Intel Corporation Pull Ads From Gamasutra After Gamer Feedback

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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) it seems to have given in to the pressure from GamerGate, and has pulled its advertising from the gaming news site Gamasutra. GamerGate was already critical of the nepotism in the gaming industry and claimed that it was corrupting the culture, and now advertisers on gaming media sites are being targeted by GamerGate.

Feedbacks forced Intel to pull ads

Intel had been publicizing its Real Sense platform on Gamasutra, which is still in testing phase. The ad campaign from Intel has ended prematurely primarily because of an email campaign from Gamergate supporters called Operation Disrespectful Nod. Intel’s pulling its ads from the site was celebrated by protestors, who said they would continue pressuring other brands advertising on the site.

Confirming the pulling of ads from website Gamasutra, Intel spokesperson Bill Calder told ReCode. “We take feedback from our customers very seriously, especially as it relates to contextually relevant content and placements.”

“Yes, our partners at @intel were flooded with complaints over a recent opinion piece, and they did pull an ad campaign,” tweeted Gamasutra.

How it all began

An attempt to launch a feminist critique of the gaming industry was made by Anita Sarkeesian in 2012. The gaming community is largely male and has a reputation for misogyny. Female gamers who attempt to discuss the problems they face in the community are often harassed, and what happened to Sarkeesian and other critics exemplifies the problem. Sarkeesian was harassed via chat and email and even received a death threat forcing her to abandon her home.

GamerGate first came into limelight for its reactions to the false allegations that Zoe Quinn, a female game developer, had to perform sexual favors for advancing in the industry. GamerGate was condemned in few of the articles published on Gamasutra, and the articles were in support of the women who had to suffer online harassment as a part of the ongoing controversy. Tensions reached a new height when a campaign launched by the angry gamers tried to convince advertisers to withdraw their financial support from “pro-feminist” sites like Gamasutra.

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