SPLC’S HATEWATCH ANALYSIS: Newsweek’s Growing Embrace of the Far-Right  

WASHINGTON – The Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Hatewatch released a new analysis today that documents how Newsweek’s opinion pages have embraced the radical right since Opinion Page Editor Josh Hammer took the reins in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. The piece delves into how far-right figures have been elevated through Newsweek’s superficially mainstream platform, and how the publication has spread bigoted views and disinformation. It also exposes numerous conflicts of interest that the publication has repeatedly ignored.    

“While opinion pages naturally offer political views, even controversial ones, Newsweek appears alone as a mainstream platform in its willingness to openly promote hatred and lies,” said Senior Investigative Reporter Michael Edison Hayden. “Newsweek has totally failed to explain how their publication fell into the hands of a radical-right, political operative.”    

The analysis reveals: 

• Newsweek has openly campaigned for hard-right political candidates through its opinion section, such as Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters.   
• Newsweek has actively elevated racist voices that spread disinformation, including the far-right extremist Jack Posobiec. The publication also amplified election lies told by conspiracy theorist Dinesh D’Souza and appeared to advocate for banning transgender adults from transitioning.    
• Newsweek’s opinion pages have frequently promoted lies about the 2020 election.    
• Newsweek has failed to disclose clear conflicts of interest, including Hammer’s financial support of Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters and a trip Hammer took to Hungary in collaboration with a group directly associated with the Hungarian government. 
• Newsweek heavily promotes “The Josh Hammer Show,” a radical right podcast which Hammer himself described as an effort to “build a political movement, rather than simply comment on the news.”  

Read the full report here.