How Gawker Media Once Kept Silicon Valley In Check

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Update 2/22/23: Correction that OZY Media COO, Samir Rao impersonated a YouTube executive and the addition of a note about OZY Media CEO, Carlos Watson being arrested for fraud.

With the recent death of Gawker 2.0, I want to explain how the first Gawker acted as a flawed Guardian of the startup world.

Most figures in the startup world only see press in the form of predictable mentions from the efforts of PR firms. Sam Bankman-Fried, Elizabeth Holmes, Charlie Javice, and others flew near enough the sun to merit media scrutiny. But the behavior of each is typical of startup founders at every stage.

At one time, Valleywag part of Gawker served as a tattletale hall monitor for the startup community. But since Peter Thiel sued the publication out of existence, the startup world has run amok without media coverage until hundreds of millions of dollars are involved. That’s a problem for the entire ecosystem.

People like to worship innovators. In the startup world, the belief innovation excuses all is prevalent. As most subscribers to the belief seem to see it, they are the innovators being excused. Paltry restrictions such as contracts, reasonable disclosure, and compliance with the law do not apply to them.