Echoes of the Lugenpresse: Unmasking Axios and its Israeli Ties |
There is a well-worn playbook for seizing power over information. First, declare the existing press corrupt, dishonest and contemptible, then position yourself as the only clean , honest, and ‘worthy’ alternative. Finally, use that claimed moral high ground to attack any criticism as coming from the very rot you claim to have cured.
Adolf Hitler perfected it with his Lugenpresse ‘ The ‘lying press’. Donald Trump revived it with ‘fake news’ and ‘ enemy of the people’. And now, a ubiquitous ,sleek, bullet -pointed American news outlet quietly adopted the same rhetorical strategy, wrapped in a minimalist logo . The promise to establish only what is ‘worthy’ of the reader’s time, hence the name Axios, a Greek word for ‘ worthy’. With its mission statement about ‘smart brevity’ to facilitate quick reading, ( shorter than 300 words) with bullet points, Axios became incredibly influential especially during the latest Middle East crisis.
Though Axios presents itself as a solution to a broken media landscape, the irony is that its own foundations are built on something far less innocent: deep undisclosed ties to the Israeli state. This year Axios turns ten. A decade of Israeli manipulation.
Though Axios presents itself as a solution to a broken media landscape, the irony is that its own foundations are built on something far less innocent: deep undisclosed ties to the Israeli state. This year Axios turns ten. A decade of Israeli manipulation.
The Founding Lie: ‘Media is Broken’
Axios was founded in 2016 by three former Politico journalists: Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. In VandeHei’s words, ‘media is broken- and too often a scam’. Put in historical perspective, the comparison becomes something more sinister. The accusation that the press is fundamentally corrupt, i.e cannot be trusted, and that it produces ‘ crap’ ( VanderHei’s term’) is the same accusation that populist authoritarians have used to clear ground for their own information monopolies. Hitler’s Lugenpresse was a wholesale de-legitimization of any independent journalism that stood in his way. Trump’s ‘fake news’ operates almost identically.
The founders of Axios certainly did not intend to draw a parallel to the Lugenpresse, but they built a brand name on the same rhetorical foundation: we are the only honest ones and everyone else is broken.
The founders of Axios certainly did not intend to draw a parallel to the Lugenpresse, but they built a brand name on the same rhetorical foundation: we are the only honest ones and everyone else is broken.
The Israeli thread running through Axios
To see through the branding, we need to examine........