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Founders Fund launches game show starring Sam Altman, Palmer Luckey, and other tech elites

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Have you ever had the desire to see Sam Altman and Palmer Luckey square off over a moderately suspenseful card game? If so, you are in luck.

Silicon Valley’s leaders are rushing to embrace the power of media for the purposes of marketing and political capital. Now, in a sign of the times, Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, has launched its own game show.

“MAFIA the GAME,” will apparently be an ongoing thing, where prominent tech luminaries get together and face off over a game of cards (the show is named after the party-game favorite).

The spectacle is moderated by Pirate Wires editor Mike Solana (who is also the chief marketing officer at Founders Fund). The debut episode includes a who’s who of players — Sam Altman; Palmer Luckey; Bryan Johnson, the famed biohacker who will (according to him) live forever; and Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of encrypted chat app Signal.

“I’m so f*cking bored with VC content,” Solana told Newcomer, which originally reported the show’s existence. “There has to be a more interesting way to get to know someone, and I think that this is a way more interesting way to get to know someone.”

TechCrunch reached out to Founders Fund for more information on the program.

In many ways, having a reality-TV-esque platform is just good business these days. The internet has turned the world into a population of chronic media consumers, and the average American spends around 2.5 hours on social media per day. Much of that time is spent scrolling through an endless flood of advertising-laced memes and videos.

In the modern era, the road to power and influence is paved with infotainment.

Companies and executives have sought to take advantage of this new reality in different ways. OpenAI recently raised some eyebrows when it procured TBPN, the buzzy founder-led podcast. Meanwhile, a number of tech’s most prominent players have leveraged virality to their advantage. Johnson, for instance, has managed to grow his following through a very active (and quite bizarre) social media presence. Elon Musk, meanwhile, has also managed to leverage his public persona to go viral (although arguments could be made that his online presence has sometimes hurt rather than helped his businesses).

This trend has also spread to the startup space, where people like Cluely CEO Chungin “Roy” Lee have demonstrated the power of being a one-man viral hype machine.

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Trader sentenced to prison for stealing trousers in hospital

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A Jos Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday sentenced a 26-year-old trader, Ahmed Abdullahi, to nine months in prison for stealing a shirt and trousers from a hospital.

The convict pleaded guilty to the charges of trespass and theft brought against him by the police.

The magistrate, Irene Pati, sentenced the convict to nine months in prison, with an option of a N20,000 fine or three months in prison for trespass, and a N20,000 fine or six months in prison for stealing, all to run concurrently.

While reviewing the facts, the prosecutor, Ijuptil Thiawur, told the court that the case was reported on June 24 at the ‘C’ Division Police Station by Joshua Tongpan, the complainant.

Mr Thiawur said the convict trespassed into the hospital facility and stole the shirt and trousers valued at N25,000 before he was caught with them.

He said the offences contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law. 

(NAN)

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2027: INEC confirms Atiku, 470 other ADC candidates 

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cleared former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 470 other candidates presented by David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, for the 2027 general elections.

The INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, made this known on Tuesday, noting that the commission will recognise only the candidates submitted by the David Mark-led leadership.

Haruna added that the commission granted the Mark-led leadership access to its candidate nomination portal following the Supreme Court judgment affirming its leadership of the party.

The INEC senior official further stated that the faction has already submitted candidates for 471 elective positions, comprising one presidential candidate, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates.

“Yes, we gave the Mark-led faction the code based on the recent Supreme Court judgment that affirmed his leadership of the party and the faction has since submitted most of its candidates for a total of 471 – presidential (1), senatorial (109) and House of Representatives (360) constituencies.

“The court, however, did not say we should accept any submissions by the rival faction which, in any case, had lost its appeal for recognition,” he said.

According to him, INEC would study the Certified True Copy of Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment before taking an official position on its implications.

“INEC cannot say anything until we see the judgment. We have to see the details of the judgment first. Hopefully, in the next two days, within 48 hours, the court should release the judgment. We will study it, and then the commission will take a position,” he added.

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