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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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A cache of leaked internal records, first reported by WIRED, has revealed that a secretive gathering of global political, military, and technology figures is set to include a session on “Navigating World War III,” offering a rare glimpse into a private network long reported to operate out of public view.
The leak has revealed agenda and attendee data for the invitation‑only Dialog network’s 2026 retreat.
The secretive organization was cofounded in 2006 by the billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, according to WIRED.
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Internal records revealed 222 registrants for an August 2026 Dialog retreat at a venue near Dublin, Ireland, including sessions on the agenda such as “How’s Your Sex Life?”
The online exposure, which exposes the identities and personal data of hundreds of high‑profile participants who were promised confidentiality, lifts the veil on a forum where senior officials and tech leaders discuss global risks privately, including war and artificial intelligence.
Newsweek contacted Dialog via its official email address and LinkedIn account on Thursday morning, seeking to confirm the accuracy of the leaked retreat records and respond to concerns about the exposure and security of participant data.
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Why It Matters
Dialog has spent two decades operating as an off‑the‑record meeting place for influential figures across politics, finance, and technology, declining to publicly disclose its membership.
The exposure of its internal records not only provides insight into elite discussions on global risks but also raises questions about transparency, influence, and data security within powerful networks.
What To Know
The material at the center of the story was first reported by WIRED, which said it independently verified a tranche of records made public after being discovered in the source code of Dialog’s website.
Those records include a registration list for the group’s 2026 retreat, scheduled for August 12 to August 16, naming more than 200 participants, identifying them by membership status, including “active member” and “guest.”
The agenda outlined in the documents has a wide range of subjects.
It includes panels such as “Money (Does?) Buy Happiness” and “Build‑a‑Cult,” and sessions explicitly focused on geopolitical risk and conflict: “Bring Back Nuclear” and “Battlefield Technologies.”
It also includes a session called “Build-a-Party,” which is reportedly set to be run by a former White House national security official.
The documents also offer insight into how the group operates. Sessions are designed to be off-the-record, with participants encouraged to speak freely without attribution.
Registration was conducted using personal or corporate email addresses rather than official government accounts, placing attendance outside typical public‑records systems, WIRED reports.
The leak itself originated from a directory embedded in the organization’s website code, exposed by Swiss hacktivist maia arson crimew, with additional records provided by a source and verified by journalists.
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Who Is Listed In The Directory?
The records point to a convergence of political, military, and technological influence, with attendees drawn from senior levels of government, the armed forces, and the technology sector.
They identify senior figures across multiple centers of power, including NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, along with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
The rest of the network spans hedge fund and private equity billionaires, current and former foreign officials, television actors, best‑selling authors and religious leaders, reflecting a deliberately broad mix of influence.
According to WIRED reporting, the leaked registration data identifies several prominent figures who do not appear in the public directory of 113 names.
These include Randy Kroszner, a former Federal Reserve governor who now sits on the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee; Hallie Hoffman, formerly general counsel and acting chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration; Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League; Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute; Ryan Stowers, executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation; and Roger Myerson, a Nobel Prize‑winning economist at the University of Chicago.
The records also point to several senior figures from Google and Google DeepMind, among them Tom Lue, who leads global affairs for the company’s frontier AI division.
The list reportedly includes active journalists, Souad Mekhennet, a national security correspondent at The Washington Post, who is recorded as hosting a session titled “Ulysses Book Club” and New York Times columnist Ezra Klein.
Beyond these individuals, the broader group spans hedge fund and private equity billionaires, current and former foreign officials, television actors, bestselling authors and religious leaders, revealing a wide range of backgrounds within the network.
The list also highlights proximity between regulators and the industries they oversee. For example, technology executives whose companies supply data services appear alongside officials responsible for regulating those sectors.
However, it is not always clear from the records whether individuals are full members of the group, speakers, or invited guests.
What Is Dialog?
Dialog is a private, invitation-only network founded in 2006 by billionaire investor Peter Thiel and entrepreneur Auren Hoffman, bringing together leaders from politics, business, and technology for off-the-record discussions.
It has historically maintained a deliberately low public profile, declining to publish membership lists or detailed information about its activities.
That approach is reflected in how the organization describes itself. On LinkedIn, Dialog lists just 2–10 employees and operates in the “Technology, Information and Internet” sector, with minimal public detail about its work or structure.
Its executive director, Raffi Grinberg, has also emphasized that discretion. In a LinkedIn description of his role, he writes: “I run Dialog. We intentionally keep a low profile; if you received an invite, you can reach me by email.”
The group hosts annual retreats designed to encourage candid discussion, with participants typically drawn from sectors shaping emerging technologies, geopolitics and policy.
Hoffman, the group's chairman, is a technology entrepreneur who founded data companies including LiveRamp and SafeGraph, both involved in large‑scale data analysis, according to WIRED.
How Dialog Compares With Other Elite Gatherings
Dialog is frequently compared with long‑established forums that convene global leaders, though it differs in scale and transparency.
Bilderberg Group
Founded in 1954, Bilderberg is an invitation‑only, highly secretive annual meeting of around 120 to 150 political, business, and academic leaders.
Discussions are held under the “Chatham House Rule,” allowing participants to use information without identifying speakers, a format intended to encourage candid debate.
World Economic Forum (Davos)
By contrast, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos brings together thousands of participants—around 3,000 in recent years—and operates largely in public view, with speeches, panels, and extensive media coverage.
Dialog appears structurally closer to Bilderberg in its emphasis on privacy and smaller, off‑the‑record discussions, though reporting suggests a stronger focus on technology, artificial intelligence, and Silicon Valley networks.
What Happens Next
There has been no public confirmation that the August 2026 retreat will be altered or canceled following the leak.
It also remains unclear if the exposure may affect future participation—or whether the long‑standing secrecy that has defined Dialog can be maintained after the significant breach.
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