Washington Post lost 200,000 subscribers due to refusal to support US presidential candidates
Photo: Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post (Getty Images)
The Washington Post has withdrawn its support for the US presidential candidates. In this regard, more than 200,000 people canceled their digital subscriptions to protest this move, Reuters reports.
According to a report by National Public Radio (NPR), WP refused to endorse the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Many readers, outraged by this decision, publicly criticized the owner of the agency, Jeff Bezos.
In his article, Bezos notes that the media is often perceived as biased and that refusing to support candidates helps to increase the credibility of the agency. He added that none of the candidates were informed or consulted about the decision and assured that it was not related to the meeting between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the CEO of Blue Origin that took place on the same day.
“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. 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 emphasizes.
He also notes that elections are not won through editorial support, and the agency's impartiality remains a key priority.
According to NPR, the massive cancellation of subscriptions amounted to about 8% of the total subscriber base of 2.5 million people. Several columnists left their posts in protest.
US elections
On November 5, the US will hold a presidential election. The main contenders for the post are the representative of the Republican Party Donald Trump and the candidate of the Democratic Party Kamala Harris.
According to the latest sociological data, Trump is ahead of Harris in the ratings, although with a slight advantage.
However, according to a Bloomberg poll, both candidates have equal chances in seven key states.
In addition, Trump and his vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance recently presented a plan to end the war in Ukraine. They proposed a model of a frozen conflict with the creation of autonomous regions on both sides of the demilitarized zone and the condition that Kyiv does not join NATO.
