Politico Owner’s CEO Praised Climate Change, Compared Pandemic Response to Nazi Germany, Leaked Texts Show

thewrap.com:

obtained by The Guardian that his messages were taken out of context in Die Zeit’s report and his long track record of content was the true barometer of his politics.“Articles of mine published over four decades show the way I think,” Döpfner said Thursday in the statement. “I let myself be taken to account for every published word.

But out-of-context fragments of texts and conversations cannot be held up as my ‘true way of thinking.'”According to the texts and other messages published Wednesday by Die Zeit, Döpfner also used his most prominent publication, the German tabloid Bild, to influence Germany’s most recent election.“I am all for climate change,” one message sent by Döpfner said, as he seemed to argue that history held ample evidence of human’s increased productivity during global eras of warmer climates. “We shouldn’t fight climate change but adjust to it.”The message was part of a longer rant by Döpfner on foreign policy matters.“Free west, f–k the intolerant Muslims and all the other riff-raff,” said Döpfner, who has touted Alex Springer’s August 2021 acquisition of Politico as an effort to inject “non-partisan” journalism into the politically polarized landscape of U.S.

media. Döpfner, who has a seat on Netflix’s board of directors, tried to clarify his remarks on climate change in the internal company response, saying “climate change is real and threatening” but that reactions to the subject were open to humorous takes.