The Washington Post on Wednesday offered readers a how-to on participating in a nationwide boycott this Friday against several major corporations. Amazon, the online retail giant founded by Post owner Jeff Bezos, is a prime target of the boycott.
In a news article, "What to know about the no-shopping ‘economic blackout’ on Feb. 28," the Post provides an explainer for a boycott organized by the People’s Union USA. The group, which launched earlier this month, instructs supporters: "Do not shop online, or in-store. No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy. Nowhere!"
The Post story does not explicitly instruct readers to participate in the boycott. But it uncritically provides the group’s rationale for the boycott, information on the companies targeted in the campaign, and the schedule for future boycotts planned next month.
"How can you participate?" reads a subheadline in the story. It quotes guidance from People’s Union USA against "shopping online, ordering from restaurant chains or filling up at the gas station."
"If you do need to buy something, shop local. And if you can, take the day off from work," the Post reports.
The article includes an AI-generated summary of reader responses to the piece. According to the summary, Post readers emphatically support "a protest against large corporations, particularly targeting Amazon and other companies perceived to support the current administration."
It could prove awkward for the Post, especially on the heels of Bezos’s announcement that the newspaper, which the mega-billionaire purchased for $250 million in 2013, will emphasize "free markets" and "personal liberties" in articles published in the paper’s opinion section.
Bezos announced the shift on Wednesday, stoking backlash from many Post journalists and others outside the newsroom. Longtime Post opinion editor David Shipley resigned from the paper. Post economics reporter Jeff Stein called it a "massive encroachment" on the editorial decisions of the newspaper. Freelance tech journalist Kara Swisher, a frequent CNN commentator, called Bezos "feral," and said he had "killed" the First Amendment.
The Post story, in a section entitled "Will there be other economic blackouts?" lists a schedule of boycotts that People’s Union USA is planning against individual companies, including Amazon.
The group is calling for a boycott against Amazon, including its affiliates Whole Foods, from March 7-14. People’s Union USA plans to target Nestlé, Walmart, and General Mills in the next two months.
The story also provides little background on People’s Union USA, which was incorporated in Illinois earlier this month by meditation therapist John Schwarz. Schwarz launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the boycott, and is selling merchandise with a logo of People’s Union USA, which features a black power fist. Schwarz is white.
According to Schwarz, money raised through GoFundMe will "go toward legal fees, organization development, web development, outreach, marketing, event organization, and more."
"Everything is transparent, and every dollar is accounted for."
Other organizations are planning boycotts against companies that have ditched their DEI programs. Al Sharpton, the activist and MSNBC host, announced on the liberal network that his group, the National Action Network, will soon boycott two companies for ending DEI initiatives.
That could create a potential regulatory headache for MSNBC and its parent company Comcast. The Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation this month into Comcast’s DEI practices.
The Post did not respond to a request for comment.