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[Tripon]

Peter Thiel, a billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, helped fund the case brought by the wrestler, Terry Gene Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, against Gawker, said a person briefed on the arrangement who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and one of the earliest investors in Facebook, privately agreed to help pay the expenses of Mr. Bollea’s legal team, this person said.

A self-described libertarian, Mr. Thiel has a long history with Gawker, which published an article in 2007 outing him as gay. Mr. Thiel, who is now open about his sexual orientation, once described the Gawker-owned site Valleywag as “the Silicon Valley equivalent of Al Qaeda.”

The details of Mr. Thiel’s arrangement to support Mr. Bollea’s case are protected by a confidentiality agreement and could not be learned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/b...bankroll-hulk-hogans-suit-against-gawker.html

 

[Strax]

Please tell he doesn't use PayPal when paying for the lawyers.

 

[PeskyToaster]

What a power play. He might have just brought the whole thing down.

 

[YuriLowell]

Please tell he doesn't use PayPal when paying for the lawyers.

He sends it as a gift.

 

[BronsonLee]

It's almost like Gawker's been pissing off people with their shit for decades

 

[Slayven]

A self-described libertarian

Sounds about right

 

[Zaptruder]

Peter Thiel is a bit of a shit-bird, but this... this is one of his more generous moves to humanity.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Pay back is a bitch.

 

[Jarmel]

Sounds like Gawker's chickens came home to roost.

 

[bigkrev]

Glad to see someone who actually had their life ruined by Gawker for no reason is behind this, and not a racist.

 

[Tripon]

Pay back is a bitch.

Technically, 2.9% plus 30 cents.

There's no fee to use PayPal to purchase goods or services. However, if you receive money for goods or services (such as from selling an item on eBay), the fee for each transaction is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD of the amount you receive.

https://www.paypal.com/selfhelp/article/FAQ690

 

[entremet]

Peter Thiel is a bit of a shit-bird, but this... this is one of his more generous moves to humanity.

How is he shit bird? Because his political views?

 

[Dennis]

Good, good. I want to see Gawker razed to the ground and the ashes sprayed with radioactive salt so nothing can grow for a thousand years.

 

[Fhtagn]

How is he shit bird? Because his political views?

He thinks women shouldn't have gotten the right to vote, for one thing, so yes.

Good, good. I want to see Gawker razed to the ground and the ashes sprayed with radioactive salt so nothing can grow for a thousand years.

So, you're ok with billionaires throwing their weight around to shut down sites that report on them? Sure, Gawker's done a fair amount of awful shady shit over the years, but it's hard to call this unreservedly good for the future of democracy when it's actually a pretty scary development.

 

[DeviantBoi]

Can somebody explain this:

Questions about the independence of Mr. Bollea, who never mentioned a third-party backer, first emerged when his lawyer removed a claim from his complaint that had the effect of eliminating Gawker’s insurance company from the case. That struck many legal observers as odd, given that most lawyers seeking large payouts want to include claims that are insured against because doing so increases the chances of a settlement.

Does that mean that the payout would be less but more damaging for Gawker?

 

[BronsonLee]

Can somebody explain this:


Does that mean that the payout would be less but more damaging for Gawker?

It basically plays into what I figured Hogan (and I guess Thiel) wanted.

They didn't want a settlement. They don't actually expect Gawker to pay. They want Gawker to die.

 

[Nazgul_Hunter]

Can somebody explain this:


Does that mean that the payout would be less but more damaging for Gawker?

Yes. As much as I hate Gawker it's trickling that basically a billionaire wanted and probably managed to put out a media outlet he didn't like

 

[Mammoth Jones]

It's almost like Gawker's been pissing off people with their shit for decades

Yup. I have no problem with this. What goes around comes around.

Fuck Gawker.

 

[Tripon]

Yes. As much as I hate Gawker it's trickling that basically a billionaire wanted and probably managed to put out a media outlet he didn't like

Gawker as a company endorsed and followed a policy that exposed them to risks of getting sued. If Gawker didn't want Peter Thiel bankrolling a lawsuit against them, maybe they should have enacted a more stringent editorial policy.

 

[Dennis]

So, you're ok with billionaires throwing their weight around to shut down sites that report on them? Sure, Gawker's done a fair amount of awful shady shit over the years, but it's hard to call this unreservedly good for the future of democracy when it's actually a pretty scary development.

Yeah. For once a billionaire is doing some good with his money rather than undermining society for regular people.

More billionaires should engage in destruction of cunt media like Gawker.

 

[BronsonLee]

Yes. As much as I hate Gawker it's trickling that basically a billionaire wanted and probably managed to put out a media outlet he didn't like

Both sides are pretty lame, but with this one, I'd say outing someone without their consent for no real reason puts them on the wrong side of this

Yup. I have no problem with this. What goes around comes around.

Fuck Gawker.

So does Thiel count the 3 after Hogan drops the leg or what

 

[Raticus79]

Quite a revenge story there! Best served cold, indeed

 

[ghostjoke]

So does Thiel count the 3 after Hogan drops the leg or what

I see him more like the manager who runs in at the end of the match to join in on the beat down.

 

[Vagabundo]

Hulk Hogan was pounding on Gawker when Theil came up behind them - when the ref wasn't looking - and hit them with a chair. Game over.

 

[Zaptruder]

How is he shit bird? Because his political views?

Yes. I mean to be fair, I'd call most people of that sort of political persuasion shit-birds or something similar.

 

[TheSlySoul]

It basically plays into what I figured Hogan (and I guess Thiel) wanted.

They didn't want a settlement. They don't actually expect Gawker to pay. They want Gawker to die.

It's hard to blame them.
Gawker is a tabloid blog getting their jollies posting about gossip. The world would be much better if all tabloids were gone.

Curious if Gawker Media can still exist but Gawker the website can agreed to be shut down. Would be the best case scenario.

 

[andythinkpad]

The Batman we deserve.

 

[BronsonLee]

I see him more like the manager who runs in at the end of the match to join in on the beat down.

*Mempho Fireball*

'DAMN YOU, THIEL!'

It's hard to blame them.
Gawker is a tabloid blog getting their jollies posting about gossip. The world would be much better if all tabloids were gone.

Curious if Gawker Media can still exist but Gawker the website can agreed to be shut down. Would be the best case scenario.

Negative. They went after Gawker Media. It would kill Kotaku, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Deadspin, et al.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Negative. They went after Gawker Media. It would kill Kotaku, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Deadspin, et al.

So nothing of value is lost? Gotcha.

 

[Mask]

Good. Pretty much every website under the Gawker banner has pulled some shady shit, and Gawker is the worst.

 

[andythinkpad]

*Mempho Fireball*

'DAMN YOU, THIEL!'



Negative. They went after Gawker Media. It would kill Kotaku, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Deadspin, et al.

If you are a reporter with a conscious, working for Gawker, don't you expect the mass fire hammer will drop any time?

 

[JavyOO7]

Gawker swung and miss with reporting the Hogan thing years back and the Conde Nast CEO outing last year but I still don't want them to go down. They've been doing better lately with much of their reporting on politics now.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

So HE was the third man

 

[Maxim726X]

If you are a reporter with a conscious, working for Gawker, don't you expect the mass fire hammer will drop any time?

Not all of those companies started out under the Gawker banner (Kotaku for one), so it's not really fair to cast dispersion on all of them.

I hope that Gawker will have to sell the companies when/if they go tits up.

 

[BronsonLee]

So nothing of value is lost? Gotcha.

If you are a reporter with a conscious, working for Gawker, don't you expect the mass fire hammer will drop any time?

It's a bit of a catch-22. The top brass fucked up hard, but I'm not going to blame, like, Klepek or Schreier for that shit

So HE was the third man

HE'S THE THIRD MAN

 

[tanooki27]

what does the press sneak fuck have to say about all this

 

[eNut_ButteR]

He thinks women shouldn't have gotten the right to vote, for one thing, so yes.



So, you're ok with billionaires throwing their weight around to shut down sites that report on them? Sure, Gawker's done a fair amount of awful shady shit over the years, but it's hard to call this unreservedly good for the future of democracy when it's actually a pretty scary development.

It's not.

Gawker is libelous trash parading as journalism. Them being destroyed says nothing about 'the future of democracy' except that hopefully they and anyone associated with them won't be welcome in it.

 

[Ratrat]

If Fleshbot is still around surely the others can survive?

 

[Wereroku]

Not all of those companies started out under the Gawker banner (Kotaku for one), so it's not really fair to cast dispersion on all of them.

I hope that Gawker will have to sell the companies when/if they go tits up.

Kotaku was founded by Gawker. All of those websites were founded by Gawker. This man is free to use his money as he sees fit. Trading gossip about powerful rich people will eventually lead to problems just like it always has.

 

[TheSlySoul]

Negative. They went after Gawker Media. It would kill Kotaku, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Deadspin, et al.

Well there is going to be a counter-claim according to Gawker. They might settle the 140 million into a verbal agreement to shut down the site and any websites like it. My guess is Kotaku and Gizmodo will probably still be fine after all this is done. Might be new ownership. Other sites are SOL though.

 

[Cowie]

So, you're ok with billionaires throwing their weight around to shut down sites that report on them? Sure, Gawker's done a fair amount of awful shady shit over the years, but it's hard to call this unreservedly good for the future of democracy when it's actually a pretty scary development.

I'm with you on this one. Gawker fucked up and that enabled this, but 'Billionaire funds lawsuit to shutter news outlet' is still a bad scene. Especially given that he was not directly involved in this suit in any way.

 

[Nazgul_Hunter]

Both sides are pretty lame, but with this one, I'd say outing someone without their consent for no real reason puts them on the wrong side of this

Oh they deserve to lose the lawsuit and get in trouble and lose their credibility over this.

What's shady is having a billionaire bankroll the lawsuit and drive it in a way that makes them lose their insurance with the intent of them going bankrupt over the lawsuit.

If gawker was to die over this, it should've been because they lost the trust of their readership, not because a billionaire made sure their insurance didn't cover a poorly led story.

 

[Dennis]

If gawker was to die over this, it should've been because they lost the trust of their readership

LOL!

The trashy people who read Gawker should determine its fate?

lmao "trust of their readership". The readership is the problem in the first place.

 

[neverknowsbest]

I'm with you on this one. Gawker fucked up and that enabled this, but 'Billionaire funds lawsuit to shutter news outlet' is still a bad scene. Especially given that he was not directly involved in this suit in any way.

They're not a news outlet. They're a gossip blog. It's not like Peter Thiel's trying to shut down the San Jose Mercury News for disagreeing with his business. Gawker outed him to the world. That's 100% personal.

 

[Sephzilla]

Glad to see that karma is coming back to hit Gawker hard

 

[Cowie]

They're not a news outlet. They're a gossip blog. It's not like Peter Thiel's trying to shut down the San Jose Mercury News for disagreeing with his business. Gawker outed him to the world. That's 100% personal.

You said it yourself, it's 100% personal, and here he is involved in someone else's lawsuit.

There's no point in having this argument because seemingly nobody is interested in hearing anything that even has hints of being remotely like a defense of Gawker, though.

 

[The Jackdog]

Glad to see that karma is coming back to hit Gawker hard

"rich person shuts down journalists he doesnt like" is not a headline you should want to read

 

[krazen]

They're not a news outlet. They're a gossip blog. It's not like Peter Thiel's trying to shut down the San Jose Mercury News for disagreeing with his business. Gawker outed him to the world. That's 100% personal.

Its a slippery slope though; this case is pretty cut and try on who's evil but the lines aren't completely black and white.

Dont think the Koch brothers aren't watching this with glee and keeping tabs for the second the nytimes editorial board fucks up for instance.

No problem with Hogan suing and winning, but EVERYONE should feel queasy that once again cash is influencing the legal system, even if its for good this time

 

[Sephzilla]

"rich person shuts down journalists he doesnt like" is not a headline you should want to read

"Rich person gets revenge on tabloid that publicly outed him without his permission" is a headline I want to read, though.

 

[sikkinixx]

"rich person shuts down journalists he doesnt like" is not a headline you should want to read

Then those journalists should actually have some ethics and standards to find stories that generally have an impact on the public instead of violating people's personal lives to make money.