Vice President-elect Mike Pence looks on as President-elect Donald Trump shakes Peter Thiel's hand during a December 2016 meeting at Trump Tower.
Drew Angerer / Getty ImagesMany of us remember last year's Twitter campaign to #DeleteUber from your app library, which was largely over Uber's stance on immigration. Well now there's a similar campaign against HQ Trivia after Recode broke a story late last week that a new $15 million round of funding was coming from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.
HQ Trivia, a livestreamed game you play on your phone, has been exploding in popularity since its debut last summer. Here's why: You can win real money.
The game kicks off daily at noon PT and again at 6 p.m. PT. You are given 10 seconds to answer each question from the time the host starts reading it. Prize pools average $2,500 and are split by all winners. The highest pool we've seen was Sunday during halftime of the Super Bowl when it reached $20,000.
To give you an idea of its popularity, when we started playing in September, the audience for a game ran in the tens of thousands, but lately, it's not uncommon for a game to have over a million players. The game reached a record of almost 2 million players during the Super Bowl.
With Thiel on board, that may be about to change.
Thiel, a venture capitalist, PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor, was also one of the few tech elite to support then-candidate Donald Trump in his campaign for president. He funded the court case that led to the demise of the beloved Gawker media, and, by some accounts, he believes that the key to everlasting youth might be through blood transfusions with young people.
Given his controversial stances, Twitter had plenty to say over the weekend in response to the Founders Fund funding. Users tweeted via the DeleteHQ hashtag:
See ya, @ScottRogowsky. #DELETEHQ https://t.co/9tNMutJ4ZN pic.twitter.com/CtQGSrubMh
— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) February 2, 2018
Generally, companies are as selective of who they allow to invest as investors are in who they give money to. In 2018, whether an investor is garbage is important criteria. #DeleteHQ
— Jordan•Parker•Rae•Jepsen•Bouvier (@jbouvier) February 2, 2018
Deleted @hqtrivia because they support the values of @peterthiel #DeleteHQ Bye Bye @ScottRogowsky
— Jacob Schwarzinger (@JRSchwarzinger) February 2, 2018
I want nothing to do with @hqtrivia anymore now that Peter Thiel is leading the next round of financing. The man is pond scum. #DeleteHQ
— David Michaels (@davpel) February 2, 2018
TFW you find out Peter Thiel backed up HQTrivia#deletehq #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/brQLlSOAZm
— Janine Smith (@janiesgotasonic) February 2, 2018
So much for that... at least I won’t have to hear that awful theme song. #DeleteHQ
— Tommy Nuckels (@TommyNucks) February 2, 2018
Hello Peter Thiel’s $...Bye HQ. #DeleteHQ @ScottRogowsky @hqtrivia
— Mr. Renwick (@MJRen_Wick) February 4, 2018
Yo @hqtrivia you want Thiel's #Gawker blood money? Fine. So long. #deleteHQ
— Vlad (@dovlomir) February 5, 2018
We couldn't reach Thiel for comment about the trending hashtag. And HQ Trivia declined comment.
But some think the mass exodus could be good for them:
I’m all for the #DeleteHQ thing, more money for my broke ass 🤣🖕
— Code Red (@CommanderCoolCo) February 2, 2018
#deletehq please do, I'd like to play with less lag
— nutella the hun (@gimmeshuggah) February 2, 2018
I'm torn about #DeleteHQ. Part of me doesn't want to support the new funder. On the other hand if I win id be making him less rich. Hmmm. pic.twitter.com/Ha6BvdBvgc
— A. Wendel (@anthonywendel) February 2, 2018
OH COME ON! I just got into this app. Screw you guys I’ll continue to play. #deletehq
— Milque-SeanHannityUnblockMeYouCoward-toast (@BlueRobotDesign) February 2, 2018
Anyone calling for #deletehq is a sensitive jerk... get over yourselves... Can’t wait to play later @hqtrivia
— Jose Duran (@JoseOfBushwick) February 3, 2018
Other people may have been taking it a little too far:
I'm fairly positive that HQ is using people's phones to mine bitcoin. That's why it requires so much battery and data. #deleteHQ
— Jenna FDT (@SustainRetain) February 2, 2018
And here I thought the main reason to #deletehq was the 1 in 10 gazillion chance to $8.52
— Jonathan Criswell (@jcriswell2) February 2, 2018
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