Gawker and the New Era of Media Censorship
On the Media | Aug 11, 2017
The demise of the gossipy news site Gawker is well known: sued for publishing a sex tape involving pro-wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, the site wound up bankrupted by an award of $140 million in damages. Only later did we learn that Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire, had secretly financed the suit. This covert form of patronage has set a dangerous precedent, proving that the wealthy can destroy media organizations for publishing content with which they disagree.
Bob speaks with Brian Knappenberger, the director of Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, a Netflix documentary that examines the Gawker case and what it tells us about this new era of censorship.
