> As long as they stick to reporting factual information and not releasing private gossip and sex tapes they have nothing to worry about.
There's no constraint on billionaires as to what might motivate them to spend their money secretly financing lawsuits. Reporting on say, their bribery of a government official, could also persuade a billionaire to adopt Thiel's tactics.
They still have to win the case though, they can’t just sue without justification. Again, I wish this option was available to more people but I won’t begrudge billionaires for financing legal defenses for people the media have illegally attacked.
That's not what happened though, they (Hogan) did win. Gawker was in the wrong. We're not talking about individuals, we're talking about global media brands. They can overwhelm most people with their resources, sadly only the rich can defend themselves.
But when the press defend themselves, it is obvious where the financing is coming from. Thiel's innovation was the secrecy of his passing ten million dollars to a third-party litigant.
I see no issue with that. We shouldn’t audit people before we give them a chance at justice. I’d gladly take his help if a large media company slandered me. I’d feel no obligation to disclose the source of my funds. I wouldn’t expect anyone to divulge that information.
And in fact, Thiel has stated that Gawker is not the only time he's doing this. I wonder if we'll ever hear about the next enemy Thiel's finances destroy.
Like I said, I wish you didn’t need billions to keep them honest but at least someone can do it.