Katherine Maher, the new CEO of National Public Radio (NPR), once proudly talked about enforcing censorship on behalf of government officials.
In a video shared by journalist Christopher Rufo, Maher, who previously led Wikipedia, mentioned her active approach to tackling disinformation based on discussions with government officials through 2020. She also stated that this approach was seen as a model for future elections in other countries.
Before becoming the CEO of the left-leaning, publicly-funded NPR last month, Maher was the CEO of Wikimedia Foundation from March 2016 to April 2021, as indicated on her LinkedIn profile. pageThe Wikimedia Foundation manages Wikipedia, the seventh most popular website globally. It was during Maher’s time in charge that Wikipedia sought to alter The Federalist’s online entry. In February 2021, Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger raised concerns about the online encyclopedia's leftward shift. eliminate The Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this year in the case involving the federal government pressuring private tech companies to silence online dissent. The lawsuit revealed widespread federal government pressure on online information providers to silence critics of the government, contradict government officials, or highlight government mistakes.
Last year footage shows Maher expressing her disbelief in the existence of objective truth. condemned In 2020, Maher also wrote to defend looting during the nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death.
As NPR chief, one of Maher’s initial actions was to discredit a whistleblower from the network’s senior editors. Former NPR Senior Business Editor Uri Berliner resigned after publishing an exposé criticizing his company’s propaganda culture in The Free Press. (formerly In the exposé, Berliner noted the lack of open-mindedness at NPR and its failure to reflect America's diversity in both its audience and journalism.Maher publicly rebuked the op-ed, describing it as “profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning,” in a message to NPR employees.
Maher emphasized the importance of maintaining NPR's accountability as a public trust established by Congress over 50 years ago. TED Talk Berliner's report highlighted how NPR editors dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as a “waste of time on stories that are not really stories.”
Berliner, a 25-year experienced person of the outlet, was
from NPR Tuesday. He resigned Wednesday as dozens of colleagues signed a riots to demand a stronger reprimand of him from the CEO.
“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am insulted by a new CEO whose divisive opinions confirm the very issues at NPR I mention in my Free Press essay,” he wrote. NPR CEO Katherine Maher boasted about aiding in the implementation of a censorship system on behalf of government officials. from among the network’s own senior editors. Former NPR Senior Business Editor Uri Berliner resigned from NPR today after he published an exposé of his company’s propaganda culture last week in The Free Press.
“An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America,” wrote Berliner in his Free Press article last week. “That wouldn’t be a problem for an openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience. But for NPR, which purports to consider all things, it’s devastating both for its journalism and its business model.”
On Friday, Maher wrote in a public message to employees that Berliner’s op-ed was “profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning.”
“We recognize that this work is a public trust, one established by Congress more than 50 years ago with the creation of the public broadcasting system,” Maher said. “In order to hold that trust, we owe it our continued, rigorous accountability.”
Berliner noted in his report last week that NPR editors dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story revealing corruption related to his vice president father as a “waste” of “time on stories that are not really stories.”
Berliner, a 25-year veteran of the outlet, was suspended from NPR Tuesday. He resigned Wednesday as dozens of colleagues signed a letter to demand a tougher rebuke of him from the CEO.
“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay,” he wrote.
