Dear Media: Stop Whitewashing Neo-Nazis

The cluelessness of reporters is embarrassing — and extremely dangerous

Luke O’Brien has done phenomenal work exposing Peter Thiel’s network of extremists and terrorists. That includes this guy, Hoan Ton-That, who is a neo-nazi hacker running Thiel’s facial recognition surveillance company Clearview AI. Read this thread:

Luke O'Brien @lukeobrien

Establishment media loves to launder the reputations of far-right bad actors. The WaPo, for ex., has chosen to tidy up the image of a hacker who's partnered with & employed fascists and anti-democratic extremists who want to take away your rights and mass surveil you. Or worse.

There is no universe in which Hoan Ton-That should be part of “the path forward” and whoever bought this pitch at WaPo should be fired for cluelessness immediately. This is an obvious PR move — did Clearview pay for this WaPo?

I should note that my scorn extends to anyone who is whitewashing Peter Thiel’s other operative pictured here with Hoan Ton-That, neo-nazi hacker Chuck Johnson, flashing a white supremacist gesture.

Let’s be clear. If you are listening to Chuck Johnson or any of his operatives, you are getting played. Chuck Johnson is not a friend of democracy.

Luke O'Brien @lukeobrien

My story also forced Ton-That to part ways w/ Tyler Bass, a white nationalist who marched in C'ville and was doing work for the company. I'd be shocked if WaPo mentions Bass. Or Chuck Johnson, who helped found Clearview and whose ties to white nationalists go back a decade.

Sadly, Ben Collins did the same thing on Rachel Maddow last night where he went out of his way to promote GamerGate cult leader, incel wizard, and nazi-sympathizer Fredrick Brennan as some sort of hero during a spot about Twitter. 🤷‍♂️

Ben and I talked a number of times in 2020 and I believe he is a good guy trying to do the right thing. But it appears Ben has been influenced by bad actors and has been gaslit to believe their lies.

Ben has been adopted by Brennan’s leftist cult #RealBlueAnon and appears to be leaning into his status and enjoying his celebrity. Unfortunately the entry price into this role is amplifying GamerGate trolls and covering up for what really happened with QAnon on national television.

Make a different choice Ben. You’re better than this.