Gawker Media LLC, an online publishing pioneer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put itself up for sale on Friday after a $140 million court judgment against it in a lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape.
The move followed revelations that Hogan's lawsuit, along with several others against Gawker, were being bankrolled by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, an early backer of Facebook and a co-founder of PayPal.
Thiel's involvement, which stemmed from his ire over Gawker's writings about him and his friends in Silicon Valley, raised alarm bells in U.S. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press.
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