(Via Zerohedge)
Update: Several hours after The Outline reported that police raided the New York City office of Newsweek with a search warrant, the troubled media group confirmed that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office conducted a search of its computer servers.
In a statement obtained by CNN, Newsweek Media Group said that “No information regarding the company’s content, stories, personnel or sources was given and Newsweek Media Group has been assured by the DA’s office that the investigation is not about any content-related issues.” And yet, if nothing that was on the servers was the target of the raid, one wonders what the raid was for, or if Newsweek is just applying the same “fake news” standard to official statements that many have accused it of using for its overall content.
Newsweek said it allowed the district attorney’s office to access the company’s computer servers on location for a “technical inspection”. Right: a “technical inspection” in which over a dozen cops were present.
“Consistent with its expressed policy regarding law enforcement, Newsweek Media Group, a responsible media company, will continue to cooperate with the DA’s office to the fullest extent” the statement concluded.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined to comment.
Newsweek Media Group is the new name of IBT Media, which rebranded under the once relevant magazine’s name last year. The company has had a tumultuous few years, laying off staff at IBT and going through several changes in newsroom leadership at Newsweek, which it bought in 2013 from Sidney Harman for an undisclosed amount. Harman bought Newsweek from the Washington Post in 2010 for $1.
Over a dozen police showed up this morning at the New York City office headquarters for Newsweek magazine (and its parent IBT Media).
As The Outline reports, the reason for the visit was not clear, but one employee said police were taking photos of the company’s servers.
The New York Post reports that IBT Media was co-founded by Jonathan Davis and Etienne Uzac, adding that the IRS placed a $1.2 million federal tax lien against Uzac in December 2017.
Of course the raid could be due to the uproar that this article caused today…
The New York Post reports that IBT Media was co-founded by Jonathan Davis and Etienne Uzac, adding that the IRS placed a $1.2 million federal tax lien against Uzac in December 2017.
In the past, IBT has been linked to a Christian church founded by Korean American evangelist David Jang and Olivet University, a university in California that Jang’s followers founded.
The office is at 7 Hanover Square in New York’s financial district.
Police also visited the office in December, a former employee said. Employees were told that it was because a white substance had been mailed to Executive News Director Ken Li, which they were then told turned out to be a false alarm.