Jeff Bezos And his companies seem to be doing everything they can to win Donald Trump’s favor before he returns to the Oval Office.
These include: Donated $1M to Trump Inauguration via Amazon Recently dined with Trump and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago. And, of course, there has been a surge in editor support for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to run for office. washington postBezos also owns it. mail As many as 300,000 subscribers canceled immediately after that.
It looks like there’s a new addition to this list starting this weekend. first of all, washington post Killed Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Telnaes’ cartoon satirizing the tech and media billionaires who fell at Trump’s feet. The cartoon includes a sketch of Bezos. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Meta, who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee; Sam Altman of OpenAI, who donated $1 million; Patrick Soon-Shiong LA Timeswho killed the paper’s support for Harris; The Walt Disney Company, owner of ABC News, recently made the controversial decision to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump.
that washington mail‘s editorial page editor David Shipley said in a statement to The Associated Press that he killed the cartoon. mail I recently published a column on the same issue and another column was due to be published. “Not all editorial judgments reflect malevolent forces…” he said. “The only bias was against repetition.”
.@AnnTelnaes Resigned after Washington Post editorial page killed her cartoons. It’s worth sharing.
Big Tech executives are bending the knee to Donald Trump, and it’s no surprise why. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos love paying lower tax rates than public school teachers. pic.twitter.com/xv6e5dJVf4
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 4, 2025
In the Substack section where she announced she was quitting: mail Protesting the decision, Telnaes called the episode “dangerous for free speech.”
“Owners of such media organizations have a responsibility to protect press freedom, and trying to win the favor of a dictator-in-waiting will only result in a weakening of press freedom,” Telnaes wrote.
The Board of Directors of the American Editorial Cartoonists Association supported Telnaes in a statement, saying:of the postThe more you shrink, the more you tarnish your once famous reputation for standing up and speaking truth to power. “We mourn the loss of this once great newspaper.”
that mail Bezos isn’t the only media company in the news this weekend. Amazon Studios is reportedly helping produce a documentary focusing on soon-to-be first lady and conspiracy theorist Melania Trump. Fox News reports that Amazon Prime has licensed the documentary, which is scheduled to be released in theaters and streaming later this year. Filming began last month, and Melania is serving as executive producer, Fox reported.
Not to mention the cliché phenomenon of celebrities making documentaries about themselves as a publicity stunt (remember the six-hour Harry and Meghan Netflix special?), but given the content of her memoir of the same name, it seems likely that this documentary will come out. Please keep in mind. actually Giving Melania an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” as Amazon claims seems low. An Amazon representative did not respond to questions. mother jonesIncluding the extent of Bezos’ involvement and whether Melania will have control over the film’s editing.
As our CEO Monika Bauerlein said, this is a good time to remember. Newsrooms owned by billionaires are not our only options.
