A Jewish board member at Politico’s German publisher Axel Springer resigned Wednesday — just days after publicly accusing the US media outlet of “one-sided Hamas support.”
Martín Varsavsky, an Argentine entrepreneur who has served on the supervisory board of the German media conglomerate since 2014, criticizing Politico’s journalistic integrity in a post on the social media platform X.
“Regarding Politico, I find their news coverage not aligned with my own ethical standards. USA has changed, Germany has changed, hopefully so will Politico,” Varsavsky wrote on X.
He also claimed that Politico engaged in “one-sided Hamas support” following its publication of an Associated Press story on Israeli airstrikes in Gaza last week.
In addition to his recent remarks, Varsavsky — who describes himself as a friend of Elon Musk — had previously accused journalists at Axel Springer of being “woke” in a since-deleted post on X.
The media giant faces a delicate balancing act amid escalating tensions between Politico and the Trump administration.
Recently, President Trump branded Politico a “leftwing rag” and instructed officials to terminate government subscriptions. The media outlet was also removed from Pentagon offices and was replaced by more right-leaning publications.
Further complicating matters, Trump falsely accused Politico of receiving $8 million from the US Agency for International Development.
Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, who is known for his critiques of “woke” culture and his ties to Trump-affiliated figures, recently praised a contentious speech by Vice President JD Vance as “inspiring” yet labeled Trump’s criticism of Politico a “misunderstanding.”
Reps for Axel Springer declined to comment on Varsavsky’s departure.
The Post has sought comment from Varsavsky and Politico.
Axel Springer acquired Politico for roughly $1 billion in 2021 to expand its influence in the American media market.
Sources familiar with the situation told Financial Times that Varsavsky’s exit from Axel Springer had been in the works for some time and that the impetus for his departure was related to internal restructuring ahead of the media giant’s anticipated $14.85 billion split from private equity firm KKR.
Axel Springer has reconfigured its business as part of its deal with KKR.
The German conglomerate will separate its media assets (including Politico, Business Insider and the German-language dailies Bild and Die Welt) from its classifieds division, which is now controlled by KKR and CPPIB.
As part of this strategic shift, Axel Springer is also considering selling its marketing unit, Awin, to focus more fully on its core media operations.
The sources acknowledged that Varsavsky’s outspoken criticism prompted internal discussions about potentially dismissing him sooner than planned.
However, it was ultimately decided that his exit would proceed as originally scheduled, according to FT.
Axel Springer maintains a strongly pro-Israel editorial stance. Its internal code of conduct, which applies to all of its media properties, explicitly states: “We support the Jewish people and the right of the State of Israel to exist.”
Varsavsky sparked controversy after it was learned he played a behind-the-scenes role in facilitating Musk’s opinion piece in the Sunday edition of Die Welt, Welt am Sonntag, endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the recent election.
In the opinion piece, Musk openly supported the party, criticizing “leftist over-regulation and Islamist colonisation under the guise of diversity.”
The AfD managed to win the second-largest number of seats in the German Bundestag, but the conservative CDU/CSU alliance headed by Friedrich Merz captured the largest share of votes and is currently in talks to form a coalition with center-left parties including the Social Democrats.
The Post has sought comment from Varsavsky, Politico and Axel Springer.
https://nypost.com/2025/03/26/media/politico-publishers-board-member-quits-after-blasting-news-site/
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