Huh.

@BusinessInsider is owned by Axel Springer, a company founded and run by, according to several sources, a virulent right-winger - a Nazi and a CIA asset, in fact.

This is from David Corn's 'Blond Ghost' about CIA officer Ted Shackley.

This here shows that the Reagan Administration "had media" in its effort to sell the Contra war to European nations with Springer's support.

From the Report of the congressional committees investigating the Iran-Contra Affair
https://archive.org/details/reportofcongress22unit/page/192/mode/2up?q=springer

This, from a book by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi indicates his "Nazi past" - though Springer later became a fervent supporter of Israel.

'The Israeli connection: Who Israel Arms and Why'
https://archive.org/details/israeliconnectio00beit/page/220/mode/2up?q=springer

This shows the CIA censoring discussion of Springer from Victor Marchetti and John Marks 'CIA and the Cult of Intelligence' - because the discussion exposed intelligence sources and methods.

https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10438-10237.pdf#page=40

According to this item in @CovertActionMagazine, an employee of Springer trained the US' Afghan fighters to film their attacks - and then get them to outlets like CBS news.

Same Springer employee referenced in the Iran-Contra report, Joachim Maitre.
https://covertactionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CAIB30-1988-2.pdf

"Dulles built up a propaganda apparatus that was ultimately able to rely on more than 50 press organs and radio stations, a dozen publishing houses and the personal offers of help from men like Axel Springer, the powerful press czar in West Germany."

Legacy of Ashes, Tim Weiner

Their employees pop up a bunch of places in this book about fascist The Cercle foreign-policy organization.
https://archive.org/details/RogueAgents4thEdition

Anyway. Always thought BI was a shitty website with super questionable views.

This helps explain a little why.

So a CIA media asset trains CIA-backed fighters to make propaganda and get it back to CIA friendly media companies to show to us, the US public.

But this is not a domestic intelligence operation. This is Our Free Press™

The CIA asset had "a stranglehold" on the W. German media and "Springer uses this influence to the full. The paper consistently attacked those government ministers who do not conform to Springer's ideals and many have since found themselves out of office."
https://archive.org/details/greatpressbarons00rick/page/46/mode/2up

Basically the Allies, the British in this case, regulated the media markets in such minute detail that they were able to choose who they wanted to gain readership (and thereby, money).

"The Springer Group enjoys a very special position of dominance in the West German press system... [it] is synonymous with all that is wrong with the German press."

Maybe that's because it was all that was "right" w/ CIA efforts to control foreign media.
https://archive.org/details/mediamediapolicy0000hump_e6w3/mode/2up

Oh. Looks like the company sued a Polish journalist who had done some reporting on their past.
https://polanddaily.com/108-court-case-starts-against-polish-journalist-who-put-light-on-nazi-background-of-swiss-german-media-empire

"...a 32-year-old Springer turned to his parents and made a startling announcement. 'Soon, there will be freedom of expression in Germany again. And then I’m going to build the biggest publishing house in Europe.'"

Lol come on Columbia Journalism Review… https://www.cjr.org/special_report/axel-springer.php

Couple other bits. Sorry, just adding stuff for my own interest now. You should be able to add to a thread without it going out to the TL.

https://dokumen.pub/model-nazi-arthur-greiser-and-the-occupation-of-western-poland-019954641x-9780199546411.html
https://slideheaven.com/limits-of-understanding-psychological-experience-german-memory-and-the-holocaust.html