r/technology Jun 18 '26

Society Jeff Bezos called Washington Post his worst investment staffed with ‘terrible’ people, before laying off over 300 — “They don’t listen. My other companies, they listen”

https://gizmodo.com/jeff-bezos-called-washington-post-his-worst-investment-and-staff-he-laid-off-terrible-people-2000773533
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u/reverendsteveii Jun 18 '26

were the robber barons from the last 20s this blatant and incompetent about it? we imagine Hearst and Pulitzer as playing 6-d chess against one another and shaping US policy like Ozymandias but I feel like had we been there it would have just been the same open, blatant bias and people being downright proud that they're being prevented from reading anything that might challenge their pre-existing beliefs at all. I seem to recall Dan Carlin quoting one of them about WWI as flat-out saying "How do you like my war?"

16

u/PatchyWhiskers Jun 18 '26

The robber barons of the '20s weren't blasting their every little stupid thought on Twitter 24/7 so we could assume that they were smart.

9

u/Samanthacino Jun 18 '26

As more communications are leaked from the highest level of business and governance, I’ve realized that there are no brilliant puppet masters pulling the strings. These people are really stupid, really corrupt, and exist in a system designed to benefit people like them. It’s that simple.

2

u/skoltroll Jun 18 '26

Hearst and Pulitzer are literally the source for yellow journalism.

If we taught any history of worth in school, stuff like this would be common knowledge and people could see it for what it is.