Elon Musk is in talks with former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson to launch a "nonpartisan" news company. According to an article published in NYT under the heading "An Ex-Times Reporter. An Ohio Wedding Provider. COVID Contrarians Go Viral," Elon musk is in an early phase of discussion with editor Alex Berenson regarding the new news company.
"Alex and I basically just agree that there's room for a fiercely nonpartisan news company," NYT reported Musk saying it in an email.
Musk-Berenson association
Though nothing surprising about this news as there are many businessmen who prefer to put the money where their mouths are. Even Musk's compeer and fellow businessman Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, the political coverage of which has often riled President Donald Trump.
However, what's worth mentioning, is Musk's choice of the news person for the association.
Alex Berenson, who had worked for over a decade with the NYT and has written numerous books, is regarded as a contrarian on all matters related to COVID, especially ideas espoused by health experts and scientists.
Berenson: Contrarian to everything COVID
Berenson has been at the forefront in refuting the significance of lockdown, compulsory wearing of masks in the view of coronavirus pandemic.
The article in NYT defines Berenson something like this: "Mr Berenson believes that the impact of the coronavirus is regrettable, mostly inevitable and overstated: That lockdowns are useless, masks don't help and politicians are too worried about the deaths of old people who were going to die soon anyway."
He also goes against health experts and scientists on insisting the worthlessness of lockdown and if it would have any larger impact on saving lives.
He opines that it is mostly the older people who are going to get adversely affected by coronavirus who either way are soon going to die. He asserts that the economic loss due to the lockdown is not worth the price.
Musk provided platform to Berenson for his booklets on COVID
Alex, who is also a prolific writer on twitter and is a regular news figure on Fox News, has been able to sell more than 100,000 of his booklets in which he advocates ending lockdown and calls media hysteria to be blamed for over the top government response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Worth mentioning here is the fact that Berenson has been able to achieve this number without marketing his booklets on Amazon. In fact, Elon Musk provided his platform for the promotion of Benerson's booklets. Clearly, this act of Musk is less of bookselling competition aimed at Amazon but more of siding with the contrarian view on matters related to COVID.
Though at present, Berenson seems to stand alone in his belief as the majority of world governments and health experts weigh on implementing lockdown, social distancing and wearing masks, he and those in agreement with him seem to be growing in numbers. Of them most importantly, Elon Musk.
