Some tech investors sure seem to be getting defensive lately ...

Nobody likes to be questioned. 

But lately, some of Silicon Valley's big tech investors seem to be particularly upset that journalists are questioning some of the valley's hottest startups.

There's a fundamental difference in point of view here. The funders see first-hand how hard it is to build something and sympathize with the struggle. The journalists are supposed to be as objective and careful as possible and report what they find — even if some people don't like it. 

The latest example is Theranos, whose science was called into question by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was quick to defend her company, as you'd expect from a CEO. 

But some VCs also seemed genuinely upset. Not at the substance of the allegations, but for not giving founders the benefit of the doubt when it comes to building something.

Here's Greylock's Josh Elman, claiming that The Journal's story is "probably nonsense."

Elman later admitted in a Twitter conversation with Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher Mims that he actually didn't really know much about the dispute. 

He just gave Theranos the benefit of the doubt.

Elman wasn't the only one to chime in.

Explore BI Games

Take a smarter break in your day - and see how far you get.

Play now

Want more Business Insider in your news feed?

Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you’re searching for what matters.

Add to Preferred Sources

Sam Altman — who runs Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that just raised a $700 million fund and is planning on getting into late-stage investing — criticized people who were "cackling with glee" over the Theranos story.