Business Insider staffers alarmed after parent company compels reporting ‘review’ after Bill Ackman complaints

News organizations seldomly see their reporting publicly called into question by their parent companies. But that rare and embarrassing scrutiny is precisely what German publishing powerhouse Axel Springer has treated its financial-focused US outlet, Business Insider, to.

News organizations seldomly see their reporting publicly called into question by their parent companies. But that rare and embarrassing scrutiny is precisely what German publishing powerhouse Axel Springer has treated its financial-focused US outlet, Business Insider, to. The dust up comes as Business Insider takes fire from billionaire Bill Ackman for publishing a pair of stories last week reporting that his wife, former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Neri Oxman, had plagiarized some of her work. The startling revelations came after Ackman helped spearhead a campaign to oust Claudine Gay as Harvard University’s president. Ackman applied relentless pressure on Harvard to remove Gay, initially criticizing the academic for the school’s response to anti-Semitism and then later for plagiarism, the latter of which ultimately led to her removal. (The clear implication of hypocrisy was not lost on anyone.) Oxman herself apologized in the wake of the Business Insider reporting, acknowledging there were some “errors” in her work. But the reporting enraged Ackman, who has extensively argued on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that his wife should be immune from criticism tied to his activism. Instead of standing by its outlet as it faced a barrage of criticism, Axel Springer announced Sunday that it would take the extraordinary and unusual step of compelling the digital publication to conduct a “review” of its work — all while acknowledging that the veracity of the outlet’s reporting appeared to be sound. “While the facts of the reports have not been disputed, over the past few days questions have been raised about the motivation and the process leading up to the reporting — questions that we take very seriously,” a spokesperson for Axel Springer said in a statement. “Our media brands operate independently, however all Axel Springer publications are committed to journalism that meets rigorous editorial standards and processes.” Asked on Monday what prompted the review and whether it had to do with Ackman signaling he might reach out to KKR, the investment giant and largest shareholder of Axel Springer, the German publishing company issued a firm denial. Adib Sisani, its chief spokesperson, told CNN, “Very explicitly the review has nothing to do with anyone reaching out to KKR. They were not involved in the decision to do the review.” Sisani declined to say what the review will consist of, only adding that “it won’t take very long.”