Peter Thiel

Factual · Their own work or organisation

“we scored some limited victories, most notably in undoing speech codes instituted by the university.”

Peter Thiel, essay author · 13 April 2009 · The Education of a Libertarian (Cato Unbound)

As a Stanford undergraduate, Thiel started a student newspaper that he says scored some limited victories, most notably in undoing speech codes instituted by the university.

Mostly true True in substance, wrong in a detail.

What would count as true or false

True: records show that Thiel co-founded a Stanford student newspaper (The Stanford Review, 1987) as an undergraduate, that Stanford's speech code (the 1990 interpretation of the Fundamental Standard on discriminatory harassment) was undone (e.g. struck down in Corry v. Stanford, 1995, and not reinstated), and that credible sources credit the Review's campaign with contributing to this. Mostly true: founding and repeal are confirmed, and the Review is documented as a prominent opponent of the code, but its causal role is only modestly supported. Mixed: the Review opposed the code, but its repeal is attributed almost wholly to others (e.g. the lawsuit and its backers), with little sign the paper helped. Mostly false: Thiel's founding role is confirmed, but the speech code was not substantially undone, or the Review had no documented involvement. False: Thiel did not found the paper, or Stanford had no such speech code to undo.

Evidence

1. How Peter Thiel and the Stanford Review Built a Silicon Valley Empire - Stanford Politics Stanford Politics (Stanford Politics Magazine) · 27 November 2017

   “But 30 years ago, as a sophomore at Stanford, Thiel was a lightning rod for a much smaller-scale reason: He co-founded (with Norman Book ’91) the Stanford Review.”

2. How Peter Thiel and the Stanford Review Built a Silicon Valley Empire - Stanford Politics Stanford Politics (Stanford Politics Magazine) · 27 November 2017

   “Asked about what she thought was The Review’s greatest accomplishment, Devon Zuegel ’16, a former editor-in-chief, pointed to a 1995 episode in which the paper successfully sued Stanford over its speech code.”

3. Letter from the President: Title Stanford University (Office of the President) · 1 January 1995

   “In February, the Santa Clara County Superior Court ruled in favor of nine Stanford students who had filed a lawsuit challenging the interpretation.”

4. The “Grey Interpretation” of the Fundamental Standard, ... Stanford University (SymSys 255 course site) · 27 February 1995

   “Overturned in Corry v. Stanford, February 27, 1995”

Reasoning

An independent Stanford magazine reports that Thiel co-founded the Stanford Review as a sophomore (E1). Stanford's own records show the speech-code interpretation of the Fundamental Standard was overturned in Corry v. Stanford in February 1995, after a lawsuit by nine students (E3, E4). The Review's part in this rests mainly on a former editor-in-chief's later account that the paper "successfully sued" Stanford (E2). The president's letter credits the nine students and does not name the Review (E3), so the paper's causal role is only modestly supported.

Cite this claim

Peter Thiel, “As a Stanford undergraduate, Thiel started a student newspaper that he says scored some limited victories, most notably in undoing speech codes instituted by the university.” (said 13 April 2009). Verdict: mostly true. Reliability API, claim c_b18744c06123, method 0.1.0+3e03e2df. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_b18744c06123