Elizabeth Warren Takes Aim at ‘Private Equity Firms’ After G/O Media Shuts Down Splinter: They’re ‘Wiping Out’ News Outlets
Joseph Prezioso, AFP/Getty Images
Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) responded to the closure of left-wing news outlet Splinter in a Twitter post, Friday, where she warned private equity firms that she plans to hold them accountable for “wiping out” news sites.
“Private equity firms are sucking value out of our companies, putting people out of work, and wiping out newspapers and digital news outlets like [Splinter],” Warren declared. “I have a plan to hold these firms accountable.”
Private equity firms are sucking value out of our companies, putting people out of work, and wiping out newspapers and digital news outlets like @Splinter_News. I have a plan to hold these firms accountable. https://t.co/UxpLzyozU2
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 11, 2019
In the post, Warren also linked to an article from the now-defunct Splinter about private equity firms which own digital news outlets, titled, “The Working Person’s Guide to the Industry That Might Kill Your Company.”
“Just like $2.5 trillion worth of companies around the world, the company publishing the story you are now reading is owned by private equity firms,” reads the article. “Most people have little idea what the private equity industry actually does. The truth is terrifying.”
Splinter was closed by its parent company G/O Media on Thursday, with the company citing “a fiercely competitive sector” as its reason to shut down the outlet.
On the same day, a leaked email showed G/O Media had warned editors and reporters at its other outlets against reporting on Splinter’s closure.
“Any reference to Splinter in anything we publish needs my prior approval, as per our editorial policy,” the email warned. “Please make sure all your staff are aware of that. You will be accountable if anything not approved by me gets published.”
G/O Media owns Gizmodo, Kotaku, the A.V. Club, Jezebel, Deadspin, the Root, Lifehacker, the Takeout, the Inventory, the Onion, and Clickhole.
