Veteran tech columnist Kara Swisher, once referred to as America’s “most powerful tech journalist”, has been accused of harassing the subjects of her reporting, including launching vicious personal attacks.
A heated exchange of “jokes” erupted on Twitter about how Swisher announced an upcoming event she and her Pivot podcast co-host are expected to host in Miami Beach. In mid-February, the two will come to ” bother “ a part of “The most irritating people in Silicon Valley” living in Florida at their request, she joked.
Someone posted the quote commenting: “Tech people: we hate you, give us money”. To which the journalist replied: “Meet the perpetual tech snowflakes who continue to live their best lives and can’t stand what is an obvious joke. “
Meet the perpetual tech snowflakes that go on and on to live their best lives indefinitely and then can’t come to terms with what is an obvious joke. We are excited about the event and look forward to welcoming those who are excited about these topics. We also love the beach. https://t.co/IIs03nASUp
– Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) December 7, 2021
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Many people bristled against her biting style, and one of the critics, VR inventor Palmer Luckey, stepped in to remind him that she had already called him. “Chubby”.
The reporter responded to the remark with surprise ” I did? When? “ and saying that if it was true she was “Most certainly sorry”. Luckey hit back at a slew of accusations, calling out for Swisher “A bully of the schoolyard” with the habit of mocking of people’s physical appearance.
“Your insult includes calling me a boy, a jerk, a threat, not smart, a troll, etc.” “ he tweeted. “The whole ‘I’m sorry and a serious and responsible journalist’ is so transparent. I won’t do another interview with you, stop asking.
You’ve been insulting me, tagging me, and spreading false information about me to your 1M + subscribers for years. Again and again and again. The whole “I’m sorry and a serious and responsible journalist” is so transparent. I won’t be interviewing you anymore, stop asking.
– Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 7, 2021
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Swisher interviewed Luckey with Steve Wozniak in 2016. The young man is best known as the founder of Oculus VR, the virtual reality headset producer now owned by Mark Zucкerberg’s Meta. In addition to being a tuned Silicon Valley reporter, Swisher also has the benefit of more experience on Luckey, with almost 30 years of age difference.
Witnesses to the exchange were eager to bring ‘Receipts‘- screenshots of tweets from Swisher showing this kind of behavior.
Swisher, who has been described as “The most powerful technical journalist” in the United States, is known for her often abrasive style of communication, such as when she used a Yahoo scoop to berate the company “Slow public relations manager” for not having found it three years ago.
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