Silicon Valley battles new charges of anti-conservative culture

  • In recent months, Facebook, Google and Twitter have faced intensifying claims of online censorship and an environment that’s not welcoming to right-leaning employees.
  • A Wall Street Journal report claims Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey’s activity on a polarizing, and often extreme, right-leaning Reddit channel caused an uproar among Facebook employees. It also says the company pressured Luckey to write in an internal email that he supported libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson instead of Donald Trump.
  • Facebook and its executives have repeatedly said Luckey’s firing was not the result of his political views.

 

Silicon Valley is battling a new report of anti-conservative culture, fanning the flames of an already-intensifying debate.

A weekend report by The Wall Street Journal on the 2017 firing of Facebook executive Palmer Luckey claims the Oculus co-founder was forced out for factors relating to his political leanings and online support for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election.

Facebook and its executives have repeatedly said Luckey’s firing was not the result of his political views. CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified as much before Congress in April, and vice president of AR/VR at Facebook, Andrew Bosworth, said on Twitter late Sunday, “Any claims that his departure was do to his conservative beliefs are false.”

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A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC on Monday, “We can say unequivocally that Palmer’s departure was not due to his political views.”

The conflicting reports could add to existing concerns of anti-conservative bias among tech companies. In recent months, Facebook, Google and Twitter have all faced intensifying claims of online censorship and an environment that’s not welcoming to right-leaning employees.

www.cnbc.com/2018/11/12/palmer-luckeys-facebook-firing-and-techs-anti-conservative-debate.html

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