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‘Americans Don’t Trust The News Media’: Bezos Speaks Out After WaPo Chose Not To Endorse Harris

Published

4 months ago

4 minute read

From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

 

By Mariane Angela

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Monday that the Post’s decision not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris is in response to a larger issue of media credibility being eroded.

Bezos pointed to the recent surveys on trust and public reputation, with media institutions consistently ranking near the bottom, in the article titled “The Hard Truth: Americans Don’t Trust the News Media,” published in the opinion section of the Post. This year, however, Gallup reports an even more dire verdict that journalism now holds the lowest spot in American trust, with Bezos arguing media credibility has eroded not only because of perceived biases but also due to an industry tendency to ignore public perception.

Bezos further explained that the most recent backlash surrounding the Post’s decision not to endorse Harris only highlights a growing issue that trust in the press depends on two pillars — the coverage being accurate, and it must be broadly trusted to be accurate. The choice not to endorse provoked outrage across liberal circles, but as Bezos stated in a rare public response, the decision is rooted not in partisanship but in a commitment to genuine independence.

“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.’ None. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Bezos wrote.

Bezos acknowledged that this choice might appear strategically timed to favor one candidate over another, especially given a coincidental meeting between a top executive from Blue Origin, a company which Bezos also owns, and former President Donald Trump on the same day.

“I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision,” he wrote to clarify that the decision was made internally.

Even so, Bezos is acutely aware of the larger challenges facing his newspaper and the industry at large, as the media’s credibility problem is neither isolated nor new. “Increasingly, we talk only to a certain elite,” Bezos reflected, contrasting today’s diminished public reach to the 80% household penetration WaPo achieved in the D.C. metro area during the 1990s.

“Now more than ever the world needs a credible, trusted, independent voice, and where better for that voice to originate than the capital city of the most important country in the world? To win this fight, we will have to exercise new muscles,” Bezos added.

WaPo reportedly saw a drop of over 200,000 subscriptions after CEO and Publisher William Lewis announced that, for the first time in decades, the paper’s editorial board will not endorse a presidential candidate, NPR reported. Following the decision, several staff members who supported Harris reportedly resigned in protest.

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Jihadis behead 70 Christians in DR Congo church

Published on February 21, 2025

By

MXM logo  MxM News

Quick Hit:

Seventy Christians were brutally murdered by jihadists affiliated with ISIS in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The victims were forced into a Protestant church and beheaded, marking one of the deadliest attacks on Christians in the region.

Key Details:

  • The attack occurred on February 13 in the town of Kasanga, where members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to ISIS, rounded up villagers and executed them inside a Protestant church.
  • Open Doors UK, a human rights organization, reported that the ADF targeted 70 Christian villages, leaving families too terrified to bury their dead for a week.
  • The international community has largely ignored the atrocity, with few public statements condemning the violence, except from Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, Tristan Azbej.

 

Diving Deeper:

Open Doors UK revealed that the massacre took place when the ADF militants surrounded the village of Maybe, forcibly removing residents from their homes. The 70 Christian villagers were herded into an abandoned Protestant church in Kasanga and systematically executed by beheading. The church had been previously deserted due to escalating security threats in the area.

The ADF, an Islamist militant group linked to ISIS, has been responsible for numerous violent attacks across northeastern DRC. Their objective is to overthrow the governments of the DRC and Uganda to establish a caliphate, similar to the one ISIS formed in Syria and Iraq. The group has intensified its activities in the mineral-rich North Kivu province, killing at least 200 people in the past month alone.

The aftermath of the attack has left surviving Christians in fear, prompting many to flee the region. A church elder from CECA-20, the Evangelical Community in Central Africa, expressed despair, stating, “We don’t know what to do or how to pray. We’ve had enough of massacres. May God’s will alone be done.”

Open Doors UK strongly condemned the attack, urging governments and international organizations to prioritize civilian protection in eastern DRC. Despite the magnitude of the atrocity, international media coverage has been minimal. Social media users have criticized the lack of global attention to the incident.

Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, Tristan Azbej, was one of the few international figures to respond publicly. He expressed horror at the killings, calling the victims “Christian martyrs” and emphasizing the need for global recognition and action against Christian persecution.

The violence underscores the ongoing security crisis in the DRC, where numerous militant groups, including the ADF, continue to vie for control over the region’s valuable mineral resources. As the humanitarian situation worsens, the international community faces growing pressure to respond to the escalating persecution of Christians in the region.

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International

Mexico to reform constitution after Trump designates cartels as terrorist organizations

Published on February 21, 2025

By

MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans to propose constitutional reforms following U.S. President Donald Trump’s designation of six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Key Details:

  • The U.S. designation targets six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, published in the Federal Register on Thursday.
  • Sheinbaum’s proposed reforms would protect Mexico’s sovereignty and limit foreign agents’ operations within the country.
  • The reforms would also impose severe penalties on foreigners involved in gun trafficking, addressing Mexico’s longstanding demand for stricter U.S. gun control measures.

Diving Deeper:

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed plans to propose constitutional reforms in response to the Trump administration’s recent designation of six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. action, announced on Thursday, has raised concerns in Mexico about potential military intervention on its soil, an idea Mexico strongly opposes.

“The Mexican people will not accept under any circumstances interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that could be harmful to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the nation,” Sheinbaum asserted during her daily press briefing. She emphasized that Mexico would not allow outside involvement in investigations or prosecutions without authorization and collaboration from the Mexican government.

The U.S. designations are part of a broader effort to increase pressure on the cartels by treating them similarly to groups with political motives rather than purely economic interests. The decision follows a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump, aiming to curb cartel operations that contribute to violence and instability in the region.

Sheinbaum’s proposal seeks to solidify existing restrictions on foreign agents operating in Mexico, which were first introduced by her predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Those laws limited the independence of foreign agents, requiring Mexican authorities to be informed of their movements. By enshrining these restrictions in the constitution, Sheinbaum aims to further safeguard Mexico’s sovereignty.

Additionally, Sheinbaum plans to introduce severe penalties for foreigners involved in gun trafficking, a longstanding issue in U.S.-Mexico relations. Mexico has repeatedly called on the U.S. to do more to prevent the flow of firearms from American gun shops and manufacturers into Mexico. With majorities in both chambers of Congress, Sheinbaum’s Morena party and its allies are well-positioned to pass the proposed constitutional amendments.

“What we want to make clear in the face of this designation is that we do not negotiate sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said, signaling her firm stance against any potential foreign military action on Mexican territory. As the situation develops, the proposed reforms are likely to shape Mexico’s domestic and international policy landscape, especially in its ongoing relationship with the U.S. under President Trump’s administration.

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