Why would a man whose relationship with journalism is rather turbulent funnel millions into a ‘local news service’ in Arizona?
Given his role in bleeding out Gawker like humanely slaughtered cattle, there’s some irony in tech billionaire Peter Thiel funding a group of newspapers.
I mean, we guess that’s what you’d call them — a publication like Grand Canyon Times, delivered unsolicited to residents in parts of Arizona critical to the coming mid-terms, resembles a paper but one put together by aliens who have access to cut-and-paste and deeply conservative views after they have made a brief and inexact study of human communication.
So the paper is both riddled with errors, like a series of profiles on local football players accompanying photos of other people, and padded out with press releases and stories suspiciously likely to favour Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters. When baffled readers look a bit closer, they can see the disclaimer that this is paid for by the “Saving Arizona PAC”. The PAC has received more than $13 million from Thiel.
Read more about how the billionaire is boosting Republicans.
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About the Author
Tips and Murmurs Editor @theshufflediary
Charlie Lewis pens Crikey’s daily Tips and Murmurs column and also writes on industrial relations, politics and culture. He previously worked across government and unions and was a researcher on RN’s Daily Planet. He currently co-hosts Spin Cycle on Triple R radio.
