httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2cemLrzpr4
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel passionately justified his financial support for lawsuits against Gawker Media in a New York Times column on Monday, saying it was not his role to judge what journalists should cover.
The argument appears to contradict Thiel’s backing of a successful lawsuit against Gawker that has bankrupted the company part of the billionaire’s anti-Gawker grudge over coverage he finds objectionable.
Thiel, a venture capitalist and director of Facebook, provided millions of dollars in financial support for a lawsuit brought by Terry Bollea known professionally as Hulk Hogan against Gawker for publishing a sex tape without Bollea’s permission.
Thiel has since revealed he is backing at least one other lawsuit against Gawker in an attempt to punish the company and deter other news outlets from publishing personal information that compromises people’s privacy.
Thiel pointed to recent cases of media outlets withdrawing questionable stories, like the Daily Beast’s retraction last week of an article that critics said outed gay Olympic athletes.
Thiel concluded his column by declaring his support for legislation that seeks to criminalize so-called revenge porn, in which people publish explicit photos of their former sexual partners as a form of revenge.
Thiel claimed the bill was nicknamed the “Gawker bill” because of the the limitations it would place on the publication of explicit material without subjects’ permission.
Thiel vowed in his op-ed that he would continue to fund Bollea’s legal expenses through the appeals process.