Condé Nast faces employee backlash over anti-Israel bias

[Lauren Taylor]

SINCE THE DEADLY HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL, MANY COMPANIES HAVE STRUGGLED TO MITIGATE INTERNAL CONFLICTS OVER THE ISSUES. WE LEARNED THIS WEEK, OVER A YEAR SINCE THE ATTACK, THAT THIS APPLIES TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST MASS MEDIA COMPANIES.

FOLLOWING THE OUTBREAK OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, JEWISH AND PRO-ISRAEL EMPLOYEES AT ‘CONDE NAST’ BEGAN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE ANTI-ISRAEL AND ANTI-JEWISH STANCE THAT OTHER EMPLOYEES HAD TAKEN. THEY CLAIMED CONDE NAST STAFFERS HAD TAKEN PART IN PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS AND THAT THE COMPANY ALSO TOOK A PRO-PALESTINIAN STANCE IN ITS MAGAZINES.

CONDE NAST IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLISHING MAGAZINES LIKE VOGUE, THE NEW YORKER, GQ, GLAMOUR, AND VANITY FAIR AMONG OTHERS.

IN JUNE, THE COMPANY’S CHIEF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICER QUIETLY STEPPED DOWN  AFTER JEWISH EMPLOYEES AT THE PUBLISHING GIANT FILED ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS AGAINST HER WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, ACCORDING TO SEMAFOR.

YASHICA OLDEN BECAME HEAD OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN SEPTEMBER 2020.

OLDEN WAS ACCUSED OF NOT CRACKING DOWN ON SO CALLED JOURNALISTS WHO ALLOWED A PRO-PALESTINIAN BIAS TO SEEP INTO THEIR POST-HAMAS ATTACK COVERAGE AND ALSO, FOR NOT DISCIPLINING THE CANDE NAST EMPLOYEES WHO ALLEGEDLY ATTENDED PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS.

LAST YEAR, JUST DAYS AFTER OCTOBER 7^TH, VOGUE’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE, GABRIELLA KAREFA-JOHNSON POSTED PUBLIC REMARKS ON HER SOCIAL MEDIA CALLING ISRAEL AN “APARTHEID STATE” COMMITTING “GENOCIDE” AND COMPARED THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES TO A “TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” THE NEW YORK POST REPORTED.

AT THE TIME, A SPOKESPERSON FOR VOGUE SAID KAREFA-JOHNSON’S VIEWS WERE HER OWN AND NOT THAT OF THE COMPANY.

KAREFA-JOHNSON RESIGNED HER POSITION IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR.

TEEN VOGUE ALSO PRODUCED STORIES ABOUT THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR IN GAZA AND THEY WERE FLAGGED BY CONDE NAST’S CONTENT INTEGRITY GROUP, WHICH MONITORS STANDARDS AND CONDUCTS FACT-CHECKS FOR HAVING AN ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS, ACCORDING TO SEMAFOR.

NEITHER OLDEN NOR CANDE NAST HAVE RESPONDED PUBLICLY TO SEMAFOR’S REPORT.