 "Far-right activist Laura Loomer accused Sriram Krishnan—President-elect Donald Trump’s AI advisor nominee—of donating to Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. However, her post triggered a backlash when she tagged another person with the same name in her post. Image courtesy: @sriramk")
In a dramatic twist that left the internet buzzing, far-right activist Laura Loomer accused Sriram Krishnan—President-elect Donald Trump’s AI advisor nominee—of donating to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
However, the claim, intended to cast doubt on Krishnan’s loyalty, backfired spectacularly when it was revealed she had confused him with someone else bearing the same name.
Here’s how the simple name mix-up turned into an embarrassing fiasco.
The misplaced accusation
In her now-infamous post on X (formerly Twitter), far-right activist Laura Loomer wrote:
“Hey Sriram Krishnan, what is this? Why did you donate to Kamala Harris’s Presidential Campaign less than one month before the 2024 Presidential election? You didn’t even vote for Trump… Now you want to infiltrate his admin?”
Krishnan, the Indian-American entrepreneur recently nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence.
Also read: Who is Sriram Krishnan, Chennai-born entrepreneur picked by Trump as AI policy advisor?
The Chennai-born technologist is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a renowned venture capital firm, and earned a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology from SRM Engineering College at Anna University in India.
It was there that he met his future wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy, online in 2002, BBC said in a report. Both were studying and had set their sights on becoming software engineers.
He is married to Ramamurthy, a serial entrepreneur, and together they co-host The Aarthi and Sriram Show.
With a background in senior leadership roles in major tech firms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Yahoo!, Twitter, and Microsoft, Krishnan has an edge in Trump 2.0 and he will now play a big role in developing AI policies across various government sectors.
He will work closely with David O Sacks, recently named the “White House AI & Crypto Czar.”
However, despite his credentials, Krishnan’s appointment quickly became a flashpoint for controversy. Critics from the far-right, particularly those aligned with MAGA ideologies, accused him of embodying Silicon Valley elitism and supporting immigration policies they argue harm American workers.
Loomer also opposed Krishnan, however, she made a glaring mistake. She confused Trump’s AI advisor with another individual named Sriram Krishnan. The person she referenced was, in fact, entirely unrelated.
The internet reacts
Loomer’s blunder did not go unnoticed.
Prominent tech entrepreneur and Trump’s AI Czar, David Sacks, was among the first to address the mistake.
“It’s a different person with the same name. If you knew anything about tech, you might even know he’s a VC at a different firm. Have you told the President yet? Maybe it’s time to stop with this crusade before you embarrass yourself further,” Sacks quipped.
To make matters worse, X’s Community Notes feature added a clarification to her tweet, and users wasted no time mocking her investigative abilities.
“Laura is such a sad excuse for an investigative journalist. Jumping to conclusions for clickbait and then getting a smackdown from someone who knows what he’s talking about,” one user commented.
Another wrote: “It’s a different person with the same name. But when you have plastics filled in body parts, your brains get affected too. Glad you are community noted.”
A third user remarked sarcastically: “Great catch! Evidence that the man has no loyalty and no principles! Deport!”
Later, the wrongly tagged Sriram Krishnan also joined the fun, tweeting: “After all of this, I should probably just show up at the White House on January 20th to claim a desk.”
This sparked yet another wave of jokes.
“This is such a funny exchange. What an embarrassment for her. Funnily enough, the tweet is still there. I thought she would delete it after clarity,” one user noted.
One user aptly summed the matter: “This is what happens when you prioritize outrage over accuracy.”
With input from agencies