Washington Post loses 200,000 subscribers after decision against Kamala Harris endorsement

The Washington Post has experienced a significant backlash following its decision to block an endorsement of US Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

According to National Public Radio, more than 200,000 digital subscribers had cancelled their subscriptions by midday on Monday.

Although not all cancellations take effect immediately, this figure represents approximately 8% of the paper's total paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes both digital and print subscriptions.

In addition to the subscriber exodus, several columnists have resigned from the Washington Post in response to the decision, as reported by NPR.

On Friday, William Lewis, the publisher and chief executive officer of the newspaper, announced in a post that the Washington Post will not endorse any presidential candidate in the upcoming November 5 election or in any future presidential elections. "We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates," Lewis said.

In an opinion piece published on the Post's website, 20 columnists expressed their strong disagreement with the decision, writing, "The Washington Post's decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake."

They further added that this choice "represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love."