It’s incredible how the right amount of cynicism can drive you to be utterly blind to the benefits certain things have. Be those high quality news reports, or curing polio.
And blind to their structure. Such as, for example and regardless of the organisation’s name, different people working at Buzzfeed News and Buzzfeed. Or Microsoft and the gates foundation.
Whenever anyone correctly observed that buzzfeed has made the internet worse, someone always comes galloping in on their white horse with the meme “but buzzfeed news is a real serious outlet!”
This has always been its purpose. It exists for the same reason the BP and Exxon have nominal investments in “clean energy”. The same reason that Koch industries donates to the arts.
They’re paying for indulgences and the HN well-akchually crowd buys it hook line and sinker.
If you don’t want to take my word for it you can take Peretti’s and the words of the Washington post.
“I don’t think they ever gave news a real chance to make money,” she said. BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti long touted the news team’s burnishing effect on the company’s overall reputation“
They never intended for it to be a self sustaining business. It existed for reputation enhancement of the parent brand.
