A New Startup Lets Rich People Use AI to Target Journalists
Objection.ai, a software platform funded by Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel and crypto investor Balaji Srinivasan, will allow wealthy individuals to file complaints against journalists' stories for a starting price of $2,000. The platform uses large language models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Elon Musk's XAI, and Google to issue verdicts on article truthfulness and rank individual journalists on metrics like accuracy and corrections.
Australian businessman Aron D'Souza created the platform, which launched last month. D'Souza previously founded the Enhanced Games, a multisport event where athletes can use performance-enhancing drugs, and led a lawsuit bankrolled by Thiel that bankrupted Gawker in 2016.
The platform invites journalists to defend their reporting but publishes verdicts whether they respond or not. It reportedly treats stories using anonymous sources as less trustworthy and ranks anonymous whistleblower claims near the bottom of its system.
How the System Works
Objection describes itself as a tool that "lets anyone fight the press like a billionaire." Human investigators examine a journalist's story and submit findings to an AI "jury" composed of large language models, which then publish an independent verdict.
The platform can theoretically assess any published content, including social media posts and podcasts, though written articles are the main focus.
The Criticism
Critics say Objection creates a "parallel justice system" controlled by a hyperpartisan private company. US civil rights and defamation lawyer Chris Mattei called it "a high-tech protection racket for the rich and powerful."
The use of generative AI to determine journalistic truth presents a fundamental problem: the models themselves are unreliable. LLMs amplify human bias, lack transparency, and produce hallucinations-incorrect, inconsistent, or fabricated outputs. These models were trained on journalists' work without consent or compensation.
Anonymous sources are essential to public interest journalism. They enable exposure of wrongdoing by powerful interests without compromising the safety or employment of whistleblowers. Protecting source identity is a foundational journalistic principle.
Timing and Context
Objection launches as journalism faces unprecedented pressure. Record numbers of journalists are imprisoned globally. The wealthy and powerful increasingly use strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to silence critical reporting and evade scrutiny.
Last year, 129 media workers were killed-the highest number since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking records over three decades. Israel's military was responsible for two-thirds of those deaths.
What's Next
D'Souza told TechCrunch the platform is "the same as Community Notes" on X, formerly Twitter, and offers "the wisdom of the crowd plus the power of technology to create new methods of truth-telling."
The creator confirmed to Novara Media that Objection is being rebuilt and relaunched with "significant retooling" based on customer feedback. No details on the changes are currently available.
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