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On with Kara Swisher Podcast
The Onion’s Owner on Satire, Infowars, Defending Democracy & Trump

The Onion’s Owner on Satire, Infowars, Defending Democracy & Trump

On with Kara Swisher vor 1 Jahr

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59:52

Last year, after pressure from activist investors, Jeff Lawson
stepped down from his perch as CEO from Twilio, the cloud
communications company he co-founded. But he didn’t spend any time
twiddling his thumbs — that same spring, he bought the satirical
news organization The Onion, and by the end of the year, they’d
tried to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction.
Jeff also stayed busy on the political front, continuing his work
on DemocracyFirst, a political action committee he co-founded, in
2022, to support candidates committed to democracy. So there
was plenty to chew on when Kara interviewed Jeff last week at
Democracy’s Information Dilemma, a symposium hosted by the
University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
They discuss the tech founder mindset; how Jeff is remaking The
Onion; why political satire is more necessary than ever; why DEI —
which Jeff championed as a CEO — can sometimes do more harm than
good; and how to fight for democracy during Trump 2.0. Questions?
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