Objective

The Gawker takedown refers to the clandestine and strategically funded legal campaign led by Peter Thiel that resulted in the 2016 bankruptcy of Gawker Media. Thiel, who had been a frequent target of the blog's mockery and was notably outed by the site in 2007, secretly bankrolled a series of lawsuits against the company to the amount of $10 million. The decisive case involved a leaked sex tape of wrestler Hulk Hogan; the subsequent $140 million judgment for damages forced the media outlet into bankruptcy. Thiel described the move as a "philanthropic" act, comparing the site's journalists to terrorists, while critics viewed it as a dangerous precedent for the wealthy to weaponize the courts against the press. This tactical victory eliminated a major critic of The PayPal Mafia and demonstrated the effectiveness of Thiel’s "long game" strategy.

Subjective

Contexts

• #peter-thiel (See: Peter Thiel)