Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos defended his publication’s decision not to back a presidential candidate ahead of the Nov. 5 election, insisting political endorsements “create a perception of bias.”
In an op-ed, Bezos argued his newspaper ending its long-running practice of endorsing a candidate for the White House is a “principled decision, and it’s the right one.”
“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. 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.”
Washington Post CEO and Publisher Will Lewis announced on Friday was forgoing its pick for president, leading to outrage inside and outside of the newsroom.
More than 200,000 Washington Post readers have ended their digital subscriptions following the controversial decision, NPR reported on Monday.
And a few opinion section staffers have also stepped down.
