Well… that’s dramatic
“Democracy Dies in Darkness” may sound like Batman’s battle cry, but now the slogan belongs to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post. The paper has added this dramatic line to its online masthead, and people are freaking out.
Not a new saying
The motto has been used in the past by legendary Washington Post journalist and editor Bob Woodward, and even by Jeff Bezos himself when he was asked why he purchased the publication: “I think a lot of us believe this, that democracy dies in darkness, that certain institutions have a very important role in making sure that there is light. And I think The Washington Post has a seat, an important seat, to do that because we happen to be located here in the capital city of the United States of America.”
No besos from Bezos for Trump
Bezos and his paper were highly critical of President Trump in the months leading up to his November 2016 election, and beyond.
The Amazon.com founder famously offered to #sendDonaldtospace
Also, The Washington Post features an ongoing fact checker for Trump’s first 100 days as President, originally run as a front page story.
Okay, maybe a few besos
Bezos appeared to want to make nice with Trump immediately following his election last November, tweeting his congratulations and saying, “I for one give him my most open mind and wish him great success in his service to the country.” And Bezos called the then-President-elect’s tech summit last December “very productive.”
Then the immigration ban happened
When Trump’s controversial immigration ban went live, taking immediate effect and disrupting the lives of countless immigrants and refugees, Bezos was quick to speak out against the administration and offer support. [clickToTweet tweet=”Bezos gave his and Amazon.com’s full support against the immigration order.” quote=”He offered his and (Seattle-based) Amazon.com’s full support to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against the immigration order.”]
In an email to employees, Bezos was made his stance very clear: “This executive order is one we do not support . . . To our employees in the U.S. and around the world who may be directly affected by this order, I want you to know that the full extent of Amazon’s resources are behind you.”
Suspect timing
And yet, the Post claims their intense new slogan (their first such principles-based slogan ever) is not at all in reaction to Trump’s election or actions. “We thought it would be a good, concise value statement that conveys who we are to the many millions of readers who have come to us for the first time over the last year,” said Post spokesperson Kris Coratti. “We started with our newest readers on Snapchat, and plan to roll it out on our other platforms in the coming weeks.”
Take a moment to digest the fact that “Democracy Dies in Darkeness,” a line with such gravity, history and strong intention, was debuted on Snapchat.
The world is changing. And not just the social media world – we’ve never had a president so passionately critical of the media, and the Post has been a frequent target of Trump’s accusations of “fake news.”
Washington Post and Trump
Some are hopeful that Trump’s War on Media will force journalists to maintain a higher-than-ever level of journalistic integrity and vigilance. Whatever happens, we’ll always have Twitter to tell it like it is:
The @washingtonpost has a new slogan. And it’s…awesome. pic.twitter.com/VFNbSRPtjG
— ProPublica (@ProPublica) February 22, 2017
excited to announce our new HuffPost slogan:
The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) February 22, 2017
“Democracy Dies in Darkness” is only a little better than “Hold me, Anakin, like you did by the lake on Naboo!”
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) February 22, 2017
Think of all the stuff that happened that did *not* spur WaPo to adopt ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’…
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 22, 2017
The best thing about the Washington Post’s new “Democracy Dies in Darkness” slogan is the story about Lindsay Lohan directly under it pic.twitter.com/8hH0FhZCeU
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) February 22, 2017
#DemocracyDiesInDarkness
