Wired cover on techs gay mafia ignites controversy
Breaking news: There are gay people in positions of power in Silicon Valley in 2026. That not-so-surprising fact is the center of Wired’s latest cover story, which hit the internet Thursday. The internet immediately reacted, in part thanks to some, uh, unusual imagery that accompanied the article.
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…who signed off on this image
www.wired.com/story/inside…[image or embed]— Mike Murphy (@mcwm.bsky.social) February 19, 2026 at 12:16 PM
The handshake cover wasn’t the only bizarre choice. Inside, the magazine used an image of a musclebound man with San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower between his legs. California state senator Scott Weiner, a leader on LGBTQ issues, took issue with the whole premise.
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One Silicon Valley investor, a gay man who said he refused multiple requests to be interviewed, felt justified by the “gross” result:
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He wasn’t the only one. Many LGBTQ tech employees felt the article could be described as “homophobic.”
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Other readers noted that the article itself is, to use the magazine’s lingo, tired rather than wired:
This is one of the worst opening paragraphs I have ever read, thanks[image or embed]— Regime Accountant, CPA (@regimecpa.bsky.social) February 19, 2026 at 9:25 AM
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Meanwhile, social media did what it does best: Skewering with satire.
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