Goodbye, HQ Trivia. It was fun while it lasted.
On Thursday night, Recode reported that the popular gameshow app was in talks to receive $15 million from Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Founders Fund. The news immediately ignited backlash on social media, with many users calling for a boycott under the hashtag #DeleteHQ.
If you’re wondering why the potential investment is so controversial, then you probably aren’t familiar with Thiel’s shady history. Allow us to break it down: In addition to being a billionaire venture capitalist and the co-founder of PayPal, Thiel is a prominent Donald Trump supporter, a vocal opponent of women’s rights, as well as a defender of homophobia. But he’s perhaps most infamous for financing a war against the free press.
Thiel had financed a number of lawsuits against the now-defunct online publication Gawker, after it published several reports about his personal life. He reportedly contributed $10 million to Hulk Hogan’s 2012 lawsuit against the site, effectively bankrolling its ultimate shutdown.
His politics and attacks on the media—and maybe his bizarre interest in young people’s blood—has caused some serious harm to his reputation. So, it’s no surprise that many HQ Trivia users aren’t down with his contributions.
Check out some of the Twitter reactions below.
