A social media feud between billionaire tech traders has raised questions in regards to the journalistic independence of three-year-old information group SF Commonplace after a reporter on behalf of the group contacted sources with details about VC Ben… Reporting by Ben Horowitz and his spouse, Felicia.
The Commonplace’s sole backer is Michael Moritz, one other longtime enterprise capitalist, and in a tirade on the X platform Thursday night time, Horowitz known as the “upcoming article.” ” was a “low cost hit piece” directed by Moritz, and accused Moritz of “possessing false data” that the newspaper had fabricated a sizzling piece about his enterprise rival Me. ” Horowitz’s enterprise companion Marc Andreessen additionally later stepped in to reply to the accusations, throwing in a number of extra insults within the course of.
TechCrunch has reached out to Moritz and Sci-Fi Commonplace govt editor Jon Steinberg for remark. Moritz has but to reply, however Steinberg wrote in an emailed assertion to TechCrunch: “I can verify [reporter] Emily Sugarman is writing a narrative in regards to the Horowitz household for the San Francisco Commonplace. Past that, I can’t touch upon the substance of our article previous to publication.
The Commonplace beforehand reported information about Horowitz and Anderson; it additionally printed information about Moritz. Apparently, a part of its protection is a few 1000’s of acres of rural land north of San Francisco that’s being acquired by tech entrepreneurs and traders, together with Moritz and Anderson.