this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
399 points (95.4% liked)

Not The Onion

20587 readers
1648 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

  1. Links to news stories from...
  2. ...credible sources, with...
  3. ...their original headlines, that...
  4. ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Please also avoid duplicates.

Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 24 points 1 day ago
[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If she wanted to do this she'd change her name and disavow her inheritence.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

well, there's a website I'm never going back to. that layout is just offensive. and this is after after dismissing the cookies popup

[–] softwarist@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Homie do you rawdog the internet without an adblocker??

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

I haven't set up a browser adblocker on that computer, as I've never really found the need. pihole usually takes care of everything well enough

[–] Godric@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Stephen King's child at least doesn't write under the name "King" to avoid nepotism. I can't read the actual paid article because just going off headlines is apparently OK here, but it doesn't seem like she's trying.

Her chip on her shoulder is a tiny one she blows out of proportion, like so many "problems" of the uber-wealthy.

[–] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Godric@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The first time I had a friend reccomend him, I gave them a funny look, thinking they were talking about Joe Hill the musician and labor organizer XD

Edit: I'm sick of people mentioning musicians without songs; here's Preacher and the Slave, from which we get the term "Pie in the Sky".

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RHyGpFncovU

Performed by the late Utah Phillips, as Joe Hill was executed a good 110 years ago.

[–] ecvanalog@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

There’s a great ballad of Joe Hill by Phil Ochs.

[–] oh_@lemmy.world 33 points 2 days ago (1 children)

With what money did she start the business then? Get the F out of here with that crap. Also, so original, going into AI like everyone else.

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And the "connections" which is just fancy-speak for "rich friends."

[–] 0ddysseus@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Same way daddy did it

[–] Aequitas@feddit.org 428 points 3 days ago (5 children)

Relevant:

"Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something.

Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on.

Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work.

Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it."

[–] Yprum@lemmy.world 76 points 3 days ago (2 children)

What an awesome comparison.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago

A coworker of mine left to start his own startup. He claimed that the IPO of an old employer gave him a little bit of cushion to work with, and he was going to take his shot. I wished him well. It was a crazy dumb app idea. But you never know.

I do remember thinking “gee and he just had a baby too, what a time to take a risk.” I later learned that he had married old money. The second he had a kid with her, he couldn’t lose.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

In addition to the multiple throws, and in addition to the direct nepotistic help, there is also just the osmosis effect. How many people would give their right arm to get basic mentoring from Bill Gates? Just knowing someone who’s succeeded at something gives you a massive cultural window into that thing and how to nail it. This kid is delusional. If she wants to do something totally on her own she should be a movie director or race car driver or flower arranger. What’s that? Starting up a tech company? Ohh… how original.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

"Wow, what does your startup do?"

"It synthesizes mining crypto by capturing efforts from Microsoft users trying to uninstall bloatware in Windows 11"

[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 85 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Phoebe Gates wants her $185 million AI startup to succeed with 'no ties to my privilege or my last name'

But you have no problem with the $35 million they gave you? That's part of your privilege. You say you want to succeed without it while stuffing your pockets with it.

[–] MBech@feddit.dk 12 points 2 days ago

If she really wants to show the world how good she is, and non-privileged, she can change her name, get into community college while working a minimum wage job, and then start a multimillion dollar business on her own from her savings, without getting carried through life by her father.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 18 points 2 days ago

shes basically like the rich people that think they are independant and living on thier own, but thier parents give them a credit card to do pay whatever she wants on her own,.

[–] lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 209 points 3 days ago (2 children)

no ties to my privilege

it's an AI startup

$185 million

Something does not compute, in a Microslop sort of way.

[–] ConstableJelly@piefed.social 62 points 3 days ago (2 children)

“I have a chip on my shoulder,” she said, describing her drive to prove she can win over private equity in Silicon Valley based on merit, not inheritance or legacy ...[T]he young founder hasn’t taken money from her parents for Phia. Instead, she’s insisted on raising outside capital even as some investors remain fixated on her personal life instead of her business venture.

I appreciate the sentiment, but it would be delusional to think her ability to "win over private equity" was divorced at all from her father's legacy and last name. And actually, I'm not sure I appreciate the sentiment. In 2026, merit is way down the list, like scrawled sideways in the margins, of things that matter to private equity.

[–] CogitoCool@lemmus.org 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's certainly delusional. I've been active in the innovation space for ~25 years, and for most normal people it's taking a massive risk. Here, she's not ending-up on the street if the venture flops, so the risk is low.

So merit my ass, it's easy to take a risk if it's not real risk, i.e. I agree and don't appreciate the sentiment.

[–] Donkter@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Real question: what on earth does "on the street" mean in the tech startup world? Because I have a strong suspicion that "on the street" means just going to work a normal job like 300 million other people even despite personal anecdotes of one or two people who literally became homeless.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 66 points 3 days ago

I asked copilot and it assured me this is all above board.

[–] ecvanalog@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Phoebe Cates>>>>>Phoebe Gates

[–] KingPapaDaddy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Yep. That's exactly who I thought. Then I saw the picture and thought, "wow she hasn't aged a bit!"

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 131 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Wonder how much of her funding came from people who rape kids with her dad...

If she thinks she's doing anything that her name doesn't benefit, she's fucking stupider than most AI ceos and that's saying a lot.

Maybe even stupid enough to not know the reason her dad's company took off is her grandparents worked for Xerox and just gave him a bunch of IP including the first computer mouse and a shit ton of money.

The Gates family is a nepo family, they're just all too stupid to understand and legitimately think they have the same opportunities as anyone else.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 71 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

She just wants to be treated like any other totally unqualified person whose mom gave her commencement speed and got handed 100 million dollars to start up a made up company.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 31 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That then told everyone about her company, that she doesn't want any privilege in promoting, to her many followers.

[–] Botanicals@lemmy.world 40 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Well I guess as long as she has a 'chip' on her shoulder

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 25 points 2 days ago

Well you don't get to have that. Possible access to your father is enough for you to get priveleges.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 17 points 2 days ago

you arnt independtly wealthy, if you have a "credit card" from your wealthy family and you are living on your own. same goes for CV/RESUME.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 95 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Is this the same entitled bitch who got a $1,000,000 ranch as a present?

Maybe pay some fucking taxes, Phoebe.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 39 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

To quote Pearl Jam:

Born on third,

Thinks (s)he got a triple.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 41 points 3 days ago

"Child of prominent pedophile has an AI startup" is such a vibe right now.

[–] luthis@lemmy.nz 66 points 3 days ago (2 children)

She's going to be another super villain in ten years isn't she

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml 40 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The featured article under this is titled

Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner back Phoebe Gates’ fashion tech startup Phia in $8 million seed round

hilarious stuff

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] thesmokingman@programming.dev 39 points 3 days ago (6 children)

The shopping assistant plugs into browsers like Chrome and Safari to compare prices and surface deals across tens of thousands of retail and resale sites in real time. It essentially serves as your own personal deal finder: Say you’re looking at a $200 dress from Anthropologie, Phia can find and compare prices at secondhand sellers to help customers find a better price.

Gates and Kianni first brainstormed startup ideas in their Stanford dorm room, cycling through concepts before landing on a consumer tool that included Gates’ interest in women’s empowerment (likely modeled after her own mother) and Kianni’s sustainability focus.

I don’t think a coupon tool that wastes excessive resources is either empowering or sustainable.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

She will ALWAYS have help lol

[–] TheTiltster@feddit.org 64 points 3 days ago (6 children)

An "AI shopping company". Yes, that´s just what the world needs.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 53 points 3 days ago (2 children)

To be fair to whoever she is, it must have been impossible for them to not to have grown up completely bonkers out of touch. Not without some serious awesome parenting.

Which is why she did not.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (18 children)

Reading this, I was reminded of how Nicolas Cage is part of the Coppola family but changed his name, I was told, so that he could “make it on his own.”

I looked that up and it turns out to be a complete lie. He actually changed his name to conceal the fact that he was not making it on his own.

EDIT to clarify if this was confusing: he was given roles by his uncle Francis Ford Coppola. This is nepotism aka “not making it on his own,” but with special help from family. To conceal the nepotism, his name was changed.

From Wikipedia:

At age 15, he tried to convince his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, to give him a screen test, telling him "I'll show you acting." His outburst was met with "silence in the car."[20] By this stage of his career, Coppola had already directed Marlon BrandoAl PacinoGene Hackman and Robert De Niro. Although early in his career Cage appeared in some of his uncle's films, he changed his name to Nicolas Cage to avoid the appearance of nepotism as Coppola's nephew. His choice of name was inspired by the Marvel Comicssuperhero Luke Cage and composer John Cage.[21][22]

load more comments (18 replies)
[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 44 points 3 days ago

Raised in a bubble she can't see.

I have no doubt she's at least as horrible as we all imagine.

load more comments
view more: next ›