The cryptocurrency community has received another reminder to approach mainstream media with skepticism in light of the ongoing scandal involving NPR CEO Katherine Maher. The resignation of NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner has sent shockwaves through the media industry. Politicians, activists, and editors have criticized Maher, who was previously the CEO of Wikimedia, after Berliner was penalized for criticizing NPR’s coverage in The Free Press.
Some critics have rallied behind the former NPR editor, with activist Christopher Rufo sharing a video in which Maher admits that Wikipedia censored certain information during the 2020 U.S. elections and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the video was recorded during an online panel discussion at the 360/Open Summit organized by the Atlantic Council in 2021, Maher’s speech has gone viral on the social media platform X following Berliner’s resignation.
“In response to not only the global pandemic but also the last election, we took an active approach to combat disinformation and misinformation,” Maher says in the video. She acknowledges that the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, established a “clearinghouse of information” to enable editors to collaborate with the government in “identifying threats.”
In the same speech, Maher allegedly asserts that she considers the First Amendment of the United States, which guarantees freedom of speech, to be the “number one challenge.” She suggests that these speech protections make it difficult to suppress “bad information” and the “influence peddlers” who profit from it.
Maher’s admission has caught the attention of notable commentators, including X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “This keeps getting crazier! The head of NPR hates the Constitution of the USA,” Musk comments while sharing Rufo’s video. Musk also expresses no surprise about Wikipedia censoring certain information during U.S. elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maher’s skepticism about freedom of speech stands in stark contrast to recent statements made by Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram. In an interview with Tucker Carlson on April 17, Durov reiterated that freedom of speech is Telegram’s top priority. He also claims to own no significant assets such as land or real estate and prefers to own Bitcoin (BTC) and cash, as he values his freedom and is dedicated to doing his best for Telegram.