Palmer Luckey likely came into the public’s gaze following the purchase of his company Oculus by Facebook. The $2 billion sale thrust Luckey to great heights, with Forbes pinning him with a net worth of $700 million. Pretty great for Luckey, making him a titan, according to The Daily Beast. But it’s the same exclusive report that also highlights the other side of Luckey’s persona. It would seem that he’s been giving money to an unofficial alt-right group that supports Donald Trump with what The Daily Beast calls “dirty memes” about Hillary Clinton.
The company, Nimble America, is a “self-described social welfare 501(c)4 non-profit” that supports Donald Trump via the largest online Reddit community dedicated to the candidate, r/The_Donald:
Nimble America says it’s dedicated to proving that “sh*tposting is powerful and meme magic is real,” according to the company’s introductory statement, and has taken credit for a billboard its founders say was posted outside of Pittsburgh with a cartoonishly large image of Clinton’s face alongside the words “Too Big to Jail.”
“We conquered Reddit and drive narrative on social media, conquered the [mainstream media], now it’s time to get our most delicious memes in front of Americans whether they like it or not,” a representative for the group wrote in an introductory post on Reddit.
The revelation that Luckey is a backer for the group apparently didn’t sit well with many on Reddit, according to the report:
Luckey insists he’s just the group’s the money man—a wealthy booster who thought the meddlesome idea was funny. But he is also listed as the vice-president of the group on its website.
“It’s something that no campaign is going to run,” Luckey said of the proposed billboards for the project.
“I’ve got plenty of money,” Luckey added. “Money is not my issue. I thought it sounded like a real jolly good time.”
But as much as Luckey seems to feel that he did it just for “the lulz” as you might hear online, his postings as NimbleRichMan on Reddit might tell a different story.
This is a message from @PalmerLuckey, the founder of @Oculus. pic.twitter.com/CWlAA8ugMx
— codyb (@codybrown) September 23, 2016
Obviously, this revelation hasn’t sat well with many folks online who supported the Oculus during its Kickstarter drive and has led to posts like this from groups involved with VR development with the company:
Hey @oculus, @PalmerLuckey's actions are unacceptable. NewtonVR will not be supporting the Oculus Touch as long as he is employed there.
— Tomorrow Today Labs (@TTLabsVR) September 23, 2016
But others online have pointed to the honest truth that might be missing from this story:
Guess Palmer Luckey isn't so smart after all, doesn't even know that the internet will make memes for free.
— Penelope Dovichi 💙 (@PennyDovichi) September 23, 2016
There’s a lot more in The Daily Beast’s report and we’ll have a more in-depth report in the near future. For now, you might have an answer for why so many pro-Trump memes have made their way online and into the hands of the candidate himself.
(Via The Daily Beast)