Fuck Thiel and all, but Founders Fund invests in a slew of stuff that they think will make them money.
Silver has always been fairly left of center. Anyone that’s listened to his podcasts over the past elections knows that, he wants his work to be neutral, but he’s not into the maga shit.
Silver has always been curious to see if betting markets could more accurately predict election outcomes. I’m not surprised to see him join that company. It’s basically an opportunity for him to explore something he has been curious about for decades.
But yeah, unfortunately, he’s also helping to make a shitty person richer.
But still, going from a "unbiased" pollster to a high-tech bookie is clearly a money grab. This article tells us very little, except "it's a close horse race!" That sounds exactly like what a bookie would say to get more money on the match.
His focus has changed. I wonder how Nate Silver himself would treat a formerly good pollster who recently started an online betting arm? I suspect he would downgrade their reliability due to conflict of interest.