Objection!
It's a new "tribunal" that allows "aggrieved" uber rich to bring "cases" of defamation and other shit totally in opposition to the First Amendment
A new Peter Thiel–backed startup called Objection has created an AI‑powered “tribunal” that allows wealthy individuals to challenge journalism — and the very first case targets this article’s author, Gary Baum. Purdue Pharma heir Michael Sackler paid Objection to investigate Baum’s 2021 reporting about him, triggering an AI‑driven “adjudication” of the article’s truthfulness.
What Objection Is
Founded by Aron D’Souza, the strategist behind Thiel’s secret funding of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker.
Markets itself as “adjudication as a service,” selling investigations for $2,000–$10,000, with higher tiers using former CIA/FBI agents.
Uses multiple AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok) as a “jury” to issue public verdicts on journalism.
Clients can pay extra to promote the verdict across social media.
Who Uses It
Objection claims four main customer types:
People who believe they’ve been victims of “lawfare.”
Influencers who think negative press hurts their income.
Anyone irritated by a single unflattering article.
Billionaires who feel journalists have more power than they do.
Why Baum Became the First Target
Sackler filed an “objection” to Baum’s 2021 profile, which explored whether Sackler’s ethical‑investor persona was an attempt to distance himself from his family’s role in the opioid crisis.
Objection framed the issue in a binary, prosecutorial way — asking whether The Hollywood Reporter claimed Sackler used his firm as an “identity makeover” — even though the original article was an inquiry, not an accusation.
The evidence Objection gathered was largely irrelevant paperwork.
The Bigger Stakes
D’Souza positions Objection as a reformer of journalism but refuses to name any reporting he actually approves of.
He is skeptical of anonymous sources, yet supports clients secretly funding adjudications — as Thiel did with Gawker.
He believes journalists can be “more powerful than billionaires,” and that Objection rebalances this “asymmetry.”
What Happened to Baum’s Case
No verdict was ever issued.
Objection removed the countdown clock, then took the case offline.
Eventually, the entire site went dark, replaced with a message saying it was being rebuilt for a “primary sourced future.”
The Core Takeaway
Objection is an attempt to create a private, AI‑driven appeals court for the wealthy — one that can publicly challenge journalism without the constraints of real courts.
Baum’s experience shows how such a system can be used to intimidate or discredit reporters, even when the process itself is opaque, untested, or flawed.
Editor: This some BULLSHIT.