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TX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gave millions to various media outlets throughout 2022 via his family-run nonprofit, “Building a Stronger Future.” The major companies who received funding include Vox, ProPublica, Semafor, and The Intercept.
In some cases, donations appear to be crucial to the viability of the recipients.
In a leaked letter to staff members, Roger Hodge, editor-in-chief of The Intercept, admitted that there was now a “significant hole” in the company’s budget. According to Hodge, the company received $500,000 a few months ago. “Another $250,000 was due in December, with $3.25 million to follow over the next two years.”
Downplaying the potential conflict of interest, Hodge heaped praise on his reporters in the letter: “I also knew our reporters would never pull their punches because of a donation—and they didn’t.” He adds that The Intercept disclosed Bankman-Fried’s donation in its reporting on the FTX story.
A co-founder of The Intercept took issue with these statements.
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, who co-founded the outlet in 2013, but resigned after editors refused to publish his reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 presidential election, criticized his former colleague for deliberately obfuscating details about the funding and for failing to disclose it in past articles.
A representative for The Intercept told The Epoch Times that Bankman-Fried’s donations were received in September of this year. “In keeping with our general practice, The Intercept disclosed the funding in subsequent reporting on Bankman-Fried’s political activities,” said Rodrigo Brandão, director of communications at The Intercept, providing a link to an October article in which the financial ties are disclosed.
