Jeff Bezos Bans Washington Post Opinion Writers From Opposing ‘free Speech And Free Markets’

In a move promoted arsenic supporting authorities of speech, The Washington Post will nary longer group sentiment columns that logic nan halfway views of Post proprietor and Amazon executive chair Jeff Bezos, Bezos has reportedly told staff. New York Times newsman Benjamin Mullin and Semafor newsman Max Tani published specifications astir nan move connected Wednesday, noting that changes too spot nan departure of existent sentiment editor David Shipley. The memo from Bezos and different from Washington Post CEO Will Lewis were leaked during an Amazon arena announcing caller features for its Alexa assistant.

“We are going to beryllium penning each clip successful support and defense of 2 pillars: individual liberties and free markets,” Bezos wrote successful an email, according to a screenshot from Mullin. “A ample information of America’s occurrence has been authorities successful nan economical realm and everyplace else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical; it drives creativity, invention and prosperity.” Opinion articles that logic these 2 pillars, Bezos says, “will beryllium adjacent to beryllium published by others.” He concludes that “I’m assured that free markets and individual liberties are correct for America,” saying he is excited to tin a “void” of sum supporting them.

Lewis’ email praises Bezos for his email’s “clarity and transparency,” saying a replacement for Shipley will beryllium “announced successful owed course.”

Bezos acquired The Washington Post successful 2013, but he began shaping it overmuch visibly soon earlier nan 2024 statesmanlike election, erstwhile he reportedly nixed a planned endorsement of Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris. (The Post issued a denial that did not really contradict nan reports.) While this was commercially detrimental to nan paper, it avoided a move that could personification incensed victorious Republican campaigner and existent President Donald Trump, who holds important powerfulness complete nan destiny of Bezos’ e-commerce and aerospace endeavors, arsenic bully arsenic its imaginable acquisition of TikTok. Lewis’ email tells labour that nan caller displacement is “not astir siding pinch immoderate governmental party.”

Neither Lewis nor Bezos indicated location would beryllium changes to nan Post’s news coverage, which is chopped from its sentiment section. Bezos too says nan sentiment conception will proceed to surface topics unrelated to his 2 pillars.

The Post’s changes nether Bezos reflector billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s akin hands-on onslaught arsenic proprietor of The Los Angeles Times, wherever Soon-Shiong blocked a Harris endorsement and declared a rightward editorial shift.

All news outlets, of course, personification implicit aliases definitive boundaries for their sentiment sum — and free reside is simply a cardinal worthy for galore journalists. It’s not moreover uncommon for sentiment writers to group stories that importantly conflict pinch their news reporting. But newspaper owners personification traditionally allowed their editorial portion to make those decisions, successful information to intelligibly recovered their independence. Bezos’ nonstop engagement raises questions astir really independent nan Post is from an proprietor pinch galore different financial interests. In existent sensation parlance, position for illustration “free speech” tin too beryllium defined successful ways that spot nonstop authorities regularisation of speech.

Fortunately, America is facing galore urgent and timely questions that caller Bezos’ new, personally issued directive. Are awesome tech companies for illustration Amazon monopolies that distort adjacent marketplace competition, and should nan US authorities prosecute sweeping antitrust cases that could break them up? Will nan guidance led by Trump, whose inauguration received a $1 cardinal Amazon assistance and was attended prominently by Bezos, proceed attempts to censor media outlets by leveraging its regulatory powerfulness and entree to information? The possibilities are astir endless.