Student Researcher: Robert Bice
Faculty Instructor: Christina M. Knopf
Evaluator: Robert Moore, United States Border Patrol, Immigration Officer (retired)
Billionaire Facebook investor, Peter Thiel, has donated one million dollars to NumbersUSA. NumbersUSA, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center is one of six core groups in the movement for anti-immigration. Thiel had no comment as to making the donation when asked by citizen journalists, but did not deny making the donation, either. In November 2008, an “underling” in Clarium Capitol (a hedge fund founded by Thiel) told citizen journalists that the donation to NumbersUSA had been made. The money out of Clarium was deemed a donation trust so that it would not seem to be coming directly from Thiel.
Facebook participants are outraged by Thiel’s donation. The members of Facebook have begun using his own medium against him, in making an online group, on the network’s “grassroots page,” to lobby for the removal of Thiel from the Facebook board of directors. Nearly 2,800 members have joined so far. Others have even gone as far as cancelling their Facebook accounts altogether. There have also been numerous advertisers who have removed their ads from Facebook as a result of Thiel’s donation.
“Hold nativist Peter Thiel and Facebook accountable” WeCanStopTheHate.org. December 2008 <www.wecanstopthehate.org/outrage/hold_nativist_peter_thiel_and_facebook_accountable>
“Take nativist Peter Thiel off Facebook’s board of directors” de Beausset, Kyle and Kety Esquivel Facebook.com (2008, December). <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?sid=c52d016bce946eecf9f340f3673808bf&gid=57995012344>
“Billionaire Facebook investor’s anti-immigration heresy” Thomas, Owen. Valleywag. (2008, November 14). http://valleywag.gawker.com/5083655/billionaire-facebook-investors-anti+immigration-heresy
Facebook “friend”-ing racists? Voiles, Gabrielle , FAIR.org. (2008 December). http://www.fair.org/blog/2008/12/11/facebook-friend-ing-racists/