ABC News Capitulates as the Media Abandons the Fight for Truth

Over the past week, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration; Meta’s owner, Mark Zuckerberg, not only contributed $1 million but also dined with Trump and placed his hand over his heart as January 6th defendants sang the National Anthem; and Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, also gave $1 million to the event.

While such donations aren’t inherently unusual—corporate CEOs often contribute to inaugurations to curry favor with incoming administrations (all three reportedly donated to Biden’s inauguration)—this case feels different, especially given Bezos’ ownership of one of the nation’s most influential newspapers.

However, ABC News’ $15 million settlement with the Trump administration defies any semblance of normal business practice. The agreement, which included a public apology and funding for Trump’s library, is difficult to justify. Initially, I tried to give the network the benefit of the doubt—perhaps Trump had a strong legal case against George Stephanopoulos for stating on air that he “raped” Jean E. Carroll.

But there’s no reasonable explanation. This is pure capitulation from a major news network owned by one of the largest—and wealthiest—corporations in America.

For public figures like Donald Trump, the standard for defamation is “reckless disregard for the truth.” Stephanopoulos said that Trump raped Carroll. A civil court found that he had sexually assaulted her. No reasonable court in America would interpret the distinction between rape and sexual assault as reckless disregard for the truth.

There’s only one way to interpret this: ABC News folded not because they feared losing the lawsuit but because they likely feared Trump’s FCC might threaten their license. Meanwhile, ABC’s parent company, Disney, probably worried it couldn’t withstand the political backlash. Disney CEO Bob Iger has already fought one political battle with Florida’s Ron DeSantis. Risking billions in profits over a news division that generates relatively little revenue was likely deemed unacceptable.

This is where corporate conglomeration begins to undercut democracy. The Washington Post amounts to couch-cushion change for Jeff Bezos. ABC News is insignificant to Disney. For billionaires, newspapers and cable networks are vanity assets, and they won’t jeopardize their empires for something as “trivial” as the truth.

Trust in mainstream news is at an all-time low, and it’s only going to sink further. It’s unclear who will have the courage and resources to stand up to the administration over the next four years, but it sure as hell won’t be ABC News—or The Washington Post, both of which have effectively torpedoed their credibility.