Activists smash sound equipment at 'Google memo' author's university talk

This sounds like a twisted account. One example: the damage caused is put in the headline and teased in the narration. But it is never actually specified in the story. What does “smash” mean?

Another account (http://www.wweek.com/news/2018/02/17/no-violence-brief-disru...) makes this seem like one of those phony alt-right PR stunts. It sounds like there was a disruption at the event, but the damage was repaired in a minute and just done impetuously.

At what point do they stop deserving the label 'activists' and start being just vandals?

Any video or text of his speech to allow the full breadth of the Streisand effect be felt here?

Censorship always has the opposite effect... even IRL. Studies show disruptive protests such as this has the complete opposite of the intended effect, reducing public support for social movements: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2911177