4 ms·

It is explicitly that now. Bezos policy change back in 2025: "Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is directing the paper’s opinion section to focus on

by Animats 8mo ago

It is explicitly that now. Bezos policy change back in 2025: "Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is directing the paper’s opinion section to focus on “personal liberties and free markets,” he announced Wednesday, leading to editorial page editor David Shipley’s resignation."[1] [1] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/26/jeff-bezos-washington-post-opinion-022790 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/26/jeff-bezos-washingt...

timr 8mo ago
[flagged]
- redserk 8mo ago
  No, the opinion section was absolutely not pushed towards libertarianism. Have you read it recently?
  - timr 8mo ago
    Yes.
  - watwut 8mo ago
    Libertarianism is just an euphemism for "authoritarian righ-wing, but dont want to admit it out loud" in most cases.
    - bnlxbnlx 8mo ago
      by now [1], yes. but in my experience not a very popular view on HN. expect downvotes. [1] i find peter thiel's speech at libertopia in 2010 a great early reflection of that shift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgH7Lv2gQdk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgH7Lv2gQdk
    - deleted 8mo ago
      [deleted]
- jrflowers 8mo ago
  I like that you say that the opinion you quoted is uncharitable and then agree with it. >Bezos pushed the paper's editorial slant toward libertarian
  - timr 8mo ago
    > I like that you say that the opinion you quoted is uncharitable and then agree with it. To people who disagree with you, your opinion is always trivially dismissed as "propaganda". This is neither insightful nor charitable, and applies universally to actors on any side of a political debate.
    - surgical_fire 8mo ago
      The word propaganda has a meaning. In this case I think it was used correctly. Propaganda as opposed to information (what one would naively expect from a newspaper). While a regular newspaper article would inform, propaganda would deceive with the intention of convincing people of some idea. And frankly, Bezos does very little to deserve charity when people evaluate his actions.
      - timr 8mo ago
        > Propaganda as opposed to information (what one would naively expect from a newspaper). > While a regular newspaper article would inform, propaganda would deceive with the intention of convincing people of some idea We're talking about the opinion section. The editorial board writes opinions. You're fundamentally just upset that they switched from writing about opinions you prefer, to ones that you don't like, but they've always been engaged in what you're characterizing as propaganda.
        surgical_fire 8mo ago
        An opinion section can be spreading propaganda. Labeling a session as "opinion" in a newspaper should not give it free pass to say any sort of bullshit. And I am not upset at anything. I was never a Washington Post reader.

by Animats 8mo ago

timr 8mo ago

[flagged]

redserk 8mo ago
No, the opinion section was absolutely not pushed towards libertarianism. Have you read it recently?
- timr 8mo ago
  Yes.
- watwut 8mo ago
  Libertarianism is just an euphemism for "authoritarian righ-wing, but dont want to admit it out loud" in most cases.
  - bnlxbnlx 8mo ago
    by now [1], yes. but in my experience not a very popular view on HN. expect downvotes. [1] i find peter thiel's speech at libertopia in 2010 a great early reflection of that shift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgH7Lv2gQdk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgH7Lv2gQdk
  - deleted 8mo ago
    [deleted]
jrflowers 8mo ago
I like that you say that the opinion you quoted is uncharitable and then agree with it. >Bezos pushed the paper's editorial slant toward libertarian
- timr 8mo ago
  > I like that you say that the opinion you quoted is uncharitable and then agree with it. To people who disagree with you, your opinion is always trivially dismissed as "propaganda". This is neither insightful nor charitable, and applies universally to actors on any side of a political debate.
  - surgical_fire 8mo ago
    The word propaganda has a meaning. In this case I think it was used correctly. Propaganda as opposed to information (what one would naively expect from a newspaper). While a regular newspaper article would inform, propaganda would deceive with the intention of convincing people of some idea. And frankly, Bezos does very little to deserve charity when people evaluate his actions.
    - timr 8mo ago
      > Propaganda as opposed to information (what one would naively expect from a newspaper). > While a regular newspaper article would inform, propaganda would deceive with the intention of convincing people of some idea We're talking about the opinion section. The editorial board writes opinions. You're fundamentally just upset that they switched from writing about opinions you prefer, to ones that you don't like, but they've always been engaged in what you're characterizing as propaganda.
      - surgical_fire 8mo ago
        An opinion section can be spreading propaganda. Labeling a session as "opinion" in a newspaper should not give it free pass to say any sort of bullshit. And I am not upset at anything. I was never a Washington Post reader.