A SWAT team has responded to a phoney call-out at the residence of a vocal opponent of Gamergate.

Five police officers were dispatched to the Seattle-area residence of web developer Israel Galvez.

Galvez has been an outspoken critic of Gamergate, the decentralised, amorphous gamer movement that - depending on who you ask - is either about ethics in games journalism, or in opposition to the growth of feminist criticism and design in video games.

The "SWATing" hoax was coordinated on the "baphomet" subforum of 8chan, and a reddit subforum, reports The Guardian.

Galvez, aware of the practice of SWATing, had previously contacted his local police department and told them that such hoaxes might be called in, in order to avoid a potentially dangerous tactical response.