Inside the Media Crisis Fueled by Tech Billionaire Power
How tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are quietly—and not so quietly—reshaping the media landscape, buying platforms, and influencing narratives in terrifying ways.
In this week’s episode of The Nerd Reich podcast, I talk to journalist Eoin Higgins, author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. Click below to watch on YouTube:
Higgins and I dig into how tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are quietly — and not so quietly — reshaping the media landscape, buying platforms, and influencing narratives in terrifying ways. (Follow Eoin Higgins on BlueSky)
We also talk about the strange political shifts of figures like Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi, and how the weaponization of “free speech” has become a cover for censorship, control, and consolidation of power. If you care about the future of journalism and democracy, you won’t want to miss this conversation.
Check it out and let me know what you think. For those who prefer audio:
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Gil Duran and Eoin Higgins Discuss Tech Billionaire Takeovers of Media
Owned is personally special to me because my work on tech billionaires is mentioned in the final chapters of the book. I highly encourage you to buy it and read it. When you buy a book like this one, it sends a message to publishers that there's a public appetite for searing tech criticism.
- Buy Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left on Bookshop (and support this newsletter by doing so!)
- Buy Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left at Powell's Books.
- Buy Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left on Amazon (if you really must...)
Bonus! If you're in the Bay Area on April 28, join Eoin and me for a conversation at Clio's Books (and Bar) in Oakland. Tickets won't last, so buy now — and come have a drink with us. Click below to sign up:
The Extremist Political Roots of Clearview AI
A chilling new exposé from Mother Jones unearths documents and emails that expose Clearview AI — not as a neutral tech innovator, but as a calculated weapon of the far right. Co-founded by neoreactionary ideologues and boosted by Trump allies and Peter Thiel, the company scraped billions of photos to build a biometric dragnet that ICE, the FBI, and police departments now use to target immigrants, protesters, and political opponents — often without oversight, warrants, or accountability.
Click here to read: The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI by Luke O'Brien at Mother Jones.
Luke O’Brien
From its inception, Clearview wasn’t just about safety — it was about power. Hoan Ton-That and his co-founders mingled with white nationalists, eugenicists, and Stop the Steal operatives, all while pushing a high-tech surveillance tool designed to enforce ideological conformity and racial hierarchy.
Their ideas? “Face & IQ,” “Gayface prediction,” and scanning for “I hate Trump” posts. Their clientele? MAGA funders, anti-immigrant bureaucrats, and now, a second Trump administration hungry for revenge.
This is more than a tech story. It’s a warning. Facial recognition isn't being abused accidentally — it was built for that purpose. And with a new wave of authoritarianism surging, Clearview stands ready to help track, target, and silence dissent.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s the face of America’s surveillance state—powered by far-right code. Is Big Brother hunting you?
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