The Independent

[[File:Evgeny Lebedev Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|right|165px|The future Lord Lebedev in 2010, a national security risk<ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnsons-russian-crony-evgeny-lebedev-got-peerage-after-spies-dropped-warning-3dp6sw29x Boris Johnson’s Russian crony Evgeny Lebedev got peerage after spies dropped warning] by Gabriel Pogrund & Harry Yorke (March 05 2022) ''The Times''.</ref>]]
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Independent''}}
'''''The Independent''''' is a [[UK|British]] newspaper founded in 1986. Throughout its history, it has generally taken a [[centrist]] and [[liberal]] stance, although it is now owned by the son of a [[Russia]]n oligarch and some [[Saudi Arabia|Saudis]], so it may not be entirely trustworthy.<ref name=guardian2019/><ref name=bylinegreenwashing/>

It is associated with sister paper ''The Independent on Sunday'', and ''i'', a quick-to-read version of the newspaper, although ''i'' is no longer part of the same newspaper group.

It shouldn't be confused with the ''{{wpl|Irish Independent}}'' (launched in 1905), or the American [[Congregationalism|Congregationalist]] magazine ''{{wpl|The Independent (New York City)|The Independent}}'' (1848-1928), or [[The Independent Group]] (a short-lived British political party).

==History==
''The Independent'' launched as a daily newspaper on 7 October 1986, the creation of three former ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' journalists, Andreas Whittam Smith, Stephen Glover, and Matthew Symonds; it was owned by a new company, Newspaper Publishing. The first editor was Whittam Smith, who set out its stance as a newspaper that would not be dominated by either "union restrictive practices or … the political prejudices of the typical newspaper proprietor".<ref name=hn>[https://www.historic-newspapers.co.uk/blog/independent-history/ Independent History], Historic Newspapers blog</ref>

It was very much the product of its time. Whittam Smith's worries about the influence of newspaper proprietors were doubtless influenced by [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s purchase of ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times''. ''The Independent'', as its name suggested, would be independent of controlling and interventionist proprietors like Murdoch or {{wpl|Robert Maxwell}} (for a while at least). But it was also the creation of an era where newspaper technology was changing and it was possible to produce a paper with fewer staff, getting rid of a lot of the traditional, well-paid, [[trade union|unionised]] technical workforce and replacing them with computers. This chimed in a way with [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcherism]] and wider changes in British industry and business. ''The Independent'' aimed at a new market of prosperous readers who didn't want the geriatric ''Times'' and ''Telegraph'' but weren't willing to get the worthy, muesli-eating ''[[Guardian]]'' either.

It launched a Sunday paper, ''The Independent on Sunday'' in 1990. In 2003 ''The Independent'' began publishing a [[tabloid]] edition alongside the broadsheet, and the following year the broadsheet was discontinued. It was also a pioneer of online publishing, and the print edition stopped in 2016.<ref name=hn/>

===Ownership===
In 1998 it was purchased by Irish businessman Tony O'Reilly. In 2010, he sold it for the nominal sum of £1 to Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev, who also owned London daily ''The Evening Standard''; Lebedev put his son Evgeny in charge.<ref name=hn/><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/26/independent-lebedev-newspapers Ex-KGB man Alexander Lebedev buys Independent for £1], The Guardian, 26 March 2010</ref> Ownership was subsequently transferred to Evgeny Lebedev, who held dual British and Russian citizenship and was nominated by [[Boris Johnson]] for a seat in the UK House of Lords, so he must be OK (haw-haw).

Alexander Lebedev was a lieutenant-colonel in the [[KGB]], the [[Soviet Union]]'s security agency. Both Lebedevs have had a close relationship with British prime minister Boris Johnson: the Lebedevs owned the main London paper the ''Evening Standard'' and supported Johnson when he was Mayor of London. Johnson held a private, off-the-record meeting with Lebedev senior in Italy in 2018.<ref name=Cadwalladr2022/> After the ''Guardian'' first reported this, they added:

{{quotebox|That first article prompted a Guardian reader to write in with further details. They had seen Johnson at Perugia’s San Francesco d’Assisi airport alone, without any luggage, in a dishevelled, hungover state “looking like he had slept in his clothes” and “struggling to walk in a straight line”.<ref name=Cadwalladr2022>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/16/carole-cadwalladr-boris-johnson-lebedevs-prime-ministers-defining-scandal Boris Johnson and the Lebedevs: how I exposed the prime minister’s defining scandal], Carole Cadwalladr, The Guardian, 16 July 2022</ref>}}

In 2017-18, 30% shares of the ''Independent'' and ''Evening Standard'' were sold to a mysterious Saudi investment group [[Front group|fronted]] by Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel, leaving it not entirely clear who owned the newspapers or might exert control over them.<ref name=guardian2019>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/23/evening-standard-and-independent-unable-to-rebut-concerns-over-saudi-ownership Saudi state part-owns Evening Standard and Independent, court told], The Guardian, 23 July 2019</ref> At the same time, the Lebedev stake was reduced to 41%, and "entrepreneur" Justin Byam Shaw acquired 26%, with a few minor investors owning the rest.<ref name=bbc2017/> Abuljadayel himself is a wealthy businessman inherited a lot of money from his family's property holdings, although not a member of the Saudi Royal Family.<ref name=bbc2017>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40762906 Is the Independent still independent?], Amol Rajan, BBC News, 29 July 2017</ref> It later emerged that investments in both the ''Independent'' and ''Evening Standard'' had been made via two companies, International Media Company and Scalable Inc, both registered in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory well known as a [[tax haven]]; these companies were owned 50% by Abuljadayel and 50% by Wondrous Investments, which was itself ultimately owned by the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/4545d17a-ad63-11e9-8030-530adfa879c2 UK criticises Saudi purchase of newspaper stakes in court], Financial Times, 23 July 2019</ref>

The Saudi investment was partly with the aim of expanding the ''Independent'' brand into the [[Middle East]]. An Arabic version was launched in January 2019, with its chief editor Adhwan Alahmary, a keen supporter of Saudi ruler Crown Prince [[Mohammad bin Salman]].<ref>[https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-publisher-tied-royals-launches-arabic-version-independent Saudi publisher tied to royals launches Arabic version of The Independent], Middle East Eye, 26 January 2019</ref> So what if the Crown Prince had ''[[Washington Post]]'' [[journalist]] Jamal Khashoggi murdered and then dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul?<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/jamal-khashoggi-mohammed-bin-salman-us-report US finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder but does not sanction him], ''The Guardian'', 26 Feb 2021</ref>

==Content==
Out of British newspapers, it was early in accepting the reality of [[climate change]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/climate-change-carbon-net-zero-b1937603.html Five climate commitments to you as we face the defining issue of our times], 13 Oct 2021</ref><ref>[https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/how-uk-newspapers-changed-minds-climate-change/ Analysis: How UK newspapers changed their minds about climate change], Carbon Brief, 2021</ref>

It has also at times supported:
* electoral reform/proportional representation<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/democracy-vote-reform-conservative-labour-b1894343.html Our democracy is broken – Britain needs electoral reform now], Femi Oluwole, ''The Independent'', 31 July 2021</ref>
* drug law reform<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/drug-policy-deaths-decriminalisation-addiction-treatment-heroin-a9215191.html Consider decriminalisation to tackle drug death ‘crisis’, say treatment providers in unprecedented plea], ''The Independent'', 1 Dec 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/senior-doctor-calls-for-drugs-law-reform-2054630.html Senior doctor calls for drugs law reform], ''The Independent'', 17 Aug 2010</ref>

==Independent assessments==
As of 2022, [[Media Bias/Fact Check]] rates it left-center bias, and rated its factual reporting "mixed" due to several failed fact checks.<ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-independent/ The Independent], Media Bias Fact Check, accessed 2 Sept 2022</ref>

==Overbearing proprietors==
===Russia===
''The Independent'' has carried pro-[[Putin]] pieces by father and son Lebedev.<ref name=Cadwalladr2022/> In 2014 after Russia's illegal annexation of [[Crimea]], Alexander wrote in the ''Independent'' about the need for compromise over the peninsula, saying that the west should rethink its opposition and in return Russia "should clarify the causes for its annexation, even if it retains its control over the peninsula".<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/russia-and-the-west-need-a-compromise-over-the-crimea-9848221.html Russia and the West need a compromise over the Crimea], Alexander Lebedev and Vladislav Inozemtsev, The Independent, 8 November 2014</ref> In 2017, following [[Donald Trump]]'s election as [[President of the United States|US President]], Evgeny wrote an opinion piece for the ''Independent'' about how Trump and Putin should work together with the British government to combat [[Islamist terrorism]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-theresa-may-white-house-meeting-us-russia-relations-fight-terror-together-a7550486.html The thaw in US relations with Russia offers a chance to fight terror together], Evgeny Lebedev, The Independent, 27 January 2017</ref> Evgeny Lebedev also made several statements in praise of Putin and cast doubts on Putin's involvement in the murder-by-radionuclide poisoning of former FSB (Russian Federal Security Service, successor of the KGB) agent Alexander Litvinenko in England in 2006.<ref name=wright2022>[https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/09/evgeny-lebedev-the-ersatz-kremlin-critic/ The Ersatz Kremlin Critic], Mic Wright, Byline Times, 9 March 2022</ref>

On the other hand, in February 2022, it published a message from owner Evgeny Lebedev calling for Putin to call off his invasion of [[Ukraine]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/evgeny-lebedev-vladimir-putin-lord-ukraine-boris-johnson-b2024941.html Evening Standard owner Lebedev uses front page to urge Putin to halt invasion], The Independent, 28 Feb 2022</ref>

===Saudi Arabia===
{{main|Saudi Arabia}}
The purchase of 30% of the title by a Saudi investor attracted criticism and fears that the paper would be less critical of the often brutal policies of the Saudi government.<ref>[https://inews.co.uk/news/media/saudi-investor-buys-independent-website-81625 Saudi investor buys into The Independent website], ''i'', July 30, 2017</ref>

In 2021, it emerged that the ''Independent'' and ''Evening Standard'' had both received money from the Saudi government to publish [[greenwashing]] stories about how environmentally friendly the Saudi government was and to promote a government campaign called the Saudi Green Initiative, around the time of the COP26 [[climate change]] summit. Most of the content was labelled as "partner content", indicating it had been sponsored, although some from the ''Independent'' was later republished on sites such as ''Yahoo! News'' without any indication of who had funded it. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest [[Fossil fuel|oil]] producers, so it is not environmentally-friendly.<ref name=bylinegreenwashing>[https://bylinetimes.com/2021/11/29/newspapers-accepted-money-to-publish-positive-environmental-stories-about-saudi-arabia-around-cop26-climate-change-summit/ UK Newspapers Accepted Money to Publish Positive Environmental Stories About Saudi Arabia Around COP26], Byline Times, 29 November 2021</ref>

==''i''==
The ''i'' was founded by the ''Independent'''s owners as a cheap, compact newspaper, for people without the time to read a weighty broadsheet. It was bought by local newspaper group Johnson Press in 2016, separating it from the ''Independent'', and then acquired by the [[Daily Mail]]'s owners in 2019.<ref>{{wpa|i (newspaper)}}</ref>

==External links==
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/ Independent website]

==References==
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[[Category:British media]]

Categories: British media