When the online blog Gawker posted an excerpt of a secretly filmed sex tape of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, it ignited a high stakes legal battle that pitted privacy rights against the First Amendment.
The staggering verdict in听Bollea v. Gawker Media, a decision that bankrupted Gawker and its founder, is the subject of a new Netflix original documentary by听Brian Knappenberger,听Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press. Set against the backdrop of a contentious presidential election, the trial exposed a cast of shadowy figures working to influence the case’s outcome, including Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Trump transition team appointee who quietly bankrolled Bollea’s lawsuit.
More than a year later, after the verdict ruled in Bollea’s favor and put Gawker out of business, the chilling effect is clear. As Donald Trump makes journalists his primary target on social media and wealthy businessmen continue to purchase newspapers across the country, the film explores what happens when American billionaires can subvert the First Amendment to silence their critics. Is the free press鈥攁nd the health of our democracy鈥攗nder threat?
On June 22, 国产视频 NYC听screened of听Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press听followed by a conversation with Gawker’s editors and other media and legal experts on the perils鈥攁nd the responsibilities鈥攐f the free press in an age of alternative facts.
PARTICIPANTS
Brian Knappenberger听
Director and Executive Producer,听Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press
Elizabeth Spiers听
Founder, The Insurrection
Founding Editor, Gawker
John Cook听
Executive Editor, Special Projects, Gizmodo Media Group
Former Executive Editor, Gawker Media
Andrew McLaughlin听@McAndrew
Chairman, Access Now
Former Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States
Future Tense Fellow, 国产视频
Kai Wright听
Editor and Host, Narrative Unit, WNYC
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