‘How Billionaires Flex Their Power’: Business Insider’s ‘Review’ of Story on Bill Ackman’s Wife Sparks Fierce Backlash

AP Photo/Richard Drew

The media world was roiled over the weekend by the announcement that Business Insider’s parent company, Axel Springer, initiated an internal “review” of the “process” and “motivation” behind a story on plagiarism allegations made against former MIT Media Lab Professor Neri Oxman – who is also the wife of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

Ackman has been making headlines in recent months for his outspoken activism regarding rising anti-Semitism on college campuses and campaign to oust Harvard President Claudine Gay – who resigned over allegations of widespread plagiarism in her academic career.

Business Insider’s report, which held Oxman plagiarized from Wikipedia among other sources, made clear it was calling out what it saw as hypocrisy on Ackman’s part. Ackman “used revelations unearthed by right-wing activists that Harvard president Claudine Gay had plagiarized dozens of times across the body of her academic work to underscore his calls for her resignation,” wrote the article, noting that Ackman had initially sought Gay’s removal related to her handling of anti-Semitism and pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Before the internal review was announced by Axel Springer, Ackman had publicly called out the company and its owner. “I had forgotten Axel Springer had acquired Business Insider. Axel Springer is now controlled by KKR. I am therefore incredibly shocked by the conduct of a company controlled by KKR, a firm that I have had enormous respect for over the years. I hope they have no idea what is going on in their Business Insider subsidiary, but I am going to look into it,” Ackman wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

On Sunday, Axel Springer announced its review of the story, the facts of which have not been disputed.

New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin shared a statement from the company, noting, “BI parent Axel Springer says it’s going to take ‘a couple of days’ to ‘review the processes’ around BI’s stories related to Neri Oxman, an academic and Bill Ackman’s wife, even though ‘the facts of the reports have not been disputed.’”

Semafor’s Max Tani added more detail later in the evening about the internal discussions inside Axel Springer, writing, “Some company leaders have debated whether Ackman’s wife was fair game for reporting, and have been concerned that the report could be construed as antisemitic and anti-Zionist. (Oxman was born and raised in Israel.)”

Mullin tweeted Axel Springer’s initial statement, which led to a quick backlash among many journalists and media observers.

Author Jacob Silverman shared the statement, writing, “Axel Springer is majority owned by KKR, friends of Ackman whom he’s cited in recent tweets. This is how billionaires flex their power.” KKR refers to private equity and investment banking giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Alex Shultz, the former political editor of the SF Gate replied, “among other reasons this is obnoxious interference from the C-suite at Axel Springer: it’s clearly intended to stifle/muddle any follow-up stories BI might be working on about Ackman/his wife.”

“Very instructive to see how basic principles of journalistic independence are quickly being thrown aside in defense of plutocracy,” added The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

Ackman also replied to Mullin’s tweet, writing, “We expect to dispute a substantial number of facts in the story. Unfortunately we were never given the opportunity to analyse the facts before Business Insider published its story 90 minutes after alleging plagiarism in a 6,900 word email. Once we have completed our analysis we will revert with corrections of the record.”

Axel Springer did find some defenders as well. Geoffrey Ingersoll, editor in chief of the hard right Daily Caller, replied, “In a vacuum, perhaps at the campus newspaper or some local, an Oxman plagiarized material story might hold up.”

“In context though, it looks like the public service angle on this story is extremely weak. Both articles imply Ackman and disgraced former Harvard President Claudine Gay are the motivation for digging into Ackman’s family. It is unlikely to end up in discovery, but if it did, I’m sure it would be embarrassing for BI,” Ingersoll added.

“I worked at business insider for about five seconds. The short time I was there was enough to leave me completely unsurprised by their behavior in going after @NeriOxman. Being @BillAckman’s wife is not a reason to be targeted,” added Daniella Greenbaum Davis, a former producer of The View.

Below are some more reactions to Axel Springer’s statement:

https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1744219691755655435

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