Politico reporters criticize their company for promoting bigotry by publishing Ben Shapiro: report

Politico continues to receive fallout from their controversial decision to publish Ben Shapiro.

"More than 100 Politico staffers signed onto a letter sent to publisher Robert Allbritton, expressing disgust with allowing right-wing firebrand Ben Shapiro to guest-author one day's edition of the Playbook, and with the outlet's subsequent handling of the fallout," The Daily Beast reported Monday, in what it billed as an exclusive.

"Earlier this month, the Beltway news outlet handed over the keys to its signature news product to Shapiro, a talk-radio host and pundit who has long been one of the most controversial voices in right-wing media, thanks in part to his incendiary comments about the LGBT community, Muslims, Black Americans, and Jews who support Democratic politicians. The guest appearance sparked immediate backlash and criticism from many in the media industry, including within Politico's own newsroom, where employees expressed outrage on Slack and during an all-staff editorial meeting following the guest column's publication," The Beast reported. "According to multiple Politico insiders familiar with the situation, the letter to Allbritton criticized the decision to publish Shapiro, claiming it had demoralized a substantial portion of the newsroom, but also railed against the responses to criticism offered by editor in chief Matt Kaminski."

"The staff letter, sent last week to Allbritton, maintained that Kaminski had not appropriately apologized for his responses, additionally referencing an email he sent to staff on January 15, which was obtained and reviewed by The Daily Beast. The top editor expressed regret for his initial response about "making mischief," but reiterated that publishing Shapiro was part of his hopes to "experiment and mix things up" in order to keep Politico "vital and vibrant" to its readers," The Beast noted. "In response, the letter's signees asked Allbritton how Shapiro's extensive record of bigotry can be considered 'vibrant' or 'vital.'"