Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey was exposed last week backing a pro-Trump “meme factory” that churns out Nazi-themed images and anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda—then spotted at a Trump rally wearing one of the nativist candidate’s T-shirts. He at first walked back his involvement, but Luckey now has the backing of top colleagues at the Facebook-owned virtual reality startup.
“Everyone at Oculus is free to support the issues or causes that matter to them, whether or not we agree with those views,” Oculus CEO Brendan Trexler Iribe wrote on Facebook. “It is important to remember that Palmer acted independently in a personal capacity, and was in no way representing the company.”
Another executive, Jason Rubin, said that the company did not “condone, or spread hate.”
“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.”
However, the company itself has remained silent on the matter, reports Ars Technica, offering no response to their inquiries.
Luckey, a near-billionaire thanks to the Facebook buyout, used some of the cash to juice Nimble America, an organization dedicated to shitposting memes that generally involve offensive stereotypes of politicians, pundits, racial minorities, Jews and other typical targets of the far right. (For their part, outspoken white supremacists seem divided between those who appreciate a wealthy ally and those who count “Cuckey” as an opportunist trying to co-opt the “Alt Right” movement.)
All @oculus had to say was "we don't like secretly funding neo nazi propaganda squads"… and they didn't https://t.co/Tgp1FUzsDn
— Radiatori Yanga (@radiatoryang) September 26, 2016