Washington Post's chief fact checker takes buyout

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

The Washington Post's chief fact checker accepted a buyout and is leaving the newspaper without a replacement. Owner Jeff Bezos and CEO Will Lewis have taken a slew of recent steps to try and help the paper shed its left-wing reputation.
Glenn Kessler (pictured), editor and chief writer of The Fact Checker, announced on Monday that he is leaving the Post. 'After more than 27 years at The Washington Post, including almost 15 as The Fact Checker, I will be leaving on July 31, having taken a buyout,' Kessler said on Facebook.
'Much as I would have liked to keep scrutinizing politicians in Washington, especially in this era, the financial considerations were impossible to dismiss.' The fact checker said he tried to help the newspaper find his replacement, but was unsuccessful.
'I didn't want The Post to have a gap in fact-checking coverage during this fraught period in U.S. history. But we couldn't work out an agreement,' Kessler said. 'In 2018, when the Fact Checker team was compiling a database of more than 30,000 Trump claims, I told the New York Times that "I have the best job in journalism."
'I still believe that, and I'm sorry to leave without a replacement lined up. But it's the right time for me. I hope The Post finds someone to carry on this important project.' Kessler joined The Fact Checker in 2011 and is known for his Pinocchio's scale, which rates the truthfulness of politicians.
'When I started in 2011, there were only a handful of fact-checking organizations around the world, and I have been thrilled to watch the movement expand across the globe. So many of these brave and diligent fact checkers have become good friends,' Kessler said. 'My fact checks were routinely the most-read articles on The Post's website. I had my detractors, from both the left and right, but many readers appreciated my efforts to sort out the truth in political rhetoric.'
DailyMail.com has contacted Kessler and The Washington Post for comment. In May, The Washington Post launched a buyout program targeting veteran staffers, according to a memo obtained by Fox News .
'Today, we are announcing that The Washington Post is offering a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) to news employees with 10 or more years' service at The Post, as well as to all members of the video department and to all members of the copy desk and sports copy desk,' Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray said in the memo.
'[The buyouts are part of the] ongoing newsroom transformation efforts aimed at reshaping and modernizing the newsroom for the current environment.' The buyout program was reported to conclude at the end of July - just in time with Kessler's departure. The shakeup comes after Bezos broke tradition and blocked The Post's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris before the November election.
The move led to more than 250,000 readers immediately canceling their subscriptions, after which Bezos penned an op-ed defending the decision. In it, the world's second-richest man cited growing 'distrust' of media, as Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest, propped up the now president-elect.