Gawker

Gawker was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Founded in 2002, Gawker was the flagship blog for Denton's Gawker Media. Gawker Media also managed other blogs such as Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Kotaku.

Gawker had come under scrutiny for posting videos, communications and other content that violated copyrights or the privacy of its owners, or was illegally obtained. Gawker publication of a sex tape featuring Hulk Hogan led Hogan to sue the company for invasion of privacy. Hogan received financial support from billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who had been outed as gay by Gawker against his wishes. On June 10, 2016, Gawker filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay Hogan $140 million in damages. On August 18, 2016, Gawker Media announced that its namesake blog would be ceasing operations the following week. Its other websites were unaffected, and continued publication under Univision as the renamed Gizmodo Media Group. Founder Nick Denton created the site's final post on August 22, 2016. The Freedom of the Press Foundation independently archived the Gawker website and its articles in 2018.