Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Linux Foundation is a Tax-Exempt PR Firm With Glorified Trademark

There's often a misunderstanding because there's "Linux" in the name Linux Foundation

Jono Bacon tweet
From the sponsor prospectus here



Summary: The decline of the Linux Foundation (as a credible group) means its substitution of technical staff with mindless parrots who spread lies for corporate sponsors (for a fee)

LAST week we began refactoring our Daily Links template so as to better suit topics we cover. Here at Techrights we shall soon be moving the Linux Foundation out of its (nested) Linux section because ~90% of the time this front group says and does things which have nothing at all to do with Linux. Today's Linux Foundation, to put it quite bluntly, is a tax-exempt PR firm with a glorified trademark. Its sole aspiration is increase of revenue by all means possible.



It's really sad and it is also worrying. The Linux Foundation has become little more than GitHub outsourcing services. That's what it does on the 'technical' side, advocacy aside (advocacy like "Open Source loves Microsoft")...

"If you want openwashing, we'll build something on a Microsoft proprietary software platform (GitHub is proprietary, in NSA PRISM)..."

"The Linux Foundation has become little more than GitHub outsourcing services."That's one of the main propositions of today's Linux Foundation. It wasn't always like that.

After sacking all Linux.com writers and editors back in April (notice how nobody in the media covered that) the Linux Foundation remains nothing but a PR agency. No journalists, just PR people. The sole editor of Linux.com proudly describes himself as “filmmaker”...

But he never made a single film!

So he’s not a filmmaker but a liar. “Vlogger” at best...

He is trying to attract as 'clients' people who want a "vlogger" with a channel in YouTube (like SiliconANGLE theCUBE). That's just PR. "Guy with a camera..."

And Jono Bacon has once again unmasked himself (a few hours ago) as a marketing guy.

“Previously running marketing at EMC and Box, Whit has also advised numerous of companies…”

"He is trying to attract as 'clients' people who want a "vlogger" with a channel in YouTube (like SiliconANGLE theCUBE)."Bloody hell, Jono…

How much do they pay you per PR post? Any more than the thousands of dollars they pay for a tweet (see image at the top; it's from the Linux Foundation's brochure).

The sad thing is that Planet Ubuntu now amplifies marketing from Jono Bacon and his "clients", even stuff that has nothing to do with GNU, Linux, Ubuntu or even FOSS.

What have you become, Jono?

The openwashing industry won't call itself that (what it really is); watch out for groups, firms, companies or 'trade groups' whose income/revenue source is something like "consulting" or "sponsorship"; they're not charities and there's expectation of something in return. Bill Gates does it too.

"The openwashing industry won't call itself that (what it really is); watch out for groups, firms, companies or 'trade groups' whose income/revenue source is something like "consulting" or "sponsorship"; they're not charities and there's expectation of something in return."Openwashing by such large monopolies of proprietary software (and NSA collaborators) seems to be helping these monopolies recruit opportunistic defectors, who then become their moles. Even if they're desperate for money, that doesn't make a good excuse.

One reader has sent us this old article by Bob Weinstein. "You may be working for a corporate cult," the headline warns. In a sense, this is what this foundation of Jim Zemlin became and we know who is worshiped.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Improving the Static Site Generator
Our system has fixes triaged
In Techrights, Gemini and HTTP/HTML Are Very Different
Those were never equivalents or mirrors, those are two things that are inherently different and are maintained by different teams
 
UK tech sector missing from democratic process
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Not to Cover Elections (Democracy Relies on Reliable, Complete Information)
Misinformed voters are a recipe for disaster
Microsoft E.E.E. (and "Bait and Switch") Going Exactly According to Plan
That is what they are trying to tell us and the companies that employ us
IBM: An Old Company That Hates Old People
Remember that's coming to Red Hat workers in 2 months
Strict Policy on Violence and Violent Language
This matter is now being escalated to law firms
Avoiding Discrimination Against People With Disabilities
work underway to improve the system which runs the sites
Links 28/07/2026: XBox DRM Doomed Everyone (Cannot Play Anything), Slop (Ponzi Scheme) Being Pinkwashed Now
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/07/2026: Ethics, GIMP Script-Fu, SMTP Versus Gemini, and Proposal for Better TOFU
Links for the day
To a Sociopath, Ethical People Are Bad People. Don't Fall for It.
If you put sociopaths on a pedestal, the pedestal will break
Diversity in Debian
bringing up the topic is the real problem, diversity itself is a taboo subject
GNU/Linux in Brazil. The B in BRIC(S).
the "market share" is assessed to be around 5%
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 27, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 27, 2026
Hate Consumes the Haters
If you hate someone (or something) and you're willing to do anything for "hate rituals", then at the end the emotion will outweigh reason and it'll backfire, surely
GNU/Linux Rises Some More Internationally, statCounter Now Estimates Its Usage on Desktops/Laptops at 7.7%
significant growth for GNU/Linux in Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia
IBMers on PIPs and the Age (or Cost) Factor
People in their 50s seem to be targeted as they are considered "expensive"
Sad State of Troll-Feeding British Media (Establishment Channels Promoting Total Idiots)
Breeding ignorance means people will assume they have a choice between two pieces of trash: "Nige" or a literal trash can
Links 27/07/2026: Sleepless Japan PM Takaichi Becomes Unpopular and Data Centre Magnate Confiscate Land Without Consent
Links for the day
A Few Hours Ago The Register MS Published an 'Article' With "AI" 32 Times in It, Including First Word in Headline and Summary. It Was Paid SPAM "Sponsored by Hammerspace".
The lost media is engaging in self-harm
Microsoft is Down
This relates in a timely fashion to what we published yesterday
Gemini Links 27/07/2026: Gemified Internet RFCs, “Junk DNA” Is Commented-Out Code, and More
Links for the day
The Techrights Gemini Capsule Was Never a Mirror
Techrights has long taken accessibility quite seriously
Americans Are Not Our Masters
If you are subjected to online abuse, don't give up
Daniel Pocock Campaigns Around "Safety of Children Online" and "Cybersecurity"
There seems to be a growing 'coalition' in the UK based around important issues which impact the entire planet
XBox the Console is Practically Finished (Unofficially), Even the Streaming ("Live") or DRM Service is Dead
XBox has never been closer to profitability
Many CEOs Are Just Glorified Scammers With Suits and Ties
Economies cannot function when few people abuse them for self-enrichment
After statCounter Figures Out Many "Unknowns" Were in Fact GNU/Linux the "Market Share" Estimate in China More Than Doubles
Japan is the same for similar reasons
peppe8o - a Site About Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Electronics - Has Turned Into a Slopfarm
We won't be linking to it anymore
Feeding 'the Children'
Maybe some time soon we'll do a fund-raiser to help feed the birds
Japan: GNU/Linux Crosses the 5% Threshold, Two Years Ago It Was Only 1%
Now it's at over 5%
We Need More Transparency
Our heads of state are very much aware of and concerned about SLAPPs and censorship
"The War on Children" Explained by The Cyber Show
Consumer protection and the war on children
EPO Cocainegate and Current EPO/EU Series to Carry on for Months to Come
Another week has begun
When IBM "Managers Have to Mark 15% of Their Teams as Low Performers" a PIP Means Likely Layoffs (Disguised as a Performance Issue)
"IBM is a Law firm with an I/T department."
Links 27/07/2026: Chatbots Lead to Suicides, Social Control Media Intentionally Designed for Addiction
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 26, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 26, 2026
Daniel Pocock in Mainstream Media Again
AFR wrote an article today. It is about Pocock and another contender.
Millions of Daily Requests
4.5+ million requests in 4 days
In statCounter, a Lot of "Unknown" Turns Out to be GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has more than doubled
3,500 Active Gemini Capsules Soon
How much longer before 3,500+ active? A month?
Gemini Links 26/07/2026: European Eclipse, Writing About Writing, and Comments on Formatting Gopher Posts
Links for the day
Stigma of Being Laid Off by Microsoft
One might call this the "curse" of having worked for Microsoft
Silent Layoffs (PIPs) Have Allegedly Accelerated Since IBM's Stock Cratered
"IBM is Managing Decline, Not Building Growth"
Non-Techs Using Slop Run Fedora and It's Turning Out to be a Total Disaster
RIP, Fedora?
Gemini Links 26/07/2026: Beach Day, CAs, and Plaintext
Links for the day
Sweden Needs GNU/Linux and Free Software, Not GAFAM
home of IKEA and ABBA
Being Pro-Slop is Death Knell to One's Credibility
It's not hard to see Ubuntu users resisting and antagonising this
Maintenance Today
Preparing for more mass-publication activities
Links 26/07/2026: "Zelenskyy Says Russia Wants To Bring North Korean Troops Into Ukraine", Muslim Van Ramming Attack on Berlin Pride
Links for the day
Centrica fraud exposed: worse than Palestine Action 'terrorists' with cardboard placards
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/07/2026: "Nate Silver Discovers the Educated Poor" and "India’s “Cockroach” Protest Movement Faces State Repression"
Links for the day
The Slop Bubble is Killing the Planet, Not Just the Economy
The chatbot/LLM speculation bubble not only causes a health crisis, a mental health epidemic, and climate change; it's also crashing the economy on several levels
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 25, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 25, 2026