The DeanBeat: Intel’s 2014 Gamergate mistake paved the path for Google’s memo mess

Google is going through the throes of a diversity controversy over its firing of James Damore, the white man who wrote a diversity memo that created a firestorm and got him fired from his job at Google. It isn’t clear where this imbroglio will lead, but we should recognize that we have seen this kind of thing happen in gaming and technology before, and there is a way that it could unfold for the better.

Intel stepped in a big pile in 2014 when, at the behest of some anti-feminist gamers, it pulled advertising from the game publication Gamasutra for its support of a pro-feminist columnist. The world’s biggest chip maker unwittingly validated those people, who were part of the Gamergate movement. Intel apologized, and to make up for it, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich vowed at the giant CES 2015 trade show in Las Vegas to spend $300 million in support of diversity in the tech industry. It also set up a $125 million fund to invest in companies led by diverse leaders.