A Peter Thiel-Backed Tribunal Is Putting Journalists on Trial
5 hours ago
- #AI Tribunal
- #Peter Thiel
- #Media Accountability
- Peter Thiel-backed startup Objection, co-founded by Aron D'Souza, created an AI-powered tribunal to adjudicate the truth of media articles, primarily for wealthy and aggrieved clients.
- The author became the first target when Michael Sackler, a Purdue Pharma heir, paid Objection to evaluate a 2021 Hollywood Reporter article questioning Sackler's ethical rebranding post-opioid crisis.
- Objection's business model involves clients paying for investigations and AI jury verdicts, with services priced from $2,000 to $10,000, aiming to provide moral victories rather than financial remedies.
- D'Souza criticizes journalism practices like using anonymous sources and expert quotes, advocating for raw transcripts in public data rooms, while dismissing concerns about secret funding for adjudications.
- After initial publicity and internal adjustments, Objection's platform went offline for a rebuild, delaying verdicts like the one on the author's case, amidst ongoing debates about truth, power, and AI's role in media.