Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
The Almighty Buck Linux Politics Technology

1Password Wades Into a Right-Wing Mess After Funding a Linux Project (theverge.com) 105

Posted by BeauHD from the not-a-good-look dept.
1Password is facing customer and internal employee backlash after pledging $300,000 to support a Linux distro created by David Heinemeier Hansson, who has regularly published racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. "The popular password manager is now a 'distinguished corporate patron' of Omacom, the nonprofit foundation that oversees a popular Linux distribution known as Omarchy," reports The Verge. From the report: One viral blog post declared that 1Password "Supports the Ethnic Cleansing of Europe" because of the donation. Others on social media asked for suggestions for alternative password managers so they would not support the funding of a project from Heinemeier Hansson, better known as DHH. The donation has also resulted in internal pushback from employees of 1Password who are disappointed by the affiliation, The Verge has learned. 1Password CEO David Faugno and cofounder Roustem Karimov have since posted internal messages addressing what Faugno describes as "concerns, both internally and externally" that have been raised "due to the polarizing nature" of DHH.

DHH is a Danish entrepreneur best known for creating Ruby on Rails, Basecamp, and the Hey email client. Omarchy is DHH's "opinionated" version of Linux, meaning it's Linux the way he likes to use it. It's based on Arch Linux, with certain apps that install by default. It's also, apparently, one of 1Password's big customer environments. [...] In an internal Slack message obtained by The Verge, 1Password's Karimov downplayed the overtly racist comments from DHH, telling staff the following: "As I said, people have different personal opinions. You believe in your heart that DHH is evil, that you have the moral high ground, and that nothing will change your mind. However, not everyone believes that. It is not fair to claim a monopoly and ostracize team members who might disagree with you. There are people who are afraid to speak up simply because they will be personally attacked."

1Password CEO Faugno took a different approach, trying to reassure staff that "1Password does not endorse hateful, dehumanizing, or exclusionary views, including those shared publicly by DHH." Nonetheless, it seems the company has sacrificed a moral position for a "mission-driven" position. In the same message to staff, Faugno says "the scale and growth of [Omarchy's] use among our customers is significant -- Omarchy has grown to be the second most used Linux distribution among 1Password users." Faugno then tries to create distance, telling staff that its contribution is "to the Omacom Foundation, not an individual." Still, he says "we recognize that Omarchy is associated with DHH, its founder. Our donation is not in any way an endorsement of his personal views or conduct."

1Password Wades Into a Right-Wing Mess After Funding a Linux Project More | Reply

1Password Wades Into a Right-Wing Mess After Funding a Linux Project

Comments Filter:

  • Right Wing???? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by morphon ( 197363 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:05PM (#66320014)

    What DHH said was totally normal by liberal standards 15 years ago. He's an ordinary liberal. The people who call him all these names are crazies. The Verge caters to this crowd. He's rich enough and independent enough to be uncancellable. But maybe the corporate sponsors of his project can bend to some old-school left-loony outrage.

    We'll see if people still tolerate and bend to the screeching.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

      By US standards the guy seems fairly middle of the road. He'd have to amp his rhetoric up a bit before he'd make MAGA territory here.

    • Re:Right Wing???? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by garlicbread2 ( 4853285 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:39PM (#66320078)

      I think this was the original cause behind all the drama
      https://world.hey.com/dhh/as-i... [hey.com]

      It's not really right wing of course, but certain groups encourage the idea that any form of disagreement with the group think even if respectful and non aggressive needs to be squashed. This is why this post will be heavily downvoted I'd imagine.
      In some cases people like to amplify the drama to gain points with like minded friends in groups to drum up emotions.
      It's a type of behaviour encouraged over time via social media similar to schoolyard bullying

      In the above blog post it's highlighting some of the impact the current immigration policies have had on western nations.
      Being a Brit myself and seeing things first hand within Birmingham, part of what defines a culture is the set of rules you live by and are raised by within your family, but the rules people from less developed countries follow tends to be more similar to the rules western cultures followed several hundred years ago.
      As an example, cast systems such as lower middle upper class's, or male ownership of females, non acceptance of alternative sexualities etc. This in turn creates friction if people arriving want to keep they're existing ways and take over instead of adapting, since it means going back to the old rules or even rules that lead to the natives determent.

      • Re:Right Wing???? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by kertaamo ( 16100 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @11:15PM (#66320478)

        Interesting. I'm a Brit, born in London. What DHH has said there is something I hear all the time. Not just from Brits but from friends in Europe who come back from holidays in London. I don't know how people twist observations and discontent at watching ones culture being destroyed into racism.

        • Because the successful arenâ(TM)t allowed to have a culture. That is it. I said it. Pointed out that elephant.

          In any group of mixed people you can identify the successful by seeing who isnt allowed to retain their own culture.

          I watched kids in my high school âoeget tiredâ of other cultures and âoego be with their kindâ. When they did this other races were not allowed to follow them. They got to go do all their segregated stuff free of any other cultures behind closed doors and then

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by beelsebob ( 529313 )

      Hahaha, He's expressed his support of Tommy Robinson, who founded the English Defence League. The EDL is litterally a fascist organisation. He complains that Britain is no longer full of native brits, and went on to define "native Brit" to mean "white". He argued that Romani's in Denmark should be shot as you would wolves.

      Sorry, but since when is literal fascism and overt racism the position of an "ordinary liberal"?

  • But one of the many reasons why I use Roboform!

  • They gave Trump this thing. [theverge.com] It had to be worth some change. So, samesies?

  • Always direct quote when your story is about what (Score:5, Insightful)

    by physicsphairy ( 720718 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:34PM (#66320072)

    I know nothing about this guy or this project. But the author of the summary apparently feels that, in the spirit of deep investigation and journalistic corroboration, the evidence we *really* need to evaluate is an unnamed blogger:

    One viral blog post declared that 1Password "Supports the Ethnic Cleansing of Europe"

    and not the actual quote from the guy apparently supporting the ethnic cleansing of Europe?

    Either that quote exists, and is infinitely more significant evidence for us to see and evaluate, or it doesn't exist, and the author is just helping to propagate slander.

    Given the author's choice I'll take a guess which.

    • Looks like he said London has too many brown people.

      • That's like saying Hitler was lightly displeased with the Jewish population. No he's was in full support of Tommy Robinson, a guy that made Charlie Kirk look like Mother Theresa, a guy who has advocated using the British military to force those "brown people" out of the UK. Apparently Hansson called him "heartwarming".

        • The stuff in DHH's blog post and Wikipedia entry is pretty tame. Again though, this is viewed from my perspective as an American who really had no problem with all of Obama's deportations (mostly because he didn't make a giant media circus out of them).

          It's ironic you should bring up Kirk, because a lot of otherwise reasonable people didn't know all about all the awful shit he'd said either, before proclaiming him to be a decent fellow. Usually what happens is that folks hear "He was just expressing conse

    • Re:Always direct quote when your story is about wh (Score:5, Informative)

      by spitzak ( 4019 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:58PM (#66320136) Homepage

      From Wikipedia, judge for yourself. You are right it would have been nice to include this in the summary!

      In 2025, Hansson published a blog post[30] expressing support for far-right British activist Tommy Robinson and the 2025 British anti-immigration protests, as well as mourning that London is "no lounger full of native Brits", defining "native Brit" to mean white. Hansson published another blog post[34] in July of 2026 comparing the Romani population of Copenhagen to Denmark's struggles with its wolf population growth, stating that "When wolves get out of control, you shoot them. When gypsies take over public spaces, you deport them." Anil Dash and Rebecca Bailey expressed criticism of Hansson's post, decrying its "dehumanizing rhetoric" against the Romani people.[35][36]

    • Aside from the issues with platforming their advertisers don't want to see that stuff next to their advertisements. Not the raw stuff. You've got the internet and you have Google you can easily find that information yourself.

      Also your reading comprehension needs work. Your concern isn't with the unnamed blogger your concern is with David Heinemeier Hansson and whether or not the things he said support what the unnamed blogger is accusing him of. You don't want more quotes from the unnamed blogger you wa

  • Ew (Score:3)

    by Bahbus ( 1180627 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:38PM (#66320076) Homepage

    Omarchy.

    But also...just because a lot of 1Password users are using Omarchy, that doesn't mean 1Paassword has a reason to give Omarchy money.

    • Re:Ew (Score:4)

      by Mousit ( 646085 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @07:44PM (#66320232)

      But also...just because a lot of 1Password users are using Omarchy, that doesn't mean 1Paassword has a reason to give Omarchy money.

      I'm quite weirded out by Faugno's quoted assertion that it's the second most used Linux distro among 1P users. This article is the first I've ever even heard of Omarchy. Hell, from what I can find about its founding, it is literally only a year old. I know 1P users aren't representative of overall Linux users, but I have trouble imagining Omarchy as anything but a very niche distro with any particular group of users, 1P or otherwise. Not unless it's seen astoundingly phenomenal adoption and growth since its debut.

      And if it truly has, then that.. quite possibly may say something about 1P's userbase, really, or at least its Linux userbase.

      Guess I might need to consider switching to Bitwarden.

      • I'm quite weirded out by Faugno's quoted assertion that it's the second most used Linux distro among 1P users

        The (especially far-)right wing do not have a particularly good track record for being factually accurate.

  • There is only one secure password manager (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @06:40PM (#66320084)

    Post-it®

  • Unfortunately, the age where you at least had to pretend to be a halfway decent human to be successful is over.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Unfortunately, the age where you at least had to pretend to be a halfway decent human to be successful is over.

      Yes, I wonder how our advanced culture regressed to the interior cultures of the invaders...

      These people literally come to another country and think their own views and values are better than the locals'. And they expect others to tolerate them? Why the fuck are you fleeing your country and culture for a better one? Either admit the new culture is better, renounce your incorrect beliefs, attempt to assimilate, or stay the fuck home.

  • We're living in a crazy world.

  • Gary Glitter (Score:3)

    by hadleyburg ( 823868 ) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @07:33PM (#66320208)

    The quandary one faces when the creator of something one likes demonstrates unpalatable values is an interesting one.

    Some would suggest that the creation (whether it be a Linux distribution, a novel, or a body of music) can be separated from the artist. If you can do this mental separation, then you can appreciate the creation, and not let it be sullied by the faults of the creator. This is the (slighly forced) logic of the 1Password CEO. Of course if your values align with those of the creator, then there is no quandary at all.

    For many though, this separation is difficult - particularly with art. We think that we can appreciate art on its own merits, but our appreciation is often bundled with the image we have of the artist. Our appreciation of the music of the Rolling Stones, for example is tied up with their romanticised image of being outlaw pirate bohemians. We semi-conciously attach this context to the music, and develop and appreciation in which the sound of the music itself is only a part.

    So if we grow up in the 1970s when English glam rock was all the rage, and later learn that Gary Glitter was a pedophile, that bundle of music and context is tainted, and many, if not most, can no longer enjoy the Gary Glitter music they liked in their youth.

    In truth, artists and creaters are all flawed to some extent, in one way or another. In the case of DHH, it seemed to be the fact that he publicised his views on race and immigration in a blog post that caused the commotion. We didn't know it beforehand, and had he chosen to tone down his views, we might be none the wiser even now.

    I hadn't previously even heard of his Omarchy project, but because he has presented himself as a distasteful character (in my opinion), I am less likely to try it out. But what would I do if I was heavily invested in Ruby on Rails? Would I migrate onto some other platform? I imagine I might search around for excuses to avoid the time and expense that would incur. In practice, we seldom come up against absolute "red lines". Try to avoid support of people whose values are distasteful, but we balance this against the cost of doing so. If the disgust is great, we are willing to tolerate a higher cost. At first it seems a bit compromising, and spineless, but I don't think this sort of moral valuation is wrong - I think it is better than taking an extremist uncompromising stance on everything.

  • I'm not very familiar with DHH, so he may have said and done some truly horrific things, but the author of this "viral blog post" lost me from the start:

    In “As I remember London,” [hey.com] he voiced support for ethnically cleansing London of minorities.

    I believe I read that article a while ago and wanted to read it again because I don't remember it calling for ethnic cleansing. After reading it very carefully looking for any direct or indirect calls for ethnic cleansing, I came up short. Never at any

    • Downmodding me instead of providing counterarguments demonstrates that you're incapable of refuting my points but you're not open-minded enough to agree with them. I guess ideology doesn't wander off easily.

    • You didn't include a link to the blog post for "Wolves, sheep, and gypsies." Here it is. [hey.com]

      Nor did you quote the more incendiary parts of that blog post. Hansson may not have explicitly "called for" ethnic cleansing, but the insinuation was clear enough: he considers vagrants and homeless people to be vermin. Here are the two paragraphs just after the one you quoted:

      These are two situations cut from the same cloth of ideology. Whether it's wolves or gypsies, you can't just let the problems get out of hand. You have to act. You have to protect the sheep. Standing idly by while your livestock is devoured by predators or your neighborhood is taken over by migrants is a pathetic abdication of any functioning society's most basic duty to its citizens.

      When wolves get out of control, you shoot them. When gypsies take over public spaces, you deport them. This isn't hard, it isn't cruel. It's the basic logic of self-preservation.

      You claim to be "not very familiar" with what Hansson has said, and yet look at this ending to the blog post you cited.

  • The Deaf and Hard of Hearing community use 1Password. It just stores passwords like Bitwarden except there's no local storage option anymore. Brings me Teares.

  • What seems to be considered by media these days as "far right" was standard middle of the road stuff just only a few years ago.

    Anything the "left" doesn't like is now either deemed "racist" or sexist, or mysogynist, or 'nazi' or a million other stupid labels.

    There is nothing 'racist' about discussions about who or how many people people decide to let in to their country or any of the other things that DHH seems to talk about. (I did not know who he was before this article appeared, but a websearch shows not

  • Does not make something racist. This seems to be just a hit piece. Various claims about racism and what not without actual quotes or proof for these claims. Which tells me, 1Password and DHH are probably the true liberals supporting diversity of viewpoints while the author (at the Register) authoritarian / fasistic / oppressive wishing no speech other than their own.

Slashdot Top Deals

He who steps on others to reach the top has good balance.

Close