The pro-Israel MAGA billionaires who wrecked CBS News are now buying CNN

Last year, CBS was taken over by pro-Trump billionaires Larry and David Ellison, and they immediately installed a MAGA-friendly editor-in-chief to turn CBS News into another Fox News. 

Now, they’re on the verge of taking over the entire Warner Bros. Discovery media empire, including CNN, HBO Max, nearly two dozen other cable TV channels, and more.

For months, it appeared that Netflix was the odds-on favorite to take over Warner Bros. But this week, after some incredibly heavy-handed political interference by Donald Trump, Netflix dropped its bid, leaving the Ellisons as the only remaining buyer. 

Let’s not mince words. What we’re witnessing is the complete collapse of anything remotely resembling a free press in America, with Trump and his billionaire friends one by one seizing control of the media platforms that determine what Americans see and read every day. 

Musk bought Twitter. Bezos, the Washington Post. Zuckerberg has Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Now the Ellisons have Paramount and are about to get Warner Bros. 

That’s why it’s so critical at this moment that you support nonprofit independent journalism of The Intercept — because if we go down, what will be left? 

We’re doubling down on the hard-hitting, adversarial investigative journalism that has earned us a long and proud list of powerful enemies. 

Our Press Freedom Defense Fund is helping support independent reporters and news organizations around the country by providing tools, training, and financial assistance to those facing serious legal threats. 

There’s only one reason we can fight these fights while so many others capitulate: Because our readers give a shit. 

But let’s be clear: If readers don’t support The Intercept, we cannot survive. Your donations account for more than 70 percent of our budget, and there’s no other source of funding that could possibly fill that gap. 

So here’s the bottom line: To keep The Intercept going in this make-or-break moment for independent journalism, we need our readers to chip in whatever you can, whether that’s a large donation or just a few bucks.