Author: Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy / Source: WIRED
Blake J. Harris expected his new book The History of the Future—about Palmer Luckey, Oculus, and Facebook—to be another feel-good underdog story in the mold of his first book Console Wars. But when Luckey took a mysterious ‘vacation’ in the wake of widespread internet outrage about his political activities, Harris’ life got very complicated very quickly.
“The book that I set out to write is not what actually happened, and I consider that a good thing, because I followed the story where it led me, even though it led me to some places that I never would have wanted to write about,” Harris says in Episode 358 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.
In the fall of 2016, rumors spread that Luckey was secretly financing a political troll army. Harris determined that these claims did not reflect reality, but his efforts to set the record straight were met with indifference or hostility. As the outrage mounted, Harris’ own editor seemed to lose faith in his book.
“She said, ‘Who’s the hero of this story?’” Harris says. “And I said that the hero was Palmer Luckey and Oculus. And she said, ‘But it can’t be Palmer. He’s a Trump supporter.’ And I remember just being really struck by that comment.”
Harris had been granted extensive access to Oculus and Facebook, but when he asked too many questions about Luckey’s strange departure, Facebook stopped cooperating. Harris began to worry that covering this story would end his career. “Having written two tech books, it would be very hard for me to get access at a tech company nowadays,” he says. “I’m sure Facebook regrets working with me, because I found stuff that they didn’t want me to find and then I reported it.”
Still, he’s glad he stuck with the story, which he feels is a valuable case study in the way that unfounded accusations can be amplified by the media. And while he personally disagrees with Luckey’s politics, he feels that concern for the truth should transcend party lines.
“My goal with this book is certainly not to make you feel bad for Palmer or to garner sympathy for Palmer,” Harris says. “I just think Palmer is an excellent proxy…
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