The timeline of the tweet storm around Oculus founder Palmer Luckey

SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

12:11 AM        @Alshie:      

So has Palmer Luckey always been a douche? We’re we too distracted by crap magazine covers and flip flops?

12:12 AM        @danhett:   

I’d like to announce my new VR experience about punching Palmer Luckey in the throat until the heat death of the universe

12:19 AM        @curtkrone:

@PalmerLuckey is a sad little manbaby.

12:19 AM        @andichance:

I will never purchase anything made by this man because I will never fund fascism, demagoguery and racism

12:20 AM        @ScholarlySentnl:

ashamed of you man, really looked up to not anymore, no more @oculus, who supports hatred and bigotry             

12:48 AM        @gamesbymanuel:

Palmer Luckey, I really thought you were one of the good guys. This is unforgivable.

1:01 AM          @rowast:

not only doez Zuck need to fire Palmer but he needs to drop the name oculus

1:04 AM          @kathy279:

Hey racist, xenophobic, NEO-NAZI, bigot, misogynist aka Palmer Lackey; you on your way to becoming a PARIAH to the whole world

1:31 AM          @TheosUnluckyDip:

Unluckey

1:35 AM          The Guardian (Alex Hern)

Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey spends fortune backing pro-Trump ‘shitposts’

“The pair [Luckey and Facebook board member Peter Theil] stand in marked contrast to Facebook’s founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, who has been vocal in his support of progressive policies – and his opposition to Donald Trump.”

1:48 AM          @SteveZiss0u:

I’d bring some boxes to work tomorrow because Facebook probably isn’t going to give you much time to clean out your office.

2:10 AM          DailyKos (Annette K. Larson)

Meet Luckey Palmer – Oculus Rich Kid who Filled the Internet with Anti Hillary – Racist Sleaze

“It’s a convoluted story and I’d recommend going to both articles [from The Daily Beast and The Guardian] to get clear in your heads exactly what the little a’hole has been up to.”

2:35 AM          @Tafdolphin:

@PalmerLuckey How’s today working out for you champ?

2:43 AM          @Csimmons21:

@PalmerLuckey @oculus I want a refund on political grounds.

3:16 AM          @sfcalling85:

@PalmerLuckey You support #Trump? Just tossed your machine. Boo!

3:55 AM          @Jschmuck2:

@PalmerLuckey what a disappointment.

4:05 AM          @florisvaneck:

The VR scene is one of the most inclusive and diverse within tech. @PalmerLuckey just dropped a bomb on it. He has to step down.

4:30 AM          @kapilan98:

@PalmerLuckey just got a whole lot of unlucky. Despicable.

5:04 AM          @TheKevinDent ✔:

Personally, I hope @PalmerLuckey has a huge penis, so he can go fuck himself!

5:11 AM          @TheKevinDent ✔:

“Daddy where were you when you found out @PalmerLuckey was a bigot?”…..

5:12 AM          @ThatSabineGirl:

Fuck Oculus. Or Nazi Goggles, as they will henceforth be known.

5:30 AM          @chadelind

you forgot “petulant child” in your Twitter description.

5:47 AM          @nkolakowski ✔:

I’d pay to be a fly on the wall when Zuck talks to @PalmerLuckey about white nationalist and anti-Semitic memes.

5:52 AM          @JKxZ:

he fucked over crowd sourcing to make billions, now he wants to fuck over America by being a shitposting troll?

5:53 AM          @thereisonlyr:

With @PalmerLuckey unmasked as sponsor of a racist troll network, @CodyBrown says @Facebook & @oculus need to step up

5:56 AM          @beaknit:

We won’t forgive or forget.

6:00 AM          The Independent (Andrew Griffin)

Shitposting: What is the bizarre online behaviour that could win Donald Trump the election?

“Numerous elections have been called the first social media election, but this might truly be the first powered by trolling.”

6:28 AM          @ericmgoss:

Trump supporting pieces of shit will have to answer for their actions when the dust clears.

6:31 AM          @MediaGuyNYC:

better take those goggles off and pay attention to ACTUAL reality…

6:32 AM          Ars Technica (Tom Mendelsohn)

How your Oculus Rift is secretly funding Donald Trump’s racist meme wars

“The stream of racist, sexist, and economically illiterate memes appearing in support of Donald Trump…is being bankrolled in part by the 24-year-old inventor of Oculus Rift.”

6:38 AM          @thenateralph:

How your Oculus Rift is secretly funding Donald Trump’s racist meme wars. Step down, .@PalmerLuckey.

6:41 AM          @gabriele4591:

can’t wait till #Trump takes away your freedom of speech , you disturbed little man

6:47 AM Motherboard (Emanuel Maiberg, Oliver Lee Bateman):

What does Alt-Right patron Palmer Luckey believe?
“Liking an islamophobic tweet is not the same as being islamophobic. A
retweet is not an endorsement. People do and say a lot of dumb things on
Twitter and that does not necessarily reflect their character. But from the
Twitter presence of Luckey, a well-moneyed public figure and key player
in the VR industry who holds a certain power and influence, a pattern
emerges.”

6:59 AM          Mashable (Keith Wagstaff)

Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey is apparently funding anti-Hillary memes

“And who helped Luckey create Nimble America? None other than conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos, recently famous for being banned from Twitter after harassing Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones online.”

7:00 AM          @shanekaiglenn:

Their goal is to create a racist, misogynist virtual utopia where these low self-esteem dorks can live out their fantasies

7:05 AM          @snarkcycle:

Shove your alt-right memes up your ass. #thanks

7:05 AM          @Wharrgarbl42:

@PalmerLuckey Stole oculus technology from ZeniMax, claims it as his own. Liar, cheat, thief, fraud. Just like Trump.

7:45 AM          @rolling_2:

even millionaires can be racist!

@PalmerLuckey is that poster boy.

7:50 AM          @sean1279:

Looks like I will be selling my Oculus. I can’t bear to fund hate, even if it’s in a roundabout way.

8:00 AM          @hugmpussy:

You aligned urself w/ Donald Trump and memetic engineering of a pro racist and pro nationalist marketing firm. Brace ur self.

8:01 AM          @nicklohr:

phew! so glad your political bs made my buying decision much easier. Never give money to Oculus– got it.

8:03 AM          Thai Phan, who worked with Luckey at USC, publishes the following post on his Facebook account:

Here is some truth: when Palmer worked at MxR, and was still attending CSULB, he would impersonate his calculus professor, mocking his broken English. He told me his prof was Vietnamese and wondered why all of his profs couldn’t speak perfect English. This bothered me a little… but I figured he was just acting his age, and was merely frustrated with math. I’m glad that this is out in the public now… it shows he hasn’t changed.

8:08 AM          The Atlantic (Ian Bogost)

Why a Silicon Valley Founder Is Funding a Factory for Trump Memes

“For wealthy geeks like Palmer Luckey who seek vengeance against the institutions they perceive to exclude them, “The Donald” is an obvious ally.”

8:08 AM          @NeonNazgul:

But hey @PalmerLuckey thanks for reinforcing the stereotype that gamers are white male racist douchebros. Good job, champ.

8:33 AM          @Ronorra:

oKKKulus scumbag.

8:40 AM          @Normchacho:

So, White-supremacy, how’s that going for you?

8:49 AM          @bearplane3D:

you could have promoted women in tech, diversity in games, built tech to make the world a better place for the less fortunate

8:54 AM          Gizmodo (Bryan Menegus)

Palmer Luckey, Millionaire Founder of Oculus Rift, Loves Donald Trump and Dates a Gamergater

“It’s been an open secret for some time that Palmer Luckey, the 24-year-old founder of VR company Oculus Rift and heir apparent to the future of gaming, is a strange guy—the type who argues with his customers on Reddit and casually cosplays as My Little Pony characters. Turns out, he also appears to be an active supporter of Donald Trump and the alt-right, and in a long-term relationship with an avid Gamergater.”

9:01 AM          Polygon (Colin Campbell)

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is spending big on anti-Hillary memes

“Nimble America’s front page features a story about rapists operating in “criminal gangs” along the Mexico border, echoing some of Trump’s most controversial claims.”

9:03 AM          @wayofthedodo:

Don’t care how much $ @Palmer Luckey contributes to Trump’s marketing. DJT will lose in Nov & Luckey will be out a few mil. Fuck them both.

9:26 AM          @timtimtimtim:

This revelation made me want to vomit harder than Rift DK1 did :-/

9:27 AM          @peo:

Oh boy, you fucked it up again…

9:29 AM          @adlangx:

I’ll definitely be avoiding the Trump VR set.

9:48 AM          @JanPKarlsson:

You don’t need Putin’s money I presume, so I can only conclude you wish to destroy America for free? Trump is a charlatan.

9:51 AM          @kadybat:

There are people like Palmer Luckey throughout Orange County. Deeply conservative, tacitly racist, masking their racism with false populism.

9:56 AM          @smktty:

Palmer Luckey’s girlfriend is pretty much a Nazi.

9:58 AM          @MaxTemkin:

@Polytron Cards Against Humanity will not support Oculus as well

Note: Prior to this tweet, the “Nuisance Committee”—a Super-PAC founded by Cards Against Humanity creator Max Temkin—had just spent $20,000 to put up a 90-foot anti-Trump billboard in Chicago near O’Hare International Airport. .

10:22 AM        @Cripplor:

The 14 y.o.’s shitposting on 4chan in 2006 are today’s silicon valley billionaires buying elections for lulz

10:22 AM        @Ianshook:

Man, you’re really getting the hang of disappointing people.

10:23 AM        @jvizer:

@PalmerLuckey is so stupid, he thinks that the country that turned an unknown VR enthusiast into a near billionaire is not already great.

10:25 AM        UploadVR (Ian Hamilton)

VR Community Divided After Report Ties Palmer Luckey To Pro-Trump Meme Group

“E McNeill, the developer of early VR titles Darknet and Tactera, both available through the Oculus store, tweeted a screenshot of a $1,000 donation to Hillary Clinton’s campaign after the report published on Thursday afternoon. Another Twitter user wrote “I’m cancelling Touch support in my game as long as Palmer works for Oculus” along with a photo directing the middle finger at the as-yet unreleased controllers.”

10:29 AM        @ETPC1:

lol palmer luckey’s shitlord racist girlfriend deleted her twitter account after last night

10:30 AM        @RandPaulHQ:

White Power, White Power, White Power, White Power, White Power,White Power, White Power, You are a good Nazi sir!!!

10:37 AM        @ScottWalkerUSA:

So you are Trump’s Joseph Goebbels? Awesome dude.

10:38 AM        VentureBeat (Jeff Grubb)

I’m not surprised Palmer Luckey is funding pro-Trump ‘shitposts’

“I’ve spoken with Luckey only a couple of times over the years, but we’re also friends on Facebook. That never really meant anything until July, when…in an effort to mock one of my other friends, the Oculus founder used 4chan’s “greentexting” syntax to imply she was being ridiculous. Greentexting is when 4chan users put the “>” symbol in front of their text to turn it green. This signifies the user is telling a story or the user is quoting someone else to highlight how silly they are.”

10:48 AM        @thatadamguy ✔:

@anildash Disheartening and disgusting. But I’m worried collateral damage of punishing Luckey via Occulus. Any more targeted suggestions?

10:49 AM        @anildash ✔:

@thatadamguy I’m open to suggestions for accountability, but an organization that he leads seems the appropriate target.

11:17 AM        @VoteMarcoRubio:

I am releasing KKKickstarter. Will you help us fund it?

11:19 AM        @FortKickassYT:

Palmer Luckey sounds like the name of the douchey preppy the hero would have to beat in a ski race to save the rec centre in an 80s movie

11:42 AM @DaiyuHurst:

Palmer Luckey must die.

11:49 AM @CaseyNewton ✔:

Somebody make a 30-day VR experience about life as a non-white American male and strap it to Palmer Luckey’s stupid face

12:26 PM        @the_rami ✔:

The whole situation with Oculus and Luckey just makes me so sad that I want to escape into some sort of HTC Vive-powered virtual reality.

12:50 PM        Polytron, the developers of a game called SUPERHYPERCUBE, publishes the following statement on pastebin:

You may have seen the news yesterday that ties Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey to Nimble America, a Trump-endorsing organization Luckey started to defame Clinton via “the power of Internet memes”.

In a political climate as fragile and horrifying as this one, we cannot tacitly endorse these actions by supporting Luckey or his platform.

In light of this, we will not be pursuing Oculus support for our upcoming VR release, SUPERHYPERCUBE.

If you are a voting citizen of the United States, please remember to register and make your voice heard this November 8th. Do not let bigotry, white supremacy, hate and fear win.

1:30 PM          The Ringer (Alyssa Bereznak)

Palmer Luckey Has Money to Burn: Predicting the next move for tech’s newest über-villain

“OK, we get it, Luckey. You’re very young. You have a very silly, very white name…You have a sister named Ginger. If things were different, and you didn’t have the money to fund a community of trolls who want to elect Trump, maybe you’d be like any other Long Beach college dropout, spending your student loans on novelty shot glasses at Urban Outfitters.”

1:12 PM          @de_cNile:

Rip dude, it was good while it lasted :(

1:56 PM          @SBenzell:

I thought I knew who you were. But funding white supremacist trolls? The con-man Trump? You and Thiel are on something strong

2:19 PM          @enMTW:

When do you plan on resigning?

 

2:27 PM          @GamerRed:

A lifelong game developer, I’m ashamed FOR you. Flaunting your Male White Privilege to embolden White Supremacy. #NeverTrump

2:30 PM          @doombot999:

I liked Palmer and was happy for his wealth when he was just a kooky inventor. Now though? Fuck that guy.

2:30 PM          @n_Googs:

go fuck yourself and fuck trump too

2:35 PM          New York Magazine (Brian Feldman)

Who Is Palmer Luckey, the Facebook VR Millionaire Funding a Pro-Trump Meme Campaign?

“To be clear: There is no hard evidence so far that Nimble America has made any memes or funded any trolls, though it exists, has money, and bought a billboard in Pittsburgh.”

3:00 PM          CNBC (via The Daily Beast)

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey funds anti-Clinton ‘dirty meme’ group

3:34 PM          @poylehomer:

@PalmerLuckey Is a shitbag who bought into the rags2riches myth that rich guys tell themselves. I won’t be supporting anything he touches.

3:50 PM          @LevNovak:

you’re a gross, bad person, and no amount of money will ever buy you peace if you continue to pursue the false joys of evil.

4:00 PM          Vice (Patrick Klepek)

Why Oculus’s Palmer Luckey Is Getting So Much Shit For Supporting Trump

“This is about the intersection of money and power, and it cuts deep in a world where billionaire Peter Thiel secretly bankrolled lawsuits to bankrupt Gawker Media.”

4:10 PM          WIRED (Joanna Pearlstein)

Palmer Luckey Is the Worst, but He Doesn’t Reflect Silicon Valley

“In the best Silicon Valley man-child tradition, Oculus inventor Palmer Luckey is seeking to sway the presidential election by putting his money behind anti-Hillary Clinton trolls.”

4:10 PM          @kristenvbrown ✔:

For those following along in the Palmer Luckey saga, his girlfriend, Nikki Moxxi, seems to have deleted her Twitter

4:42 PM          The Verge (Adi Robertson)

Palmer Luckey’s Trump fund has been a kick in the teeth for VR

[Quoting an anonymous developer] “How much of the 30 percent cut of our revenue that goes to Oculus is going to fund neo-Nazi hate memes?”

4:44 PM          @mikecsiy:

Congrats, I’m throwing away my development kits. Maybe I should burn them for a YouTube video. #effoculus

4:47 PM          @GeoffreyArend ✔:

Holy fuck @PalmerLuckey. Had no idea your side gig was promoting racist idiots. Shame on you. Can I get my money back? #viveisbetteranyway

5:11 PM          @bad_technician

remember when you were an up-and-coming VR mogul and not a Trump-loving-PR-mess for Oculus? #PepperidgeFarmRemembers

5:17 PM          @JebBushforPres:

@Oculus please cut ties with this racist douchebro

5:22 PM          @enamoredgirl:

Why not spend your $$ on good things instead, like Zuck?

5:33  PM         @bad_technician:

your patriot grandpa would be ashamed of the way you’re using your money to subvert the political process. #shame

5:36 PM          @SamKeaton4:

Seriously, are just a very rich young nerd with no social conscience or morality?

5:44 PM          @GangsterSwedish:

So basically @facebook is financing @PalmerLuckey ‘s chickenshit anonymous pro-racist-for-President antics. Got it.

5:53 PM          @hellroy:

@PalmerLuckey & @oculus are officially off my nice list and on to the naughty one.

6:03 PM          @bobservo:

after learning that Palmer Luckey’s girlfriend cosplays as GamerGate mascot Vivian James, i honestly don’t think this story could get better

6:12 PM          The Hollywood Reporter (Natalie Jarvey)

Backlash brews after Oculus founder funds anti-Hillary Clinton memes

6:23 PM          @dennislarkin:

.@PalmerLuckey is a total racist #AltRight @realDonaldTrump supporting #SCUMBAG! You can throw him in the #BasketofDeplorabes with the rest!

6:44 PM          Palmer Luckey publishes the following post on his Facebook account:

I am deeply sorry that my actions are negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners. The recent news stories about me do not accurately represent my views.

Here’s more background: I contributed $10,000 to Nimble America because I thought the organization had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters through the use of several billboards. I am a libertarian who has publicly supported Ron Paul and Gary Johnson in the past, and I plan on voting for Gary in this election as well.

I am committed to the principles of fair play and equal treatment. I did not write the “NimbleRichMan” posts, nor did I delete the account. Reports that I am a founder or employee of Nimble America are false. I don’t have any plans to donate beyond what I have already given to Nimble America.

Still, my actions were my own and do not represent Oculus. I’m sorry for the impact my actions are having on the community.

7:10 PM          Fast Company (Daniel Terdiman)

Palmer Luckey “sorry” for harming Oculus’s reputation, says he’s just funder of anti-Hillary meme org

7:23 PM          @oneunderscore_ ✔:

.@PalmerLuckey Palmer, what you just wrote about NimbleRichMan isn’t true. Or you didn’t tell the truth in an email earlier this week.

7:38 PM          @nickwcoleman:

You let everyone down man.

7:43 PM          ‏@ShardShinjuku:

@PalmerLuckey has yet to understand that his current situation ends with him falling on his sword one way or another.

7:44 PM          ‏@jessesingal ✔:

Palmer Luckey sounds like the name of a highly inbred descendant of the South’s laziest and stupidest slaveowner.

7:44 PM          @Cernovich ✔:

.@PalmerLuckey DO NOT apologize, do not resign from any job, do not do anything. Tim Hunt’s case is informative.

Note: Cernovich links to an article about Tim Hunt, a Nobel Prize-winning British biochemist, who was “mocked and vilified on Twitter and in the media after he reportedly told a gathering of women scientists that “girls” in the lab are a nuisance because they are lovesick crybabies.” 

The article goes on to explain “It turns out that, just as Hunt has claimed, the 72-year-old scientist’s comments during a luncheon at a science journalism conference in Korea in June were an awkward self-deprecating joke—greeted with laughter (not the reported “stony silence”) by a mostly female audience. The “Tim Hunt, misogynist scientist” narrative has been falling apart piece by piece over the past month; last week, it was finished off by a snippet of audio recorded by a female attendee and made public by The Times. Now, attention should turn to the real scandal: irresponsible journalism magnified by social media frenzy.”

7:49 PM          @bill_e_wheeler:

Hey shit-stain – hear that? It’s the sound of every living human being in 31 blue states never, ever using Oculus. Ever.

7:57 PM                Jason Rubin publishes the following post on his Facebook account:

I wanted to give Palmer Freeman Luckey a chance to respond before I said anything, and having read his post. I take him at his word. Those of you who have known me before I joined Oculus know that I would not work in a place that I thought condoned, or spread hate. Nor would I remain silent if I saw it raise its head. I have always believed that games, and now especially VR, have the potential to bring people together. My view is unwavering. I continue to believe that Oculus can make the world a better place.

8:30 PM          @k3nchi:

Ppl do not believe your apology @palmerluckey. You got caught for being racist. Your customer base, the geeks & nerds, aren’t idiots.

8:42 PM          @cheesemeister3K:

.@PalmerLuckey So, you’re not sorry you funded shitposting, but sorry it negatively affected the business, i.e. sorry you got caught?

8:50 PM                Brendan Iribe publishes the following post on his Facebook account:

I want to respond to the recent press stories involving Palmer. I know that Palmer is deeply sorry for the impact this situation is having on the company, our partners and the industry.

Everyone at Oculus is free to support the issues or causes that matter to them, whether or not we agree with those views. It is important to remember that Palmer acted independently in a personal capacity, and was in no way representing the company.

10:36 PM        @scottperry:

resign

11:37 PM        @nuthinking:

@PalmerLuckey too late and too calculated? Sorry but I don’t buy it.