Peter Thiel Buys Top Prize from Politico’s Owner

Axel Springer, the German company that owns Politico and Business Insider, has awarded its top prize to ... Antichrist lecturer Peter Thiel.

The Axel Springer Award—previously bestowed on Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman—will go to the Palantir billionaire at a ceremony in Berlin on September 24. CBS News boss Bari Weiss will deliver laudatory remarks.

CEO Mathias Döpfner extolled Thiel’s “courage and non-conformity,” and the press release states that Thiel has “shaped the public debate on innovation, freedom, and the future of Western societies.”

But Thiel is literally the guy who said: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” He also famously hates journalism.

The announcement left out another important fact: Thiel reportedly made a $50 million investment in a new venture capital fund started by the son of Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer's co-owner and CEO. The son, Moritz, is known as—get this—the “German JD Vance.” Moritz previously worked as chief of staff at Thiel Capital.

This is a glaring and unethical omission. How did no one at a newspaper company think to mention this obvious conflict? (Critics also noted that Axel Springer used a flattering, decades-old photo of Thiel that makes the mortality-phobic billionaire look fresh and young.)

Last year, I wrote about Politico’s $50 million Thiel problem. Perhaps it explains why that outlet has been so oblivious—or nonchalant—about tech fascism. Politico’s coverage of Thiel and his gang, who are a major force inside the Trump administration, has been woefully inadequate. The radical politics of Silicon Valley are lightly mentioned, a background noise, even as their most bizarre ideas are put into practice.