Former New York Times editor bashes paper for presence at Davos: 'Corrupt circle-jerk'

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John Kerry delivers remarks about climate change at the World Economic Forum's 2023 conference

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry lauded fellow attendees at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday for trying to save the planet.

Former New York Times editor Jill Abramson slammed her former paper for their presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday and said the Times' attendance was part of a "corrupt circle-jerk" between media and business. 

Abramson told Semafor that while she was at the New York Times, the paper didn't care about Davos. She added that her predecessor wanted to "ban reporters" from the event, according to Semafor. 

"I noticed (after I was gone), much more ‘news’ coverage in the Times of Davos, quoting the attendees and speakers at those endless panels. Of course, the coverage was a sweetener to flatter the CEOs by seeing their names in the NYT so that they would then speak at high-dollar NYT conferences and — of course — get phony news stories from the conferences into the paper."

She told Semafor that the event "was and is" a "corrupt circle-jerk."

The New York Times building in Midtown Manhattan (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

ECO GROUP SLAMS DAVOS SUMMIT AS GLOBAL ELITES ARRIVE IN PRIVATE JETS TO TALK CLIMATE POLICY

Elites in attendance at the World Economic Forum strategized on Tuesday about how to "hit back" against right-wing groups and restore trust in nongovernment organizations. 

"My hypothesis on that is right-wing groups have done a really good job of disenfranchising NGOs," said Richard Edelman, CEO of the global communications firm Edelman. "They’ve challenged the funding sources. They’ve associated you with Bill Gates and George Soros. They’ve said that you’re world people, as opposed to actually what you are, which is local."

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry was in attendance as well and praised his fellow attendees as "extraterrestrial" for wanting to save the planet.

"When you start to think about it, it's pretty extraordinary that we — select group of human beings because of whatever touched us at some point in our lives — are able to sit in a room and come together and actually talk about saving the planet," Kerry remarked. "I mean, it's so almost extraterrestrial to think about ‘saving the planet.’" 

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry addresses attendees of the World Economic Forum meeting on Tuesday. (World Economic Forum/Video screenshot)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN CALLS ‘OPEN PRESS SYSTEM’ IN US A ‘PROBLEM’ DURING DAVOS PANNEL

Former CNN host Brian Stelter was also in attendance at the World Economic Forum and hosted a panel titled, "Clear & Present Danger of Disinformation."

Panelists included New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourová, CEO of Internews Jeanne Bourgault, and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks as WEF founder Klaus Schwab listens during a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 17, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) 

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Sulzberger said during the panel that disinformation was the "most existential" problem that the world is facing.

The New York Times publisher argued that disinformation was making societies "fracture" and that it was attacking trust.