Whisper-network spreadsheet naming 100+ alleged Silicon Valley predators surfaces
A closely guarded list compiled by women in tech, alleging drugging, assault and rape by investors and executives, becomes public via reporting and ignites debate over its fairness.
What to know
- A private, crowdsourced spreadsheet allegedly names over 100 Silicon Valley figures, including prominent investors, over accusations of drugging, assault and rape.
- Sources say the list exists because women fear that reporting to police or employers will get them blacklisted by powerful men in the industry.
- Yehong Zhu's unresolved 2021 police report over an alleged rape at a San Francisco hacker house illustrates the limits of formal channels.
- Online discussion is split between treating the list as a necessary safety tool and warning that an unverified list risks wrongly damaging innocent people's reputations.
The dispute Whether the list should stay secret to protect victims and preserve deterrence, or be made public/legal so accusations can be prosecuted, versus fears that an informal list is unfair to the wrongly accused. · positions read across 18 posts and comments
The list is a justified response because formal reporting systems fail victims and claims are reflexively disbelieved.
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“The reason a list like this feels necessary to many (presumably mostly) women is that in SV culture there's a presumption that these sorts of claims are almost always baseless.”
ElProlactin · Hacker News ↗
An unvetted, crowdsourced list risks wrongly ruining an innocent person's life.
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“Also feels like something that could be life ruining if someone innocent finds themselves on the list by mistake/fluke. This is presumably crowdsourced which is not bulletproof”
Havoc · Hacker News ↗
The focus on false-accusation risk is itself disproportionate given the underlying reports of rape and assault.
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“Wow, this is about cases of rape and sexual assault and yet so much hand wringing in the comments is about, maybe, a dude gets put on the list who didn't do anything.”
JKCalhoun · Hacker News ↗
Yehong Zhu Founder of app Zette, alleged rape victimAnonymous tech worker source Silicon Valley worker, contributor to the whisper-network listSecond insider source Silicon Valley insider speaking on background
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Writer evacide frames story as test of how communities treat high-status predators
In a widely shared post linking the article, evacide argued the episode is a test case for how a community responds when powerful, high-status members are accused of predatory behavior.
“In every community, there are predators. And how that community deals with high-status predators says a lot about them.”
— evacide -
In every community, there are predators. And how that community deals with high-status predators says a lot about them. https:// nypost.com/2026/09/24/tech/sil icon-valley-sex-assault-list-with-over-100-names-circulated-warning-female-tech-workers-of-predators-to-avoid/
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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Your comment implies that it is impossible (or at least so unlikely as to be not worth thinking about) for someone or someones to intentionally put an innocent person on the list.Please don't assume that.
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T
the tech industry seems to be functioning much like the film industry. Or like the epstein class or maybe every center of powergrabbing activity on the planet functions this way. There is a reason why what comes out of this industry is so damaging. # AI https:// nypost.com/2026/09/24/tech/sil…
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HN commenters debate whether the list helps or endangers people
Commenters split between viewing the list as a necessary response to a system that presumes assault claims are baseless, and worrying that an unvetted, crowdsourced list could wrongly ruin an innocent person's reputation.
“Sad that they feel this is necessary. Also feels like something that could be life ruining if someone innocent finds themselves on the list by mistake/fluke.”
— Havoc -
Sorry for writing from a throwaway account because there's still a lot of stigma to this, while I think it's a pretty average experience.I had sex therapy to be able to understand where my fantasy ends, and where the real world starts, and how people in the real world aren't there to play the roles my fantasies give them.It sounds obvious when I…
2 more of the top 3 · 14 posts in this stretch
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Maybe Robert Scoble should tweet about how unfair life is, put forward an absurd definition of sexual harassment, accuse women of reporting it to fit in with the cool crowd, attack his own accusers, and plug his latest business venture again.https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47230597Then all the other sexual assaulters can leap to his defense…
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> Also feels like something that could be life ruining if someone innocent finds themselves on the list by mistake/fluke.Not as likely as you think. The reason a list like this feels necessary to many (presumably mostly) women is that in SV culture there's a presumption that these sorts of claims are almost always baseless. That these women…
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background
Yehong Zhu's 2021 rape allegation against a hacker-house member surfaces — Zhu, founder of the app Zette, said she filed a December 2021 police report accusing a former member of San Francisco hacker house Genesis of rape and assault; she said the man fled and was never located or arrested, and a house organizer discouraged her from pursuing it.
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background
Sources describe fear of retaliation for reporting to police — Multiple sources told the Post that women in Silicon Valley avoid police over fear of retaliation and career blacklisting by powerful accused men, prompting reliance on the informal list instead.
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background
NY Post reveals whisper-network 'sex assault list' of 100+ names — The New York Post reported on a private spreadsheet naming 'over a hundred' alleged sexual predators in Silicon Valley, including 'prominent investors and businessmen,' compiled by women warning each other about people at major tech and AI companies.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Mastodon, 1d ago · also HN Frontpage, NY Post
1 more headline
- Silicon Valley 'sex assault list' with 'over 100' names circulated HN Frontpage · 1d ago
What people are saying 10 voices from 1 site · best of 18 · verbatim
- Does this list work better in secret, where the perpetrators don't know they're on the list, or does it work better in public, where the general public learns that these kinds of problems continue to happen?
- Ok can we see the list? And then prosecute the people? Or it's a secret for some reason?
- Yesterday
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Wow, this is about cases of rape and sexual assault and yet so much hand wringing in the comments is about, maybe, a dude gets put on the list who didn't do anything.
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WTF, I find it hard to believe that during a sexual assault, the perpetrator doesn't know what they are doing. WTF is this?
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This is terrifying but I am glad people like this are self aware enough to get help. Kudos.. I think?
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As an aside, this is the first I heard about [tech houses](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/technology/agi-house-ai-c...). So far, they don't. . . sound great.
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Just read the article. Why are adults living in frat houses? Is this a thing now?
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I think the question is: Does this list work better in secret, where the perpetrators don't know they're on the list; or does it work better in public, where the general public learns that these kinds of problems continue to happen?
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Ok can we see the list? And then prosecute the people? Or it’s a secret for some reason?
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There will of course be a secret mirror blacklist: anyone who does report sexual assault to the authorities will find it much harder to get a job and impossible to access the inner circle.(Famously, Weinstein did this to actresses)
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Interesting that every instance of sexual assault is preemptively doubted by default, whereas that's not a primary part of the conversation for accusations of other crimes like arson, theft, embezzlement, etc. False accusations of any crime could hurt the accused, that's more or less an unavoidable tautology of the legal system. There's just one…
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Sad that they feel this is necessary.Also feels like something that could be life ruining if someone innocent finds themselves on the list by mistake/fluke. This is presumably crowdsourced which is not bulletproof