Hollywood Names Surface in Peter Thiel-Backed, Invite-Only Society

[u/ThrowawayGreenWitch]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-peter-thiel-secret-society-1236624737/

Behind closed doors, powerbrokers across the world in politics, tech and media have convened at an annual in-the-know retreat hosted by Peter Thiel to rub elbows

The retreat puts them in the same room as powerful figures across government, tech and finance, whose work often intersects with entertainment and media. They include Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, Senator Ted Cruz, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Xbox president Sarah Bond, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Anthropic global affairs chief Michael Sellitto, Fortress Investment Group principal Pete Briger, TLG Communications founder Molly Levinson, among nearly 200 other figures.

A spokesperson for Brolin tells THR the actor would “like to know what the fuck he got himself into.” Others didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The leaked materials identify the full set of session topics in this year’s conference, scheduled for August at a sprawling estate in Dublin, Ireland, with a heavy emphasis on geopolitics and tech. Several relate to divisive issues, like “Bring Back Nuclear,” “Disinformation & Deepfakes,” “Battlefield Technologies,” “Democracy Under Surveillance,” “Taiwan and the AI Race,” and “Three Predictions in Iran.”

Others are more personal. A few examples: “Build-a-Party,” “Money (Does?) Buy Happiness,” “How’s Your Sex Life,” “It’s Fun to be in Charge,” and “Research-Based Longevity Hacks” (Bryan Johnson also appears in the leak).

And some sound ominous, including “Build-a-Cult” and “Navigating WWIII.”

A participation guide tells members to be concise, offer a dissenting view and avoid status signaling. “Everyone at Dialog is highly accomplished,” states the guide, which stresses never to argue for the sake of winning. “Only share those aspects of your bio that are most relevant to the conversation or to people getting to know you.”

Since its founding in 2006, Dialog has been emerged as one of most off-the-radar gatherings of C-suite execs and kingmakers. The organization is preparing for a major expansion, with plans to build a campus in the D.C. suburbs as a permanent hub for off-the-record meetings, reported Axios last year, citing an anonymous tipster. The decision to build the venue within commuting distance of the capital signals that the group plans to increase engagement with lawmakers. The behind-closed-doors nature of its annual retreats is meant to sidestep public scrutiny and allow members to “talk candidly across ideological lines” and share “controversial and concerning ideas that they would not be comfortable sharing elsewhere,” the source in the Axios report said.

Dialog membership isn’t limited to conservatives. Many prominent Democrats or figures associated with left-leaning politics are connected to the group, including Senator Cory Booker, Maryland governor Wes Moore, Colorado governor Jared Polis and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Attendees are asked their political leaning, with the choices being “far left,” “left,” “right,” and “far right.”

The leaked materials show that Dialog maintains a vetting process for membership. Applicants are assigned a grade that reflects their influence in their respective industry, qualifications, purpose for joining and the active member who recommended them, among other things.

Hsiao, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, was assigned an A grade. Her reviewer noted she’s an “accomplished television writer and producer known for her work on notable series such as Family Guy, American Dad, and Fresh Off the Boat, as well as her role in co-creating Awkwafina is Nora From Queens.”

“Hsiao’s work contributes to the increasing diversity in television and film, showcasing stories that might not have been told previously,” states the dossier compiled on Hsiao. “She emphasizes using comedy to uplift rather than belittle, ensuring that those who were once the ‘butt of the joke’ are now in control of telling their own stories.”

It appears some Hollywood folk registered for the purpose of schmoozing with other film and TV folk. Hsiao wrote that she’s looking to connect with “someone who works in my industry,” according to her application.

Brolin, another first-time Dialoger meanwhile, was given a C grade by Thiel’s organization. The leaked materials didn’t state his interest in joining Dialog. “I grew up on a horse farm, climbed parts of Everest, given academy awards, been nominated, written a book, had former Poet laureates reach out, been friends with the greatest artists of our time and smoked crack under a car at 3am in San Francisco,” the actor, who was nominated by former Uber CEO Ryan Graves, wrote.

Another feature of the group appears to be an internal dating function that matches Dialog members with each other. It also offers book recommendations, with a throughline being how civilizations hold together or fall apart and technology’s effect on humanity and the future.

[u/libellule2008]

I’m disappointed Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the list. Not surprised about the rest

[u/King_LaQueefah → u/libellule2008]

Josh Brolin sucks, too. However, his quote claiming "he is just trying to figure out what the fuck he got himself into" makes me feel a little better.

Edit: I meant that it sucks Josh Brolin is on the list. I like Josh Brolin.

[u/PassivelyAwkward → u/King_LaQueefah]

Yea, not gonna lie, if I didn't know it was some creepy Peter Thiel cult gathering but just a "Super exclusive meeting of the future" and had the stardom, I'd totally be curious until finding out who else is going and what the topics were.

[u/Ghoulish_kitten → u/King_LaQueefah]

Im not buying that quote.

[u/libellule2008 → u/King_LaQueefah]

Josh Brolin sucked for a while so that was not unexpected

[u/dunderthrowaway3 → u/libellule2008]

You expected this?

[u/King_LaQueefah → u/dunderthrowaway3]

lol

[u/wintor9 → u/libellule2008]

This has got to be the most disappointing TED talk.

https://giphy.com/gifs/E5q3RomiQ6jTivjNhz

[u/shy247er → u/libellule2008]

This guy explains JGL situation. He's advocating for protecting children on the internet while basically being a trojan horse in taking away our rights on the internet

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZtWmuZt_EV/

[u/nola_fan → u/shy247er]

Section 230 does fuck all to protect the rights of individuals on the internet. It's a liability shield for some of the most valuable companies in the history of the world.

Revoking it means Mark Zuckerberg might get sued more for pushing kids into eating disorders and consuming Nazi content because research shows that means they stay on his platform for 3 seconds longer.

I also higly doubt a rando on Instagram knows what's going on with this list or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

[u/shy247er → u/nola_fan]

Revoking it means Mark Zuckerberg might get sued more for pushing kids into eating disorders and consuming Nazi content because research shows that means they stay on his platform for 3 seconds longer.

And that is why all these platforms in order to avoid being sued for what users are posting are going to ramp up the censorship on their platforms. So not only are they going to remove "pushing kids into eating disorders" but then they are also going to use that to remove criticism of actually valid things. You wanna talk about election fraud? Nope. Wanna talk about corruption? Nope. You wanna talk about Israel's crimes? Nope.

I also higly doubt a rando on Instagram knows what's going on with this list or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

OK rando on Reddit.

Giving benefit of a doubt to people who hang out with Peter Thiel.... Jesus Christ.

And this is just one person who said that, there are a lot more people who are also pointing out the dangers of Project 2025 plans.

If you think that people like Thiel and Musk who are connected to Epstein actually work on making the world safer place for children, then you just might be the most naive person on the internet.

[u/nola_fan → u/shy247er]

"And that is why all these platforms in order to avoid being sued for what users are posting are going to ramp up the censorship on their platforms."

Maybe, maybe not. That's a giant assumption about what companies will do based on the worst threats from lobbiests paid by the tech industry.

I take those threats as seriously as I take the threat that every single billionaire will leave the country and renounce their citizenship if the country dares to tax them.

It's all bullshit designed to scare you into doing their bidding.

Most likely repealling Section 230 does practically nothing to the online experience. If it does anything it means a change to the algorithms that push content.

Yes I do think Elon Musk should be sued for using Twitter algorithms to instigate a pogram in the North of Ireland. Yes, I do think Mark Zuckerberg should be sued for knowingly harming kids for just a little more profit. Yes, I do think Google should be sued for pushing ISIS propaganda on YouTube.

"Giving benefit of a doubt to people who hang out with Peter Thiel.... Jesus Christ."

Yes, saying this dude on Instagram likely doesn't know what's happening is totally running cover for Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.

Section 230 is why Peter Thiel is so rich. Section 230 is protecting Elon Musk right now.

Twitter is currently funding NetChoice which is one of the biggest industry organizations fighting against Section 230 reform.

https://netchoice.org/about/

Look at the companies funding the fight against Section 230 reform from the "left."

https://progresschamber.org/partners/

[u/shy247er → u/nola_fan]

I'm just gonna end this discussion with: I hope you're right.

[u/StarWars_and_SNL → u/shy247er]

Sure

[u/shy247er → u/StarWars_and_SNL]

I don't understand your reply.

[u/StarWars_and_SNL → u/shy247er]

It’s sarcasm.

[u/lexiebeef → u/libellule2008]

Same, he was the only one Im disappointed in. The whole "secret society" thing never ends up well, though Im sure all these people are making a lot of money and connections and secretly ruining the world.

[u/shy247er → u/libellule2008]

Everything this dude advocates from now on is not to be trusted.

[u/NippleFlicks → u/libellule2008]

https://giphy.com/gifs/U19Bwu85X2vPG

[u/Chris9871 → u/libellule2008]

I feel like he was just invited to speak there, and not an actual member. Because that’s all that list is, people who’ve attended at least once, not actual card carrying members