Site Co-Founder Quits, Saying Biden Article Was Censored

A co-founder of a news site has resigned over an article critical of Joe Biden, kicking off an allegation of censorship and an argument over whether it was Glenn Greenwald or the Intercept that abandoned the fundamentals of journalism. "The Intercept’s editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden," Greenwald said in a blistering statement he posted online. The article includes "critical questions about Biden's conduct," he said, adding that the editors who made the decision are all strong supporters of Biden's presidential candidacy. Greenwald said he plans to post the article on his site quickly, Mediaite reports. Anyway, the Intercept has changed, he said. "Rather than offering a venue for airing dissent, marginalized voices and unheard perspectives, it is rapidly becoming just another media outlet with mandated ideological and partisan loyalties."

Calling the dispute "a fundamental disagreement over the role of editors," the Intercept defended itself in a post. "Glenn demands the absolute right to determine what he will publish," the post says. "He believes that anyone who disagrees with him is corrupt, and anyone who presumes to edit his words is a censor." The site has published stories that make clear the fix isn't in for Biden, the post says. The Intercept calls the article in question an attempt "to recycle the dubious claims of a political campaign—the Trump campaign—and launder them as journalism." Greenwald suggested he plans to start his own news outlet, and the Intercept suggested that could be the reason for the public fit. "We have no doubt that Glenn will go on to launch a new media venture where he will face no collaboration with editors," the post said, adding, "In that context, it makes good business sense for Glenn to position himself as the last true guardian of investigative journalism and to smear his longtime colleagues and friends as partisan hacks." (More Glenn Greenwald stories.)