votes was 3,813, and at least 377 votes, or about 10% of the total, were suspected of being fraudulent.
Most of these suspected fraudulent votes were in support of 'one particular finalist,' and the voting patterns were strikingly different from the voting for other finalists or from voting patterns seen in past Hugo Awards. The Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee has not disclosed who the specific finalist was.
The Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee also reported that 'in addition to the patterns observable in the data, at least one individual sponsored the purchase of numerous WSFS memberships, which were subsequently refunded by the sponsor after members voted in accordance with this speaker's preferences.'
The Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee stated, 'There is no evidence that any of the finalists were aware of or engaged in voter fraud. However, the 377 votes suspected to be fraudulent will be invalidated.'
It has been reported that several works and authors that could be problematic in China were excluded from the final selection for the 2023 Hugo Awards at the 81st World Science Fiction Convention held in Chengdu, China.
It turns out that the sci-fi awards' prestigious Hugo Awards judging committee excluded authors who could cause problems in China from the final selection process - GIGAZINE
Related Posts:
in Note, Posted by log1i_yk