Jeff Bezos’ Latest Gambit To Bring Back Trust In Media: Silence Editorial Cartoonists Who Call Out Your Sniveling Compliance
from the increasing-distrust-in-media dept
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wants you to believe he’s on a noble mission to restore trust in media. His solution? Muzzling his own paper by blocking it from endorsing Kamala Harris in the runup to the election, a decision he defended in a self-serving op-ed claiming that trust in media is at an all-time low.
Yet, as we noted at the time, the real reason people’s faith in the press is plummeting is that they’re tired of seeing billionaires throw their weight around to silence critics and shape media narratives to suit their interests.
The latest example? The Post silencing criticism by blocking an editorial cartoon mocking billionaires, Bezos included, for throwing millions at Trump’s inauguration in a pathetic attempt to curry favor. And it’s exactly this kind of behavior that is destroying the public’s trust in media.
The public sees right through the charade. They know billionaires are using their media properties to skew coverage, squash dissent, and meddle in the newsroom to protect their egos and bottom lines. Is it any wonder trust is in the toilet? People are hungry for fearless, independent journalism that speaks truth to power and holds the wealthy and powerful to account.
The thing that destroys trust is when a long-term Washington Post editorial cartoonist like Ann Telnaes is blocked from publishing a cartoon mocking the pathetic spinelessness of US corporate billionaires throwing money at Trump’s inauguration as a form of kissing the ring.
Telnaes, who has worked at WaPo since 2008, decided to quit, noting that she’s never had a previous comic blocked over content:
The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump. There have been multiple articles recently about these men with lucrative government contracts and an interest in eliminating regulations making their way to Mar-a-lago. The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook & Meta founder and CEO, Sam Altman/AI CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong/LA Times publisher, the Walt Disney Company/ABC News, and Jeff Bezos/Washington Post owner.
While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon. To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary. That’s a game changer…and dangerous for a free press.
Telnaes has published her draft of the rejected comic on her own site and I’ll encourage you to see it there. It shows these corporate billionaires (yes, including Bezos) bowing down at the feet of Trump, holding up bags of money.
Bezos may own the Post, but if his goal is truly restoring trust in media, he should be welcoming criticism and dissent, not stifling it. Squashing a cartoon that dares to mock him and his fellow billionaires shows his real priority is preserving his own power and image, not earning the public’s trust.
It, again, says that the rich and the powerful will not accept any public criticism of their actions and must wield their power to silence those who dare speak out.
If Bezos and his billionaire ilk really want to restore faith in the Fourth Estate, they need to start walking the walk — empowering bold, independent voices, welcoming accountability, and putting the public interest over self-interest. Until then, their platitudes about trust will keep ringing hollow.
Filed Under: ann telnaes, donald trump, editorial cartoon, jeff bezos, kissing the ring, trust in media
Companies: washington post
Comments on “Jeff Bezos’ Latest Gambit To Bring Back Trust In Media: Silence Editorial Cartoonists Who Call Out Your Sniveling Compliance”
If Bezos and his billionaire ilk really want to restore faith in the Fourth Estate, they need to start walking the walk — empowering bold, independent voices, welcoming accountability, and putting the public interest over self-interest.
You just know they’ll not do this, since they want to be in Trump’s good side, though looking at the cartoon, either 2 things may be the reason why it wasn’t published:
A. Trump would’ve told Bezos to fire her or else.
Or
B. Most likely, Bezos didn’t like getting criticized.
Re:
I would like to see a cartoon of Trump at one of his rallies with a bunch of ghosts standing behind him with loads of joined together speech bubbles coming up from them saying, “He’d best not make me vote for him a third time.” The only problem is, that’s potentially defamatory.
The only way I’d trust Bezos is if I were shoveling dirt on his face.
Motto
Washington Post’s new motto: “Democracy Dies in DC”
Bezos: Come on man, I’m just asking for a tiny favor. Please.
Devil: No Jeff! Sorry buddy but you’ve already sold me your soul seven times.
Bezos: But I need a shitload of money to make the world a better place!
Devil: Gosh man! at least be honest.
Bezos: Okay, I need a shitload of money to be make the world as I want.
Devil: Thank you! Okay, here you cash. Just sign here for a 8th eternity in Hell, I don’t have many places left so I’ll put you between Donald and Elon.
Bezos: Damn!
Re: Lets' make Bezos truly honest.
Bezos: Okay, I need a shitload of money
to be make the world as I want.FIFY
I don’t think Bezos (or Trump, Musk, J. P. Morgan, Carnegie, etc.) don’t really have any more than a conception of a plan, rather they just make money because number go up. Notions of taking over the world are incidental.
Re: Re: don't think...dont really...
Brain not worky worky…
Re: Re:
No, you didn’t. You just borked it worse by striking out the entire second half of the sentence instead of just the one word. LMFTPFY.
Re: Re: Re:
Sorry, forgot to replicate the strikethrough on the original quote, but you get what I mean.
Re: Re: Re: Uhhh
LMFTPFY?
Let
Me
Fuck
The
Pimply
Faced
Youth?
Re: Re: Re:2
If that’s what you’re assuming those letters stand for, that says a lot more about you than AC.
Re: Re: Re:3 Calm down Francis
Its a both a joke and a request for knowing what exactly that acronym stands for. Googling it revealed nothing.
Having an owner meddling in the content of his news staff for personal, business, or political purposes is absolutely devastating to the credibility of any news organization.
The long-standing criticism of the mainstream media is that they are only reporting the facts that are friendly towards the large mega corporations and the ultra wealthy. While they may not like that criticism, here we see, yet again, the Washington Post actually proving that criticism to be correct.
I can’t help but think that we are on a path of a major reckoning with outlets like the Washington Post, but at this point, I’m not entirely sure what form that would take (and whether it would be good or bad).
I approve of teaching the community to distrust mainstream media...
In favor of resorting to independent media, foreign media and tracing sources back to multiple primaries to confirm facts.
Behind the Bastard’s two parter on the liberal media aiding the Nazis pointed out that German Jewish-owned papers better identified with their ownership-class antisemites than they did with working-class Jews, and so sanewashed violent Nazi activity and over-criticized working class Jews until all the face-eating leopards showed up right at their door.
And we’ve seen here in the States throughout the new century (and the 20th century) that even liberal-leaning news agencies will revise their positions (or silence them) once real movement starts changing over an issue. No one would be anti Iraq-war in the States, and no one would be pro-gay-marriage in the states until it was practically a done deal. Same with ending DADT.
So yeah. WaPo is Bezo’s bitch. To this day, none of the mainstream agencies will promote net neutrality or challenge IP abuses.
Speaking of trust in media. Guess what?
We have yet another “Internet bad”-type article, this time from the Atlantic.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/01/january-6-justification-machine/681215/
Re:
I’d suggest sending it to mike.
Re: Re:
Well I ain’t got a subscription to TD so I don’t exactly have access to their insider discord.
Re: Re: Re:
The submit story page works now. Here you go: https://archive.techdirt.com/submitstory.php
If Bezos didn’t want people to see him as a toady sucking up to Trump, then I can think of at least one editorial he should have spiked instead of this one.
Massive loss of subscribers, their best talent quitting every week, and today, news of big layoffs.
Watching this Jeff Bezos self-inflicted trainwreck is incredibly satisfying. Nothing is better at guaranteeing an embarrassing fail than succumbing to hubris.
On the one hand: I don’t think it was Bezos his own self that made the (initial) decision to kill the cartoon. Rather, I think it was the editor in charge that did so. Perhaps, seeing where things were going with Bezos.
On the other hand: The story’s gone viral. It’s all over the internet. And Bezos hasn’t lifted a hand to change things.
So… it’s still on him, even if he didn’t pull the cartoon initially.
I hate to say it but the WaPo’s argument that they didn’t run the cartoon because they had several editorials on the subject does make some sense.
Re:
That’s only true if you’re not particularly intelligent
Re: Son
Lets not be entirely credulous, please?
The editor did give an explanation, and that explanation did not include the word “Bezos” or “Owner” or anything to indicate that anyone else made the decision.
One can choose to believe the editor or not, and then choose to pen a vitriolic opinion piece or not.
Motivated reasoning might inform that choice, hatred and/or jealousy of course, and there’s good old-fashioned distrust of the “mainstream media”. Dash of conspiracy theory, maybe, or a personal vendetta of undisclosed origin could work as well.
Even the results of those kinds of motives might include the gist of the explanation given by the editor, I would think, so it might be ridiculed at least.
Re:
I tend to believe the cartoonist. That whole “this was about repetition, not about criticizing powerful people” excuse doesn’t come off as credible, given how I’m sure that the paper has run both an article and a political cartoon that cover the same subject on a given day.
Re: Re:
No no, they might have a point here, I mean everyone knows that after a particular paper/news channel has covered a given topic once they immediately switch over to covering something else, so clearly both an editorial/article and a cartoon would be crossing the line.
Can Big Media regain any trust they had?
Like respect, trust is earned.
Since many in the media, mainstream big boys, lack an understanding of this simple concept the answer is no.
There will be demands and ranting I suppose, probably musk demanding the invasion of someone somewhere because reasons.
Oh look, the results of the Oligarchy owning the media. SHOCKER!
Re:
As if nothing depended on the political leanings of said oligarchy. How do I know you’re talking out of your ass? You just told everyone.
Choices choices...
Problem
People are upset that you’re trying to buy your way into the good graces of the incoming dictator, what do you do?
Solution
1) Fire the person who works for you and mocked the spineless grovelling, ensuring not only that their message will garner massively more attention than it might have gotten before but that even more people will mock you.
OR
2) Stop trying to buy your way into the ‘good graces’ of someone with a demonstrable history of turning on his own supporters and who will do the same to you the second he thinks you’re anything less than absolutely loyal and obedient to him.
Re:
The thing that’s wild to me is, what’s the point of having fuck-you money if you’re not going to use it to say “fuck you”?
Re: Re: I think that changes over time
Bezos has been fabulously wealthy for a long time now. His use of ‘fuck-you money’ likely happened when he was a simple multi-millionaire.
That kind of thinking gets old after a while – you start wanting to prove that you have earned all that money by being smart about beating your opponents and naysayers, rather than the nuclear money approach. The ego must be fed.
Re: Re: Re:
Bowing and scraping and debasing yourself before a man who is manifestly unfit is a funny way to feed your ego.
Re: Re: Re:2
Fair observation. I stand corrected.
Re: Re:
It’s one of life’s great mysteries that the people who least have to worry about consequences for their words and/or actions time and time again demonstrate what spineless cowards they are.
Shoulda listened to Babra
And thus the Streisand Effect kicks in. More people will see the cartoon now than would ever have seen it had the silly man not tried to suppress it. It will probably have the distinction of being taught in universities and may we’ll come to occupy a place of honor in the Smithsonian.
Re:
But the goal here wasn’t to suppress the cartoon. It was to demonstrate obedience to Trump. He succeeded at that no matter how many people see the cartoon.
Re: Re:
Insightful comment. Well done.
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Sorry, but most people don’t trust the media because of the lies they’ve been spewing for years now. It really started to come to light the first time Trump ran for President and all they would say is Russia, Russia, Russia which turned out to be paid for by the Clinton campaign. Ever since then, all the msm outlets spit out lie after lie and not only that, but they even use the same punch lines across every network. Ones example was when they started using weird to describe JD Vance. Another was when they went on and on about Biden being sharp as a tack and running circles around everyone else. Here lately, one of those lines is claiming Elon Musk is President which is meant to drive a wedge between him and Trump, but people aren’t buying it anymore. They see it for what it is, propaganda. It’s one of many reasons Democrats lost the election.
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…Hallucinated nobody mentally competent, ever.
Re: Re:
Posting while signed out doesn’t mean anybody will genuinely think you’re an AC, Toom.
Re:
It really started to come to light the first time Trump ran for President and all they would say is Russia, Russia, Russia, which turned out to be completely true. You were saying?
To become a billionaire, you need to be ahead of your time
You can predict the future from watching the flight of the swallows or of billionaires since they are good at figuring out the paths of the insects that are their prey.
And the prediction for the U.S. is an era of fascism, of boot-licking and corruption and kleptocracy.
You rightfully blame Bezos for what he does, but if he were a person of integrity and principles, he would not be a billionaire in the first place. He is the same Bezos as before, but we are heading into times that bring out the worst in everybody.
And those without a bad bone to be brought out have never been or stayed rich.
Royalty Loyalty
It’s the new dance goin’ ’round
Royalty Loyalty
Gotta bow down to the crown
(Video for Royalty Loyalty at the link…) : )
The super rich are openly going full fascist. Historical facts are being either intentionally distorted or hidden. Zuckeberg is getting rid of fact-checking. Musk is openly using his network to spread misinformation. Bezos is actively suppressing speech and determining what goes in one of the larges newspapers in the world. They all own the giant media outfits and communications networks that are more consumed and plenty of other, less known super rich own what they don’t. History revisionism is stronger than ever.
We are screwed.
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