Fact Checking

Vivek Ramaswamy Calls for Major Changes at BuzzFeed After Acquiring Stake

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Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is advocating significant changes at BuzzFeed, including adding new board members, reducing staff, and incorporating right-leaning talent, following his acquisition of an 8.37% activist stake in the company.

In a letter to BuzzFeed’s board, Ramaswamy stated that the company “has lost its way” and “requires a major shift in strategy.” He urged BuzzFeed to invest in talent from “across the political and cultural spectrum,” suggesting figures like conservative commentators Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, and NFL player Aaron Rodgers.

Ramaswamy also called on BuzzFeed to admit that it “repeatedly lied on issues of national importance” and proposed adding three new directors to enhance “intellectual diversity” in its leadership. “While your competitors focus on racial and gender diversity in the boardroom, you can become the first media company to expressly select for a diversity of viewpoints in your ranks,” he wrote.

Additionally, Ramaswamy recommended BuzzFeed “get back to startup size,” implying further layoffs might be necessary. The company had already reduced its workforce by 16% earlier this year.

BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti responded, highlighting “some fundamental misunderstandings about the drivers of our business, the values of our audience, and the mission of the company.” Peretti expressed skepticism about turning BuzzFeed into a platform for “inflammatory political pundits” and rejected issuing an apology for the company’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism. However, he welcomed outside perspectives from shareholders.