Oculus creator fires back at 'politically obsessive journalists' as hit-piece culture dies

Tech and defense entrepreneur Palmer Luckey once again resisted articles he said are historical "rewrites" of actual events that absolve mainstream media outlets of their false claims.Chiefly, Luckey recently called out Gizmodo, an outlet that he noted was seemingly tracking his every move for years but has since distorted its treatment of him."Gizmodo was probably the single most-engaged, spiteful, unprofessional and dishonest outlet," Luckey wrote on X.The entrepreneur recalled the outlet running a weekly "Palmer Watch" and claiming it even offered bounties to anyone who could track him down in person."[Gizmodo] wrote multiple pieces doxxing my girlfriend, flew out reporters to try and covertly photograph me, and even got kicked out [of] a hotel for yelling at a guy they thought was me (they insisted it was, it wasn't)," he added.Palmer even backed up his post with a screenshot of weekly articles from Gizmodo, with the most recent headline reading, "Palmer Watch: Day 81 [Signs of Life]." — (@) Gizmodo, citing the New York Times and Tablet Magazine, of course, took shots at Luckey and fellow tech billionaire Alex Karp for their companies' names, Anduril and Palantir, being based on the film series "Lord of the Rings."This obsession over company-name etymology is a sign of an ever-grasping industry that employs mainstream media journalists to attack anyone who doesn't tow the party line.'This was false - it wasn't my choice nor my announcement. Her only source: Facebook PR.'Left-wing outlets have taken up the issue with Luckey — and Luckey-esque entrepreneurs — obviously not because his technology is used in war zones or that he worked in Silicon Valley but that he is unwilling to align himself with every single viewpoint of the political journalist class. Luckey has been targeted for years since it was revealed he donated to a Trump-aligned PAC during the 2016 election cycle. It was at that time when the mainstream media throttle was pushed to 10, and he officially became an enemy of the journalist state. Quickly, claims of his "ugly" beliefs tied him to mean words and unsavory memes that the average journalist could not overlook.In 2016, Buzzfeed News said that Palmer had "alt-right ties" through his donations, while TechCrunch said he supports trolls who try to hijack conversations with "white supremacist" memes.This caused Luckey to have an impromptu exit from Facebook in 2017, despite him being the father of the virtual reality gadget Oculus Rift, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $2 billion.Over the next few years, Luckey still cleared his name. After the Washington Post was forced to correct claims made by journalist Taylor Lorenz, Luckey made his own revelations about the writer."When I was fired, [Lorenz's] story said I had announced I was leaving Oculus. This was false - it wasn't my choice nor my announcement. Her only source: Facebook PR," Luckey wrote in 2022. Luckey added a claim that the Washington Post had stated he "hid political contributions" through shell companies."This was also false - it was a single donation from a regular company."The headlines have not slowed down in 2024, including in May when Puck News claimed that Luckey was married to Congressman Matt Gaetz's sister. Gaetz is married to Luckey's sister, not vice versa.Luckey responded by remarking that it is "crazy how bad" Puck News is."I have never met Matt's sister, much less married to her," he explained.It is the glossing over of the near-endless hit pieces that Luckey has found disturbing in 2024, citing that outlets have conveniently forgotten about "politically obsessive journalists lying about [him] funding racist, white supremacist, and anti-semitic trolling campaigns across the internet."This ongoing Luckey saga acts as further evidence that when any person of noted influence strays from the liberal camp in any way, the artillery of the media apparatus gets pointed at them indefinitely. Even working for a social media platform and supporting the same geopolitics is not enough as long as you have expressed a single independent thought.Luckily, memes and corkboard-and-string connections do not suffice anymore, leaving even the most experienced left-wing journalist with few arrows in his quiver.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Sep 3, 2024 - 16:28
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Oculus creator fires back at 'politically obsessive journalists' as hit-piece culture dies


Tech and defense entrepreneur Palmer Luckey once again resisted articles he said are historical "rewrites" of actual events that absolve mainstream media outlets of their false claims.

Chiefly, Luckey recently called out Gizmodo, an outlet that he noted was seemingly tracking his every move for years but has since distorted its treatment of him.

"Gizmodo was probably the single most-engaged, spiteful, unprofessional and dishonest outlet," Luckey wrote on X.

The entrepreneur recalled the outlet running a weekly "Palmer Watch" and claiming it even offered bounties to anyone who could track him down in person.

"[Gizmodo] wrote multiple pieces doxxing my girlfriend, flew out reporters to try and covertly photograph me, and even got kicked out [of] a hotel for yelling at a guy they thought was me (they insisted it was, it wasn't)," he added.

Palmer even backed up his post with a screenshot of weekly articles from Gizmodo, with the most recent headline reading, "Palmer Watch: Day 81 [Signs of Life]."

Gizmodo, citing the New York Times and Tablet Magazine, of course, took shots at Luckey and fellow tech billionaire Alex Karp for their companies' names, Anduril and Palantir, being based on the film series "Lord of the Rings."

This obsession over company-name etymology is a sign of an ever-grasping industry that employs mainstream media journalists to attack anyone who doesn't tow the party line.

'This was false - it wasn't my choice nor my announcement. Her only source: Facebook PR.'

Left-wing outlets have taken up the issue with Luckey — and Luckey-esque entrepreneurs — obviously not because his technology is used in war zones or that he worked in Silicon Valley but that he is unwilling to align himself with every single viewpoint of the political journalist class.

Luckey has been targeted for years since it was revealed he donated to a Trump-aligned PAC during the 2016 election cycle.

It was at that time when the mainstream media throttle was pushed to 10, and he officially became an enemy of the journalist state. Quickly, claims of his "ugly" beliefs tied him to mean words and unsavory memes that the average journalist could not overlook.

In 2016, Buzzfeed News said that Palmer had "alt-right ties" through his donations, while TechCrunch said he supports trolls who try to hijack conversations with "white supremacist" memes.

This caused Luckey to have an impromptu exit from Facebook in 2017, despite him being the father of the virtual reality gadget Oculus Rift, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $2 billion.

Over the next few years, Luckey still cleared his name. After the Washington Post was forced to correct claims made by journalist Taylor Lorenz, Luckey made his own revelations about the writer.

"When I was fired, [Lorenz's] story said I had announced I was leaving Oculus. This was false - it wasn't my choice nor my announcement. Her only source: Facebook PR," Luckey wrote in 2022.

Luckey added a claim that the Washington Post had stated he "hid political contributions" through shell companies.

"This was also false - it was a single donation from a regular company."

The headlines have not slowed down in 2024, including in May when Puck News claimed that Luckey was married to Congressman Matt Gaetz's sister. Gaetz is married to Luckey's sister, not vice versa.

Luckey responded by remarking that it is "crazy how bad" Puck News is.

"I have never met Matt's sister, much less married to her," he explained.

It is the glossing over of the near-endless hit pieces that Luckey has found disturbing in 2024, citing that outlets have conveniently forgotten about "politically obsessive journalists lying about [him] funding racist, white supremacist, and anti-semitic trolling campaigns across the internet."

This ongoing Luckey saga acts as further evidence that when any person of noted influence strays from the liberal camp in any way, the artillery of the media apparatus gets pointed at them indefinitely. Even working for a social media platform and supporting the same geopolitics is not enough as long as you have expressed a single independent thought.

Luckily, memes and corkboard-and-string connections do not suffice anymore, leaving even the most experienced left-wing journalist with few arrows in his quiver.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze

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Fibis I am just an average American. My teen years were in the late 70s and I participated in all that that decade offered. Started working young, too young. Then I joined the Army before I graduated High School. I spent 25 years in, mostly in Infantry units. Since then I've worked in information technology positions all at small family owned companies. At this rate I'll never be a tech millionaire. When I was young I rode horses as much as I could. I do believe I should have been a cowboy. I'm getting in the saddle again by taking riding lessons and see where it goes.