9 ms·

How is this secretive if venue is public?

by Hoasi 3mo ago

Fordec 3mo ago
It wasn't public until a an investigative journalist wrote an article about it after the membership of the group was exposed first. Per TFA: > A leaked schedule for the “retreat” hosted by Dialog, an invitation-only group
- nobodyandproud 3mo ago
  Working as intended. Though Peter Thiel will do his utmost to further destroy journalists, I’m sure.
  - CamperBob2 3mo ago
    Some have it coming, like the ones at Gawker. Doesn't excuse anything else Thiel has been connected to, of course, but I don't hold that particular lawsuit against him.
    - FireBeyond 3mo ago
      Gawker was a garbage-tier publication. But I absolutely do hold that particular lawsuit against him: Gawker didn't "out" Thiel in any meaningful sense. Yes, they published and it was tacky. But let's be very real: Thiel's social media and profile pictures were full of things like him shirtless on gay cruises and parties at gay nightclubs. The only people who learned Thiel was gay from Gawker were people who had no particular interest in him. I also have significant issues with his bankrolling of Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker as an abomination of the legal system, including the right to face one's "accuser": - Prior to Thiel's involvement, Hogan had already agreed in principle to a part ownership stake and profits of Gawker. He'd also already settled, and forgiven, the person who gave Gawker the sex tape in the first place. - Lawyers paid for by Thiel pushed for him to drop that and push instead for bankrupting Gawker through damages (which were laughable, see below). (Hypothetical question, if you're an attorney, ostensibly representing Hogan, but you know the person paying your bills, Thiel, wants a different outcome for the case, when push comes to shove, whose interests are you going to represent? See the following point too). - When the case and awarded damages -did- actually threaten to bankrupt Gawker, Thiel/Hogan's lawyers did the most illogical thing possible, if they were looking to recoup any money for their ostensible client... they dropped the one claim against Gawker that would have allowed their liability insurance to at least partially pay out. Remember, Hogan could use that money far, far more than Thiel. (Re damages: The amount that Hogan had originally asked for seemed reasonable. Then after Thiel's lawyers got involved, the amount asked for was multiplied five thousand times.) This included economic damages of fifty million dollars. For a man who had made something in the order of $20-25M his entire career? Who had a net worth at its peak of $30M, and at the time of the lawsuit, a NW of $8M? I highly doubt that TV stations pulling reruns of old WWF events, hair loss commercials and other endorsements was worth that. (They separately asked for emotional damages, too, to be clear. But there was near zero justification for this economic damages claim.) I wonder how much Thiel paid Hogan under the table for this proxy lawsuit? Because it sure looks like he was playing puppeteer, and while Hogan had every right to be bitter about what Gawker did, his every action to resolve or plan to resolve the matter pivoted 180 degrees the moment "his" lawyers got involved, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the outcome perfectly aligned with Thiel's goals.
    - nobodyandproud 3mo ago
      Thiel chose an easy target, and opened the door to destroying journalism. As un-American as it gets but hey, he’s the right color with legal bundles of cash; so much for our cherished, upper to middle-class institutions.
      - cucumber3732842 3mo ago
        >so much for our cherished, upper to middle-class institutions. The same institutions that said everyone needed to go to overpriced college and that shuttering a steel plant in Ohio just for the same steel to be made in even sketchier conditions overseas was an improvement. They and their peddlers screech about evil billionares and every other aggravating factor because that's easier than looking in the mirror. This shit ebbs and flows. The institutions did a lot of it to themselves. They'll crash and burn and in 100yr they'll be back again.
        nobodyandproud 2mo ago
        No, try the institutions telling you what’s happening in real time. Only one party and one segment of society supported the Chicago school of economics. The billionaires and aspiring billionaires are the ones that put us in this trap. The term-unlimited and woefully out-of-touch Congress are the ones that looked the other way as they allowed the lobbyists to carve away more and more of our industry. If you want to blame, blame the “fiscally conservative” party that foolishly loved and still loves the Chicago school. To paraphrase your beloved dictator: “You have no cards and no leverage”.
      - CamperBob2 2mo ago
        Thiel chose an easy target No, they made themselves an easy target.
        nobodyandproud 2mo ago
        In the US—and I dare say most of the world—these are understood as not mutually exclusive. Only certain toxic personalities and cultures think otherwise.
mschuster91 3mo ago
The group used to be pretty secretive and unknown until a hacker managed to discover Dialog not protecting their membership data properly - and found, among others, a shit ton of billionaires [1] and politicians including former German health minister Jens Spahn [2]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/18/what-we-know-about-billionaire-peter-thiels-secret-dialog-society-including-whos-involved/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/18/what-we... [2] https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/das-spahn-netzwerk/2026/06/18/jens-spahn-peter-thiel-dialog/ https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/das-spahn-netzwerk/2026/06/1...
- dgellow 3mo ago
  Part of the list: General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe Treasury secretary Scott Bessent Army secretary Dan Driscoll Hallie Hoffman, acting chief of staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn) Wes Moore, Maryland governor Jared Polis, Colorado governor Tom Lue, general counsel and head of governance at Google DeepMind Randy Kroszner, a former governor of the Federal Reserve Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute Ryan Stowers, executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation Roger Myerson, Nobel laureate economist Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Neal Mohan, YouTube CEO Scooter Braun, Music manager Ezra Klein, political commentator Souad Mekhennet, Washington Post reporter Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor Sophia Bush, actress Rick Warren, evangelical pastor Elon Musk ($1.3 trillion) Eric Schmidt ($40.1 billion) Peter Thiel ($27.8 billion) Henry Kravis ($12.2 billion) Marcos Galperin ($6.8 billion) Mike Cannon-Brookes ($7.7 billion) Scott Cook ($4.4 billion) Barry Sternlicht ($3.1 billion) Nicolas Berggruen ($2.9 billion) John Arnold ($2.8 billion) Joe Lonsdale ($2.8 billion) Reid Hoffman ($2.7 billion)
  - rayiner 3mo ago
    What meaningful complaint can you have about a meeting that includes Ted Cruz on one side and Wes Moore on the other; both Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman?
netsharc 3mo ago
What did Taylor Swift and many celebs do yesterday at Madison Square Garden (a public venue)? All the news says she got married, but does that mean you're trusting the news media? Public venue, private ("secret") event.
- jareklupinski 3mo ago
  the highest net worth LAN party ever
gofreddygo 3mo ago
Like area 51.

How is this secretive if venue is public?

by Hoasi 3mo ago

How is this secretive if venue is public?

It wasn't public until a an investigative journalist wrote an article about it after the membership of the group was exposed first. Per TFA: > A leaked schedule for the “retreat” hosted by Dialog, an invitation-only group

nobodyandproud 3mo ago
Working as intended. Though Peter Thiel will do his utmost to further destroy journalists, I’m sure.
- CamperBob2 3mo ago
  Some have it coming, like the ones at Gawker. Doesn't excuse anything else Thiel has been connected to, of course, but I don't hold that particular lawsuit against him.
  - FireBeyond 3mo ago
    Gawker was a garbage-tier publication. But I absolutely do hold that particular lawsuit against him: Gawker didn't "out" Thiel in any meaningful sense. Yes, they published and it was tacky. But let's be very real: Thiel's social media and profile pictures were full of things like him shirtless on gay cruises and parties at gay nightclubs. The only people who learned Thiel was gay from Gawker were people who had no particular interest in him. I also have significant issues with his bankrolling of Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker as an abomination of the legal system, including the right to face one's "accuser": - Prior to Thiel's involvement, Hogan had already agreed in principle to a part ownership stake and profits of Gawker. He'd also already settled, and forgiven, the person who gave Gawker the sex tape in the first place. - Lawyers paid for by Thiel pushed for him to drop that and push instead for bankrupting Gawker through damages (which were laughable, see below). (Hypothetical question, if you're an attorney, ostensibly representing Hogan, but you know the person paying your bills, Thiel, wants a different outcome for the case, when push comes to shove, whose interests are you going to represent? See the following point too). - When the case and awarded damages -did- actually threaten to bankrupt Gawker, Thiel/Hogan's lawyers did the most illogical thing possible, if they were looking to recoup any money for their ostensible client... they dropped the one claim against Gawker that would have allowed their liability insurance to at least partially pay out. Remember, Hogan could use that money far, far more than Thiel. (Re damages: The amount that Hogan had originally asked for seemed reasonable. Then after Thiel's lawyers got involved, the amount asked for was multiplied five thousand times.) This included economic damages of fifty million dollars. For a man who had made something in the order of $20-25M his entire career? Who had a net worth at its peak of $30M, and at the time of the lawsuit, a NW of $8M? I highly doubt that TV stations pulling reruns of old WWF events, hair loss commercials and other endorsements was worth that. (They separately asked for emotional damages, too, to be clear. But there was near zero justification for this economic damages claim.) I wonder how much Thiel paid Hogan under the table for this proxy lawsuit? Because it sure looks like he was playing puppeteer, and while Hogan had every right to be bitter about what Gawker did, his every action to resolve or plan to resolve the matter pivoted 180 degrees the moment "his" lawyers got involved, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the outcome perfectly aligned with Thiel's goals.
  - nobodyandproud 3mo ago
    Thiel chose an easy target, and opened the door to destroying journalism. As un-American as it gets but hey, he’s the right color with legal bundles of cash; so much for our cherished, upper to middle-class institutions.
    - cucumber3732842 3mo ago
      >so much for our cherished, upper to middle-class institutions. The same institutions that said everyone needed to go to overpriced college and that shuttering a steel plant in Ohio just for the same steel to be made in even sketchier conditions overseas was an improvement. They and their peddlers screech about evil billionares and every other aggravating factor because that's easier than looking in the mirror. This shit ebbs and flows. The institutions did a lot of it to themselves. They'll crash and burn and in 100yr they'll be back again.
      - nobodyandproud 2mo ago
        No, try the institutions telling you what’s happening in real time. Only one party and one segment of society supported the Chicago school of economics. The billionaires and aspiring billionaires are the ones that put us in this trap. The term-unlimited and woefully out-of-touch Congress are the ones that looked the other way as they allowed the lobbyists to carve away more and more of our industry. If you want to blame, blame the “fiscally conservative” party that foolishly loved and still loves the Chicago school. To paraphrase your beloved dictator: “You have no cards and no leverage”.
    - CamperBob2 2mo ago
      Thiel chose an easy target No, they made themselves an easy target.
      - nobodyandproud 2mo ago
        In the US—and I dare say most of the world—these are understood as not mutually exclusive. Only certain toxic personalities and cultures think otherwise.

mschuster91 3mo ago

The group used to be pretty secretive and unknown until a hacker managed to discover Dialog not protecting their membership data properly - and found, among others, a shit ton of billionaires [1] and politicians including former German health minister Jens Spahn [2]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/18/what-we-know-about-billionaire-peter-thiels-secret-dialog-society-including-whos-involved/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/18/what-we... [2] https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/das-spahn-netzwerk/2026/06/18/jens-spahn-peter-thiel-dialog/ https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/das-spahn-netzwerk/2026/06/1...

dgellow 3mo ago
Part of the list: General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe Treasury secretary Scott Bessent Army secretary Dan Driscoll Hallie Hoffman, acting chief of staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn) Wes Moore, Maryland governor Jared Polis, Colorado governor Tom Lue, general counsel and head of governance at Google DeepMind Randy Kroszner, a former governor of the Federal Reserve Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute Ryan Stowers, executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation Roger Myerson, Nobel laureate economist Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Neal Mohan, YouTube CEO Scooter Braun, Music manager Ezra Klein, political commentator Souad Mekhennet, Washington Post reporter Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor Sophia Bush, actress Rick Warren, evangelical pastor Elon Musk ($1.3 trillion) Eric Schmidt ($40.1 billion) Peter Thiel ($27.8 billion) Henry Kravis ($12.2 billion) Marcos Galperin ($6.8 billion) Mike Cannon-Brookes ($7.7 billion) Scott Cook ($4.4 billion) Barry Sternlicht ($3.1 billion) Nicolas Berggruen ($2.9 billion) John Arnold ($2.8 billion) Joe Lonsdale ($2.8 billion) Reid Hoffman ($2.7 billion)
- rayiner 3mo ago
  What meaningful complaint can you have about a meeting that includes Ted Cruz on one side and Wes Moore on the other; both Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman?

netsharc 3mo ago

What did Taylor Swift and many celebs do yesterday at Madison Square Garden (a public venue)? All the news says she got married, but does that mean you're trusting the news media? Public venue, private ("secret") event.

jareklupinski 3mo ago
the highest net worth LAN party ever

gofreddygo 3mo ago

Like area 51.