The nature of any newspaper’s opinion section makes it unique compared to the others. Some of the more strict rules of journalism reporting and style do not always apply when writing an opinion, and every paper functions differently. Opinions do not have to be reports of plain facts, but instead, taking those verified facts and making something out of them, designating meaning and calling for action. 

Theoretically, the strongest opinion section is as diverse as opinions in society are, platforming the most well-defended and creative ones that attempt to make sense of and direct action toward the world. A good newspaper owner will take this in mind and organize their opinions section to be diverse, driven towards the focus of the specific paper, whether that be local news, a certain community or an issue. 

Unless, of course, you are billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In which case you can just do whatever you feel like doing, apparently. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Bezos, who bought The Washington Post in 2013, announced to their opinion section that “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.”

Firstly, the subject matter of Bezos’ crusade was awkwardly put. It is one thing to support and defend “personal liberties” and “free markets.” But in and of itself, that does not necessarily mean anything. In a predictably corporate fashion, the billionaire’s command comes across as vague and inoffensive. But what are the contours of these issues that stand out to him?

In his memo, Bezos tries to answer this question by saying, “I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion.” This is a cheap justification. The concept that the enthusiastic defense of capitalism and libertarian freedom has been under some Orwellian crackdown is a tired trope by now. 

It has been established since the ’70s that hardcore political activists have felt the media environment was catered toward their political opposition, out to silence their views. However, this has less to do with evidence of certain political views being turned into pariahs by a hostile media environment and more to do with news consumers’ own deep political biases. 

They do not like to hear or see views that diverge from theirs or find compelling evidence that supports them. They just want to be told they are always right and always good. At best, their illusion is misinformed. At worst, it is tantamount to mass delusion.

So, if this explanation is just partisan fluff, what other possible reason could Bezos want to enforce ideological conformity at The Washington Post? Well, he tries to argue that the need for a broad-ranging opinion section is done and gone. “There was a time when a newspaper (…) might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views,” he wrote in his memo. “Today, the internet does that job.”

This is patently false. Exposure to a broad range of opinions online does not make internet users more well-rounded. Partisans have been found to exaggerate not only the extremity of their opponents but their opponent’s negative feelings about them as well. This is exacerbated by the online communication infrastructure being too weak to effectively communicate users’ emotions.

Despite Bezos’ claim, the mere ability to access opinions online does not lead to the kind of well-rounded citizens he thinks it is. Shocker, a billionaire is out of touch with reality. And this is not even considering the whirlwind of internet echo chambers that solidify these false and exaggerated views about opposite partisans and their beliefs.

So, again, the question becomes, what is this all about? What does Bezos really want besides a full-throated defense of his vague and meaningless concept of freedom? Maybe the answer lies in the purse, Bezos’, that is. Amazon joined a laundry list of major corporations that donated $1 million or more to the Trump Inauguration in January. 

Couple this with his numerous visits to Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort before the inauguration and just after his announcement to The Washington Post, and the truth becomes clear. It is not that people no longer need access to a wide array of opinions or that conservative and libertarian views are being attacked and shut down. 

Under Trump, there is money to be made in exploiting the paranoia and insecurity of the weak brand of ‘broservatism’ he has built since his bitter 2020 election loss. With his intrusion on the independence of Washinton Post’s opinion section, Bezos is betting he too can take advantage of the people who voted for Trump, who will forever wait for promises that could never be kept to be fulfilled rather than defect.

We cannot let billionaires and corporate executives think that the opinion landscape can simplybe bought and sold to exploit vulnerable and unstable media markets.This is antithetical to the ideal opinion section and the integrity of all news media. 

More than ever, we need strong, diverse and evidence-based opinions to be platformed by our publications and shared for readers to see beyond the noise. If Bezos, or any other billionaire or CEO for that matter, wants to hear their own opinions so badly, they can write it themselves.