![]() The recent scandals about Facebook show Thiel's DNA in that company's approach to user's data as well. Indeed, the real difference between Gawker and Thiel is that Gawker made their discoveries public, while Thiel sells your secrets to the rich and powerful. Holiday barely seems to note that Thiel wants to avenge his loss of privacy, while leading a company that seeks to violate everyone's privacy. He clearly spent some time with Thiel and did not regain the distance to be objective. The more troubling aspect is that Holiday seems to have been captured by his subject Thiel. First, the book is a very sad commentary on the US "Justice" System, which seems to be more a complex auction than a tool of justice. The book troubled me in the days after I read it, for the things it did not say. I think that Holiday's "Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you told 'em" style detracted from the story: Michael Lewis would have made it more compelling. The story at its core is quite fascinating, and I appreciated the historical connections made by the author. The best thing about this book is that it will make you think about a lot of issues. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious - and successful - secret plots in recent memory. In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by exclusive interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean - for free speech? For privacy? For culture? The verdict would stun the world, and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. After a multiyear proxy war through the Florida legal system, the settlement of $140 million in favour of Hogan ended it. Still furious at an article that had outed him 10 years previously, and increasingly disgusted at Gawker's unscrupulous reporting methods, Thiel had spent nearly a decade meticulously plotting a conspiracy that would lead to the demise of Gawker and its founder, Nick Denton. Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and billionaire investor, had masterminded the whole thing. ![]() After countless other lawsuits it seemed that Gawker had finally run out of luck. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.In 2016, one of the giants of modern journalism fell: Gawker Media, infamous for saying what other outlets wouldn't say, was sued for publishing Hulk Hogan's sex tape, lost the case and went bust. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean-for free speech? For privacy? For culture? In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by exclusive interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. ![]() The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. After a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, the settlement of $140million in favour of Hogan ended it. Still furious at an article that had outed him ten years previously, and increasingly disgusted at Gawker's unscrupulous reporting methods, Thiel had spent nearly a decade meticulously plotting a conspiracy that would lead to the demise of Gawker and its founder, Nick Denton. In 2016, one of the giants of modern journalism fell: Gawker Media, infamous for saying what other outlets wouldn't say, was sued for publishing Hulk Hogan's sex tape, lost the case and went bust. ![]()
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