--- title: "Jeff Bezos Cosplays as Humble Newspaperman" description: "After kiboshing his staff's endorsement of Kamala Harris, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has finally spoken out." date: "2024-10-29" modified: "2024-10-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/jeff-bezos-cosplays-wapo" categories: - "Future Society" - "Jeff Bezos" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "jeff bezos" - "politics" - "the digest" - "the washington post" --- # Jeff Bezos Cosplays as Humble Newspaperman ![After kiboshing his staff's endorsement of Kamala Harris, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has finally spoken out.]() *\Image: Steve Granitz / FilmMagic via Getty / Futurism\* ## We the Media After [kiboshing his staff's endorsement]() of Kamala Harris for president, *Washington Post* owner Jeff Bezos has finally spoken out — and laughably, the billionaire is wrapping himself in the mantle of a humble newspaperman to justify meddling in the newspaper's operations. In an [editorial for *WaPo*](), the Amazon founder suggested that [eschewing the paper's tradition of presidential endorsements]() would somehow lend the outlet more credibility with the [journalism-critical set](). In doing so, he used a lot of "we" statements that made it seem very much that he thinks of himself as a member of the media rather than an uber-rich guy who bought a newspaper. "We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate," Bezos wrote. "It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement." While there's no denying that a lot of people distrust the media at large, Bezos' rhetoric betrays a lot of assumptions that don't hold up. For one thing, Bezos seems to be laboring under the impression that he and his staff are a unified front. That**'**s obviously at odds with the actual state of play, given that *WaPo*'s rank and file have done everything from [penning editorials of their own]() to [resigning en masse]() to distance themselves from the non-endorsement decision. For another, it seems nearly impossible that [anyone who questions the accuracy]() of a storied newspaper's reporting [is going to be swayed]() by its owner's decision not to endorse either presidential candidate. So why is Bezos trying to do so this late in the game? ## Pandering Politics Playing into the [illusion of journalistic objectivity](), Bezos went on to assert that "presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election" — a statement he could have ended his diatribe with, but chose not to. "No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, 'I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.' None," he wrote. "What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence." But ironically, it's Bezos himself who has fueled *WaPo*'s "perception of non-independence" by killing its chosen endorsement. Though he went on to say that there is "no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here," that hardly matters when the man crying journalistic integrity has [much more in common]() with the top of the GOP ticket than the [staffers whose wishes he overruled](). "You can see my wealth and business interests as a bulwark against intimidation, or you can see them as a web of conflicting interests," he wrote. "Only my own principles can tip the balance from one to the other." Right now, those "principles" seem milquetoast at best — and [disingenuous at worst](). **More on Bezos' bad decision:** [*Jeff Bezos Reportedly Has Secretive "Personal Reasons" for Wanting to Escape to Mars*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()