First of all, I should admit I live nowhere near SV, nowhere near US, but in a land where censorship is the norm, China.
I have been following reports on Thiel vs Gawker for the past a few days, on Twitter, through a VPN.
And what surprises me is the amount of praise for Thiel's actions.
Their reasoning usually includes:
- Look at what Gawker reports, they are in no way representing good journalism.
- Look at the harm Gawker causes, it is only fair they face this consequence.
Alarmingly, these defenses come from notable VCs, or at least they gladly retweet them in defense of Thiel.
Ignoring the conflict of interests for a moment here: let's assume they all act according to their principles.
You know what this looks like to a Chinese citizen and a Startup founder that thinks highly of SV culture?
US is slowly sinking to Chinese level of thinking:
- Where there are no alternatives, but to silence troubling tabloids.
- Where sacrificing freedom of a few, for stability of the masses, is a good cause.
- Where the best assurance you get, is to trust the people at the top.
And you can expect Chinese media quoting this case one day to prove US billionaires can silence media as well.
Gawker may be nowhere near journalism, but to think they "rise above" others to the point where SV billionaires need to spend millions and stick together to defeat them?
It says more about US than Gawker, isn't it?
And that troubles me, as an outsider.