That Silicon Valley refuses to support conservative ideas is well known, but some firms won’t countenance their employees donating to conservative causes and candidates. Just ask Facebook.
In a congressional hearing in April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg referenced an employee who was fired, calling it “inappropriate to address.” He denied that the termination was politically motivated. Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus, was placed on leave and then fired from Facebook a few days after the Daily Beast reported that he donated $10,000 to a pro-Trump group called NimbleAmerica.
At first, according to the Wall Street Journal, Luckey was accused of posting “misogynistic comments” on a Reddit group called The_Donald. Apparently, a user called “NimbleRichMan” said he was donating to the group so it could post unflattering memes of Hillary Clinton. The Daily Beast said that “NimbleRichMan” was in fact Luckey.
He was put on leave and encouraged to circulate a statement written for him by Zuckerberg, who wrote that Luckey did not support Trump but instead supported libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
Luckey’s work reviews throughout this time were positive. He donated $100,000 to President Trump’s inaugural committee in November of 2016. Luckey was asked to resign in December, refused, and was then fired in March of 2017.
Former Daily Beast reporter Ben Collins wrote in a series of tweets on Sunday, November 11, that the Journal ignored the unsavory behavior of many Reddit users who had belonged to The_Donald. He said, “The_Donald was an extremist internet community in the 2016 election cycle.” He also said that the Beast had on record Luckey admitting to being “NimbleRichMan,” and then later lying about it to Facebook executives.
Silicon Valley and Facebook in particular donate millions of dollars every year to liberal political candidates. The fact that Facebook took offense at a conservative executive who donated $10,000 to a conservative group is frightening, to say the least.
