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CNN says concern over massive government payouts to outlets like Politico is a 'false right-wing conspiracy theory'
 [THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] The federal government spent over $8 million on subscriptions to PoliticoPro during the Biden administration, a fact which was not known to the American public on the lam until it was revealed on Wednesday amid the fiscal investigations of the Department of Government Efficiency. In response to the critique from taxpayers, politicians and officials alike, Politico released a statement saying that the media outlet "has never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies."Brian "Mr. Potato" Stelter called the claim that Politico was receiving government subsidies "rampant right-wing misinformation." He shared the memo from the outlet's heads, Goli Sheikholeslami and John Harris, which claimed that the outlet had not received government funding. The BBC also put out a statement to justify the funding that their BBC Media Action group has received from USAID. Addressed to the "Team," that memo reads: "As surely many of you saw today, there was a spirited discussion at the White House and among officials connected to the Department of Government Efficiency on the subject of government subscriptions for journalism products, at POLITICO and other news organizations. "This is a fine conversation to have, and we welcome it. The value of POLITICO subscriptions is validated daily in the marketplace. Some parts of today's conversation, however, were confusing and left some people with false understandings. For this reason, we want you to hear from us on several points. POLITICO has never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies—not one cent, ever, in 18 years. "We have offered a professional subscription service, starting with POLITICO Pro, since 2012. It provides both private and public sector clients with granular, fact-based reporting, real-time intelligence, and tracking tools across key policy areas. We are proud of the value our POLITICO Pro platform and policy journalism gives to all subscribers. As a practical matter, the overwhelming majority of our professional subscriptions under POLITICO Pro are in the private sector. Posted by: Fred 2025-02-09 |
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