Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
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. After countless other lawsuits it seemed that Gawker had finally run out of luck. But luck had nothing to do with
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. After countless other lawsuits it seemed that Gawker had finally run out of luck. But luck had nothing to do with it.
Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and billionaire investor, had masterminded the whole thing. 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. After a multiyear proxy war through the Florida legal system, the settlement of $140 million in favour of Hogan ended it. The verdict would stun the world, and so would Peter’s ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. 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. It’s a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious – and successful – secret plots in recent memory.
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Combines a dramatic story with real insights. This is an odd book. On the one hand, it’s the story of how a billionaire destroyed a media organisation because he didn’t like the way they wrote. At first glance, not a likely source of empathy or page-turning suspension.On the other hand, it bills itself as a “meditation on conspiracy”, quoting from sources and historical examples to put the story in context. Ryan Holiday runs a newsletter outlining his recommended books, and it’s clear he’s got his inspiration from many of the…
QUITE INTERESTING I bought this book on the advice of my husband, the poet Simon R. Gladdish, and I’m pleased I did. It is a fairly interesting account of the feud between tech billionaire Peter Thiel and digital publisher Nick Denton which resulted in the destruction of Denton’s media empire, Gawker. If I have a criticism of the book, it’s that Holiday is overly sympathetic towards Thiel. Nick Denton published gossip that people didn’t want to read about themselves which is morally dubious but Peter Thiel…
Interesting but could have used some tighter editing I found the story of the conspiracy well told and quite interesting (albeit not as shocking as perhaps the blurb makes out), and genuinely worth the read. However, it was hard not to get a little irritated by the ponderous nature of some of the points. For some reason, the author consistently gives four examples when making a point. This isn’t something I’d ever thought about but generally in writing you’ll see three examples or fewer… So four jars every time and feels really laboured. It’s…