Gawker shutting down

[MaxQue]

The controversy surrounding the "outing" of Peter Thiel is rather sickening. He's a plutocrat who exercises a great deal of power and influence by virtue of his wealth alone. This rent-seeking behavior is corrosive to American democracy. None of this even begins to mention the fact that his viewpoints are odious, repulsive and damaging. Dredging up personal information and using it against him is a virtue, not a vice.

I didn't expect this from you. The only reason people are "outed" by tabloids is because homophobes find it relevant if someone happens to be gay. If this homophobia had not existed, people wouldn't be outed because the public wouldn't care. Therefore, the victims of engaging in such "journalism" are not just the ones who are outed but all gay people, because doing so perpetuates a climate in which a "witch hunt" against gay people is seen as legitimate by some. If you truly support gay people's right to be gay no matter who they are or what they do, you should not condone Gawker's behavior, regardless of your opinion of Thiel.

Well said. "Outing" people is absolutely to say that you believe being gay is wrong and worthy of public scorn. Anyone who supports "outing" as a method of attack is absolutely and universally anti-gay. It's a despicable kind of act that mars the integrity of journalism and can even put lives at risk, but at any rate certainly pushes society backward. I feel no pity for anyone at Gawker who had anything to do with it or did anything less than vehemently and both privately and publicly oppose it.

I can't agree with that, not without an exception for politicians voting for politics of LGBT hate and people funding such hateful politicians.

[MaxQue]

The main thing here is Gawker wasn't simply a "stupid tabloid". It was an EVIL site. It ruined lives and might've been responsible for at least one suicide.

Gawker wasn't just inane and low-brow, it was a destructive force of evil.

It also needs pointing out (endlessly until it sinks in) that in this very case Gawker tried to use the fundamental economic injustices built into the U.S.A. legal system to its own advantage, but that then things backfired rather dramatically. A pretty clear cut case of someone being hoisted by their own petard, frankly.

Could you elaborate for the people who haven't been following the case?

A lawsuit like the one that made Gawker bankrupt is very expensive for the claimant, and Gawker used that, knowing than most of the people they targeted couldn't afford to sue them.

But, Peter Thiel, in fight with them since years (and with no lack of money), bankrolled the Hogan lawsuit against them (Hogan couldn't afford it by himself). In most countries, you cannot do things like that, the ourt would disallow Thiel funding Hogan lawsuit.