HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — Sachi Schmidt-Hori has never played Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but facing an onslaught of online harassment from its fans, she quickly developed her own gameplay style: confronting hate with kindness.

Schmidt-Hori, an associate professor of Japanese literature and culture at Dartmouth College, worked as a narrative consultant on the latest installment in the popular Ubisoft video game franchise. The game launched March 20, but the vitriol directed at Schmidt-Hori began in May 2024 with the release of a promotional trailer.

“Once I realized that I was by myself — nobody was defending me — I just decided to do what I knew would work,” she said. “It’s very difficult to hate someone up close.”

Ancient history sparks modern-day harassment

Set in 16th century Japan, the game features Naoe, a Japanese female assassin, and Yasuke, a Black African samurai. Furor erupted over the latter, with gamers criticizing his inclusion as “wokeness” run amok.

They quickly zeroed in Schmidt-Hori, attacking her in online forums, posting bogus reviews of her scholarly work and flooding her inbox with profanity. Many drew attention to her academic research into gender and sexuality. Some tracked down her husband’s name and ridiculed him, too.

“Imagine that! Professional #WOKE SJW confirms fake history for Ubisoft,” one Reddit user said, using an acronym for “social justice warrior.” Another user called her a “sexual degenerate who hate humanity because no man want her.”

Learning Yasuke was based on a real person did little to assuage critics. Asian men in particular argued Schmidt-Hori was trying to erase them, even though her role involved researching historical customs and reviewing scripts, not creating characters.

“I became the face of this backlash,” she said. “People wanted to look for who to yell at, and I was kind of there.”

Ubisoft told her to ignore the harassment, as did her friends. Instead, she drew inspiration from the late civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis.

“I decided to cause ‘good trouble,’” she said. “I refused to ignore.”

Turning the tables on the trolls

Schmidt-Hori began replying to some of the angry emails, asking the senders why they were mad at her and inviting them to speak face-to-face via Zoom. She wrote to an influencer who opposes diversity, equity and inclusion principles and had written about her, asking him if he intended to inspire the death threats she was getting.

“If somebody said to your wife what people are saying to me, you wouldn’t like it, would you?” she asked.

The writer didn’t reply, but he did take down the negative article about Schmidt-Hori. Others apologized.

“It truly destroyed me knowing that you had to suffer and cancel your class and received hate from horrible people,” one man wrote. “I feel somehow that you are part of my family, and I regret it. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart.”

Anik Talukder, a 28-year-old south Asian man living in the United Kingdom, said he apologized at least 10 times to Schmidt-Hori after accepting her Zoom invitation to discuss his Reddit post about her.

On May 16, feeling surprised and disappointed about Yasuke as a protagonist, he posted a screenshot that included photos of Schmidt-Hori, her professional biography from the Dartmouth website and a description of a book she wrote.

“I felt like maybe they were doing too much of like racial inclusion and changing things,” he said in an interview. “An Asian male could have been the role model for so many people.”

Though he didn’t criticize Schmidt-Hori directly, others responded negatively and the image was picked up and shared in other forums.

He was shocked the professor reached out to him and hesitant to speak to her at first. But they ended up having a thoughtful conversation about the lack of Asian representation in Western media and have stayed in touch ever since.

“I learned a massive lesson,” he said. “I shouldn’t have made this person a target for no reason whatsoever.”

Ubisoft defends choices and commends its consultant

Ubisoft officials declined to be interviewed about the criticism of the game or the harassment Schmidt-Hori faced. In a statement, the company said it carefully researches historical settings and collaborates with internal and expert witnesses, but the games remain works of fiction and artistic liberties are taken.

“We do not condone harassment or bullying in any form,” the company said. “We are committed to creating a supportive and collaborative environment and we’re constantly learning how we can improve this process. We commend and appreciate Sachi Schmidt-Hori for addressing these topics directly and are grateful for her approach and expertise.”

Unlike the professor at Dartmouth, in Hanover, New Hampshire, most people who become the target of online hate end up retreating to protect themselves, said Kate Mays, an assistant professor of public communication at the University of Vermont.

Online forums allow people to post anonymously without seeing how their words are received and algorithms boost more aggressive content, she said, creating a “perfect storm” for people to become hateful.

“The intervention that she did was pretty brilliant in terms of sort of stopping that toxic train in its tracks and putting another spin on how people are engaging with her,” Mays said. “She’s sort of breaking the spell of that online disinhibition community involvement and forcing people to address her as a human and an individual.”

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Associated Press video journalist Amanda Swinhart contributed to this report from Burlington, Vermont.

It didn’t begin a long time ago or in a galaxy far far away, but every May 4 it feels like images, memes and promotional deals involving “Star Wars” have an inescapable gravity.

May 4 — or May the 4th, as fans say — has evolved over the years into Star Wars Day, an informal holiday celebrating the space epic and its surrounding franchise.

What is Star Wars Day?

Star Wars Day was created by fans as a sly nod to one of the films’ most popular catchphrases, “May the force be with you.” Get it? Good, now May the 4th be with you too.

It’s not an official holiday but has become so well-known that even former President Joe Biden marked it last year when “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill dropped by the White House a day beforehand.

“I think it’s a very clever way for fans to celebrate their passion and love for ‘Star Wars’ once a year,” said Steve Sansweet, founder and executive chairman of Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit museum in California that has the world’s largest collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia.

How did it begin?

The phrase “May the 4th be with you” was used by fans in the years after the first film was released in 1977, and even appeared in a British political ad in 1979 celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s victory as prime minister on May 4 that year.

For some fans, the official Star Wars Day comes on May 25, the date of the first film’s release. The Los Angeles City Council even declared the date to be Star Wars Day in 2007, although the California Legislature voted in 2019 to designate May 4 as Star Wars Day.

How has it spread?

May the 4th caught on informally among fans through inside jokes shared on social media and viewings of the films to mark the occasion. Businesses eventually joined in on the fun, with brands ranging from Nissan to Jameson Whiskey running ads or posting on social media about it.

Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, embraced the day as a way to further promote the franchise with merchandise, special screenings and other events surrounding the brand.

Not all “Star Wars” fans are enthused about how ubiquitous the once-underground joke has become. Chris Taylor, a senior editor at Mashable and author of “How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,” labels himself a “May the 4th grinch” in part because of its commercialization.

“I love a good dad joke as much as anyone, but my God you can take it too far,” Taylor said.

How is it being celebrated this year?

The day is being celebrated on a large and small scale this year. Disney+ is launching the new series “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld” on the date, and it comes as the second season gets underway for another franchise series, “Andor.”

It also follows the announcement that a new stand-alone “Star Wars” film installment starring Ryan Gosling will be released in 2027.

Disney marks the day with the launch of new “Star Wars” merchandise, ranging from lightsaber sets to jewelry.

Most Major League Baseball teams have marked the day in recent years with special events incorporating “Star Wars” characters. For example, the San Francisco Giants sold special tickets for Saturday’s game that included a bobblehead portraying pitcher Logan Webb as “Obi-Webb Kenobi.”

It’s hard to find a place where May the 4th celebrations aren’t occurring, from bakeries serving cookies with a “Star Wars” theme to concerts featuring the memorable scores of the films.

It’s a town-wide celebration in New Hope, Pennsylvania, which shares its name with the subtitle of the first “Star Wars” film. The town of about 2,600 people, located 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia, plans to have costumed characters throughout town with restaurants serving themed items like a “YodaRita.”

“I would always joke around and wish people ‘May the 4th’ — but taking it to this level, I’ve definitely upped my ‘Star Wars’ nerdiness,” said Michael Sklar, president of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce.

Despite the chance of rain in the forecast, colorful plumed hats are again a fashion staple at Churchill Downs for the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky.

The tradition of wearing hats to the Derby began with its first running in 1875. They began taking on a life of their own in the 1960s, growing larger and more ornate so the people wearing them could be spotted on television.

The hats are just one of the features among the 150,000 fans jammed under the Twin Spires for a fashion show mixed with an all-day party that is heavy on traditions like mint juleps, singing “My Old Kentucky Home” while they wait for the 2-minute drama to see the winning horse get a garland of red roses draped on its back.

A photo gallery of the event, curated by AP photo editors. For more AP horse racing coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing