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26-509: Thiel concentrates the bulk of his philanthropic efforts on what he sees as potential breakthrough technologies. In November 2010, Thiel organized a Breakthrough Philanthropy conference that showcased eight nonprofits that he believed were working on radical new ideas in technology, government, and human affairs. A similar conference was organized in December 2011 with the name "Fast Forward". The Thiel Foundation has three main internal projects:

52-649: A biannual magazine, Dangerous Assignments . It also published an annual worldwide survey of press freedom called Attacks on the Press between 1987 and 2017. Since 2018, "Attacks on the Press" has been published in digital form. Since 1992, the organization has compiled an annual list of all journalists killed in the line of duty around the world. For 2017, it reported that 46 journalists had been killed in connection with their work, as compared to 48 in 2016, and 72 in 2015, and that of those journalists killed, 18 had been murdered. A running total of journalists killed over

78-556: A mentor for the Thiel Fellowship subsequently published an op-ed response in TechCrunch , restating the Thiel Fellowship's thesis and arguing that a four-year liberal arts education was becoming less relevant. Notable recipients include the following people (year they were awarded the fellowship is indicated in parentheses): Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists ( CPJ )

104-464: A mixed review of the Thiel Fellowship in Inc. magazine. In 2013 the program attracted criticism for its limited results. In April, an article by Richard Nieva for PandoDaily took a close look at how the first batch of Thiel Fellows had fared, finding that some had succeeded and others planned to return to school in the fall once their two years were up. In September, academic Vivek Wadhwa wrote that

130-509: A startup, or working on a social movement. Selection for the fellowship is through a competitive annual process, with about 20–25 fellows selected annually. Peter Thiel announced the fellowship at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2010. The first round of fellows, based on applications made at the end of 2010, was announced in May 2011. The second round of fellows, based on applications made at

156-497: A stipulation of his settlement with Jacobs, Gianforte donated $ 50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said it would use the funds to support the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker . As of 2023 , the organization publishes an annual "Impunity Index" of countries in which journalists are murdered and the killers are not prosecuted. Ann Cooper served as executive director from 1998 to 2006. Journalist Joel Simon served as

182-617: A subsequent grant of $ 250,000, with an additional $ 100,000 in matching funds. In 2011, Thiel was reported as having given a total of $ 1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute. The Thiel Foundation is also a supporter of the Committee to Protect Journalists , which promotes the right of journalists to report the news freely without fear of reprisal, and the Human Rights Foundation , which organizes

208-633: Is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of more than seventy non-governmental organizations that monitors free-expression violations around the world and defends journalists, writers, and others persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression . In 2016, the Times of Israel reported that the United Nations voted to deny consultative status to CPJ citing concerns with

234-770: Is a grant-making body operating as part of the Thiel Foundation. Breakout Labs gives grants for early-stage scientific research that is too speculative or long-term to interest the for-profit sector (such as angel investors and venture capitalists ) but may be unsuitable for traditional sources of funding for scientific research due to its radical or offbeat nature. Grants are made through a competitive application and selection process. Breakout Labs announced its first batch of grantees on April 17, 2012, and its second batch of grantees on August 15, 2012. The Thiel Foundation supports outside groups in three main areas: freedom , science and technology , and anti-violence . Some of

260-540: Is an American independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit , non-governmental organization based in New York City , with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists . The American Journalism Review has called the organization, "Journalism's Red Cross ." Since the late 1980s, CPJ has been publishing an annual census of journalists killed or imprisoned in relation to their work. The Committee to Protect Journalists

286-768: The Oslo Freedom Forum . Thiel has also supported the life extension group, the Methuselah Foundation , founded by Aubrey De Grey . Thiel Fellowship The Thiel Fellowship (originally named 20 under 20 ) is a fellowship created by billionaire Peter Thiel through the Thiel Foundation . The fellowship is intended for students aged 22 or younger and offers them a total of $ 100,000 over two years, as well as guidance and other resources, to drop out of school and pursue other work, which could involve scientific research, creating

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312-472: The Thiel Fellowship , Imitatio, and Breakout Labs . The Thiel Fellowship (originally named 20 under 20) is intended for young visionaries under the age of 20 and offers them a total of $ 100,000 over two years as well as guidance and other resources to drop out of school and pursue other work, which could involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement. Selection for

338-409: The 271 recipients of the Thiel Fellowship have founded unicorns so far, an impressive accomplishment that doesn’t even take into account the inspiring innovations of other fellows and the many exciting projects yet to mature." Thiel's announcement of the Thiel Fellowship met with a diverse array of responses. Some, such as Jacob Weisberg , criticized Thiel's proposal for its utopianism and attack on

364-816: The Fast Forward conference (December 2011). In September 2006, Thiel announced that he would donate $ 3.5 million to foster anti-aging research through the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation. He gave the following reasons for his pledge: "Rapid advances in biological science foretell of a treasure trove of discoveries this century, including dramatically improved health and longevity for all. I'm backing Dr. Aubrey de Grey , because I believe that his revolutionary approach to aging research will accelerate this process, allowing many people alive today to enjoy radically longer and healthier lives for themselves and their loved ones." The Thiel Foundation supports

390-719: The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence). Additionally, he joined the Institute's advisory board and participated in the May 2006 Singularity Summit at Stanford as well as at the 2011 Summit held in New York City. In May 2007, Thiel provided half of the $ 400,000 matching funds for the annual Singularity Challenge donation drive. The organization was a participant in the Breakthrough Philanthropy conference (November 2010) and

416-610: The Thiel Fellowship had failed to produce any notable successes to date, and even its limited successes were instances where the Thiel Fellows were working in collaboration with more experienced individuals. Also in October, former Harvard University President Larry Summers said at The Nantucket Project conference: "I think the single most misdirected bit of philanthropy in this decade is Peter Thiel's special program to bribe people to drop out of college." A Thiel Fellow and

442-424: The Thiel Fellowship. Both students would need to drop out of MIT to receive the fellowship, but would be able to return to MIT to resume their studies after completing the two-year term of the fellowship if they so desired. A year after the announcement of the first batch of Thiel Fellows, opinions on the program ranged from the skeptical and critical to the laudatory and optimistic. In 2012, Eric Markowitz offered

468-536: The US. In December 2013, a Wall Street Journal article summarized the Thiel Fellowship up until that point: "64 Thiel Fellows have started 67 for-profit ventures, raised $ 55.4 million in angel and venture funding, published two books, created 30 apps and 135 full-time jobs, and brought clean water and solar power to 6,000 Kenyans who needed it." In October 2023, the Washington Post reported that: "Eleven of

494-479: The end of 2011, was announced in June 2012. That year, the fellowship launched a website called "20 Under 20 Documentary Series" that features an online documentary series of four Thiel Fellowship recipients. The third class (announced in May 2013) included 22 fellows working on projects from garment manufacturing and B2B web products to ARM powered servers and biomedicine. The class included 7 fellows from outside of

520-537: The entire period from 1992 is available on the group's website, as well as the statistics for any given year; as of April 2018 the total was 1285. The organization's figures are typically lower than similar ongoing counts by Reporters Without Borders or the International Federation of Journalists because of CPJ's established parameters and confirmation process. It also publishes an annual census of imprisoned journalists. The organization

546-443: The fellowship is through a competitive annual process, with about 20–25 fellows selected annually. Peter Thiel announced the fellowship at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2010. The first round of fellows, based on applications made at the end of 2010, was announced in May 2011. Imitatio is a project funded by the Thiel Foundation that aims to understand the world through the lens of Rene Girard 's mimetic theory . Breakout Labs

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572-675: The group's finances, and also because CPJ does not support punishment for hate speech. The ban was overturned and CPJ was granted consultative status in July 2016. In October 2016, the Committee broke with its tradition of staying out of politics and warned about the danger Donald Trump posed to press freedom in the United States and around the world. US Representative Greg Gianforte was convicted of criminal assault in state court in June 2017 stemming from his assault of The Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs in May 2017. As

598-527: The importance of education . Others, such as Vivek Wadhwa , expressed skepticism about whether the success or failure of the Thiel Fellowship would carry any broader lessons regarding the value of higher education or the wisdom of dropping out. In May 2011, shortly after the announcement of the first batch of Thiel Fellows, the admissions office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) congratulated two MIT students for receiving

624-584: The prominent organizations that have received major grants from the Thiel Foundation are described below. Thiel believes in the importance and desirability of a technological singularity . The Foundation has given over $ 1,627,000 to MIRI. In February 2006, Thiel provided $ 100,000 of matching funds to back the Singularity Challenge donation drive of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (then known as

650-575: The research of the SENS ;Foundation , headed by Dr. de Grey, that is working to achieve the reversal of biological aging . The Thiel Foundation also supports the work of anti-aging researcher Cynthia Kenyon . On April 15, 2008, Thiel pledged $ 500,000 to the new Seasteading Institute , directed by Patri Friedman , whose mission is "to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems." In February 2010 he provided

676-443: Was founded in 1981 in response to the harassment of Paraguayan journalist Alcibiades González Delvalle . Its founding honorary chairman was Walter Cronkite . Since 1991, it has held the annual CPJ International Press Freedom Awards Dinner, during which awards are given to journalists and press freedom advocates who have endured beatings, threats, intimidation, and prison for reporting the news. Between 2002 and 2008, it published

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