Elon Musk's one-word compliment to Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post policy shift: 'Bravo'

Billionaire and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns US-based media company the Washington Post, on Wednesday declared that the publication will only focus on supporting and defending the topics of “personal liberties” and “free markets”. While his decision drew flak among a section of social media, Tesla CEO and Donald Trump’s advisor Elon Musk praised Bezos.

In a post on X, Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, left a one-word comment on Jeff Bezos’ decision.

“Jeff Bezos has just sent an email to WaPo employees informing them that the opinion page will now write daily about two ‘pillars’,” a user wrote on X.

Reposting the post, Musk wrote “Bravo”, while tagging his space rival, who owns Blue Origin.

What did Jeff Bezos say?

In a post on X, Jeff Bezos said that a change is coming to the Washington Post’s opinion page.

‘I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages,” he wrote.

“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others,’ Bezos added.

According to a report by Reuters, in his memo to staff on Wednesday, Bezos framed the shift in both ideological and practical terms, writing that these viewpoints are underserved in the market.

“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,” he wrote.

“Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity,” the billionaire, who largely stays out of the Post’s editorial business, said.

Washington Post editor quits

Jeff Bezos’ action has prompted Washington Post editorial page editor David Shipley to resign from his post at the publication.

The publication’s owner said that he had asked Shipley to stay on and provided him with the opportunity to lead the new vision of Washington Post but “after careful consideration, David decided to step away.”

The Washington Post’s opinion section, like that of newspapers in general, is a separate section from its news-gathering division, which focusses on fact-based reporting.