Caving to the pressures of the Internet, Intel has pulled its ads from the Gamasutra website amidst an ongoing controversy known as Gamergate.
The chip maker confirmed to PCMag that it pulled the ads, and told the New York Times that it takes "feedback from customers very seriously, especially as it relates to relevant content and ad placements."
At issue is an August op-ed written for Gamasutra by Leigh Alexander, who criticized the current state of gaming. It's "kind of embarrassing," she wrote, adding that "it's not even culture. It's buying things, spackling over memes and in-jokes repeatedly, and it's getting mad on the Internet."
She was inspired to pen the piece after game developer Zoe Quinn was harassed online when her ex-boyfriend published a blog post suggesting she traded sexual favors for media coverage. She denied it and evidence of it having occurred was scant. But the Internet backlash was swift and harsh, and those who came to her defense also found themselves the subject of threats and hacks.
Earlier this summer, meanwhile, Anita Sarkeesian, creator of the Feminist Frequency YouTube channel, which explores depictions of women in pop culture and gaming, was forced to flee her home after receiving Twitter threats.
Those incidents prompted dozens of gamers to take a public stand against harassment in the industry and call on the gaming community to report threats or harassing speech.
But it also spawned a separate group of gamers to unite in defense of the community - and against what Alexander and her supporters had to say - via a group known as Operation Disrespectful Nod. The campaign is using social media like 4chan, Reddit, and GitHub to hit back at media heavyweights like Polygon, Ars Technica, Kotaku, BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, Tumblr, and Vice as "the sites that are attacking gamers."
They also targeted firms that advertised on those sites, like Intel, and the chipmaker has now obliged.
@BuckSexington Yes, our partners at @intel were flooded with complaints over a recent opinion piece, and they did pull an ad campaign.
— Gamasutra (@gamasutra) October 1, 2014Neither Operation Disrespectful Nod nor Alexander immediately responded to PCMag's request for comment.
Last year, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) published a report suggesting adult women represent almost half of all gamers.
For more, check out Gamers Aren't Over, But We Need to Be Better.