"If you share Thiel’s agenda, then this is great news, because his vendetta. For the media to raise a fuss over THIS billionaire and THIS target (of all things) looks bad." Journalist David Auerbach said in a tweet that "Billionaires take out targets all the time.
Therefore, an ethical media organization shouldn't worry about potentially being sued. Gawker wouldn't have been sued if they didn't publish a sex tape without the consent of the involved parties. Which is a valid concern, but Gawker seems to have violated privacy laws here, and certainly should face some consequences for breaking the law. A lot of news outlets are wringing their hands over this situation, wondering if they'll be under attack next. The billionaires of this world could easily damage media organizations by bringing vendetta-fueling lawsuits against them. Perhaps it shouldn't be possible for a Silicon Valley billionaire to fund a lawsuit that could collapse a media empire. Yes, this case raises some questions about first amendment rights. "Omidyar has decided to merge his brand with images of Hulk Hogan’s penis, sexual abuse, clickbait, porn, and the lowest standard of ethical behavior the media has ever known." - Scott Adams this is about press freedom, on principles upon which our company was founded, and about which we care deeply.”
The most recent development was for Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, to proclaim support for Gawker's appeal of the $140 million judgment for Hogan. Omidyar owns a media company himself and has been asking other media organizations to support Gawker " keeping with our mission to the protect the First Amendment. And now, in 2016, he's getting revenge on the media company through the Hulk Hogan lawsuit. Thiel was understandably upset and Gawker continued to fire insults at him for it. Thiel was outed as a gay man by Gawker in 2007 the article author later claimed it was " homophobic" for Thiel to stay in the closet. In May 2016 it was revealed that Peter Thiel is helping to fund Hogan's legal defense.
Currently, Gawker is appealing the lawsuit for their own reasons. In March 2016 a Florida jury awarded him $140 million for invasion of privacy. Gawker says it received a DVD-R of the footage from an "anonymous source" who "wanted no payment." An unidentified source told one media outlet that a disgruntled ex-employee of Todd Clem sent in the DVD.Īfter the Gawker article went live, they refused to take it down, despite a request from Hogan's lawyer. The act of filming was an alleged violation of Florida law. Clem secretly filmed an approved encounter between the two. In 2013 Gawker published a clip of a 2006 sex tape between Hogan and the wife of Todd "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem, one of Hogan's close friends. Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal, has been helping fund Hogan's fight against Gawker. Within the past week or so, it's been revealed that billionaires are involved with the lawsuit between Gawker and Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea). Published | 1,303 words | Categories: Journalism