To some, this announcement might come as a surprise. But to many, the collapse of the once popular Pulitzer Prize-winning publication has been seen as a disaster in the making.
Buzzfeed News, which rose to prominence for their genius marketing abilities by capturing social media users through emotions and clickbait headlines like "10 reasons why," fell down the pipeline when the publication failed to remain objective and frequently published false stories -- most notably during the Trump administration. The publication's biased left-wing reporting ultimately alienated millions of readers, which is the result we are seeing today.
1. Turns out crummy listicles don't pay in the long run. Who knew?
Buzzfeed News CEO John Peretti announced the permanent closure of the website on Thursday, and said that the company's CRO, Edgar Hernandez, and COO, Christian Baker, were leaving the publication.
"The changes the Business Organization is making today are focused on reducing layers in their organization, increasing speed and effectiveness of pitches, streamlining our product mix, doubling down on creators, and beginning to bring AI enhancements to every aspect of our sales process. While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we've determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News," Peretti said, according to Town Hall.
2. On issues like LGBTQ insanity and "anti-racism," BuzzFeed said "there are not two sides" and they wouldn't even pretend to offer objective reporting.According to Buzzfeed's News Standards and Ethics Guide, found under the category "activism," the company discloses that they do not display objectivity and writes, "We firmly believe that for a number of issues, including civil rights, women's rights, anti-racism, and LGBT equality, there are not two sides."
3. According to FAIR, a left-wing media watchdog, BuzzFeed's coverage of Barack Obama was so fawning that it was "creepy" and "sycophantic."
Instead of doing basic journalism and holding politicians to account, FAIR found that Buzzfeed News acted as a campaign team for the Obama administration. According to a report from 2016, FAIR found that out of the 100 stories Buzzfeed published regarding the Obama administration, "65 were positive, 34 were neutral and only one was critical. You can view the list here."
4. They published the discredited Clinton-financed "pee tape dossier" as "news."
In 2017, Buzzfeed News unapologetically published Hillary Clinton's discredited Steele dossier that targeted former President Donald Trump in an attempt to further perpetuate the Russia Collusion Hoax.
5. They published a hitpiece claiming President Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, which Robert Mueller had to break protocol to immediately call out as false.
In an article published in January of 2019 titled, "President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project," Buzzfeed News reporters Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier's reportedly false allegations took the nation by storm. The Buzzfeed report claimed that former President Donald Trump instructed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about colluding with Russia, which turned out to be a hoax. The report went viral and Special Counsel Robert Mueller was forced to break protocol and issue a statement, calling Buzzfeed's reporting "false," according to CBS News.
Despite the false reporting, Buzzfeed issued a statement and said the publication stands behind their reporters.
6. They had to fire their top tech reporter, Ryan Broderick, after it turned out he'd been plagiarizing people for his entire career.
The senior reporter was fired in June of 2020 after Mark Schoofs, editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed, found that Broderick had plagiarized or incorrectly sources eleven articles, according to New York Post.
7. Nobody wanted to read them. Good riddance.
The Buzzfeed CEO explained that the company will recenter itself around their sister company, The HuffPost, a progressive news site, which will become the company's primary publication.
