Business Insider, Politico Staffers Protest Over Peter Thiel Award
More than 120 staffers say honoring Peter Thiel conflicts with Axel Springer’s press-freedom values after his support for litigation against Gawker.
- On Thursday, billionaire Peter Thiel accepted the annual Axel Springer Award in Berlin amid protests from more than 120 journalists at Business Insider and Politico who argue the honor conflicts with press freedom commitments.
- Employees at Business Insider and Politico raised objections in a letter to Axel Springer leadership, arguing that celebrating Thiel undermines the company's stated commitment to independent journalism and press freedom.
- Critics cite Thiel's secret financing of Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker, which resulted in a $140 million judgment in 2016 and forced the news site into bankruptcy, fueling debate over wealthy individuals using litigation against media.
- Responding to objections, an Axel Springer spokesperson referred inquiries back to CEO Mathias's prior statement that Thiel "reminds us that progress requires courage and nonconformism."
- The Axel Springer Award, previously granted to Elon Musk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aims to recognize figures who challenge ideas and bring visions of the future into public debate, according to company announcements.
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47 Articles
MAGA-friendly CBS boss lavishes praise on antichrist-obsessed oligarch at Berlin event
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss gave a glowing tribute to Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel on Thursday as she presented him with a media industry award in Berlin.Weiss handed Thiel the 2026 Axel Springer Award, which honors entrepreneurs and thinkers who have shaped digital transformation, and sh...
Right-wing investor Peter Thiel was honoured with a prize by the Springer Group. Around 300 people protested in front of his Berlin high-rise.
The controversial tech billionaire Peter Thiel has sharply criticized parts of the media. He wonders why so much of it "was degenerated into a kind of left-wing hate factory", said Thiel at the award ceremony of the Axel Springer Award in Berlin. The media landscape is "very, very one-sided" and "by far not as free as we would like it to be." Thiel was awarded the prize on Thursday night. At the same time, the billionaire Springer boss Mathias D…
»Did we award an Anti-Democrat?« Springer-Chef Mathias Döpfner awards a democracy prize to Peter Thiel. Then the supposed thinker of the New Right enters the stage – and surprises everyone.
The U.S. entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel has been awarded the Axel Springer Award in Berlin. Many people find this surprising and critical, and there were protests in front of the publishing house.
Westfalenpost
The controversial entrepreneur receives the Axel Springer Award – and uses the stage for sharp criticism. 200 people protested in front of the building.
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Bias Distribution
- 36% of the sources lean Left
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