❓WHAT HAPPENED: Glenn Kessler, editor of The Washington Post‘s “The Fact Checker,” announced he is leaving the paper after 27 years, citing financial considerations as a key factor in his decision.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Glenn Kessler, Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray, and other high-profile contributors who also took buyouts.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Kessler will leave The Washington Post on July 31, with the buyout program concluding this week.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Much as I would have liked to keep scrutinizing politicians in Washington, especially in this era, the financial considerations were impossible to dismiss.” – Glenn Kessler

🎯IMPACT: The Washington Post has not signalled an immediate successor for Kessler, and it is unclear whether the newspaper will continue to have a newsroom employee dedicated to “fact-checking.”

Glenn Kessler, editor of The Washington Post‘s “The Fact Checker,” has announced his departure from the paper after 27 years, including nearly 15 years leading the fact-checking division. Kessler revealed his decision to leave on Facebook, stating, “After more than 27 years at The Washington Post, including almost 15 as The Fact Checker, I will be leaving on July 31, having taken a buyout.”

Kessler cited financial considerations as a major factor in his decision and expressed disappointment that no agreement was reached to allow him to remain on a contract basis while a successor was found. “I didn’t want The Post to have a gap in fact-checking coverage during this fraught period in U.S. history. But we couldn’t work out an agreement,” he wrote. Kessler also noted that he had written or edited over 3,000 fact checks during his tenure.

The Washington Post‘s buyout program, introduced by executive editor Matt Murray in the face of collapsing revenue and readership, has also seen other prominent contributors, including columnists Jonathan Capehart, Catherine Rampell, Philip Bump, and Joe Davidson, leave the paper. The program offers financial incentives based on years of service, with veteran employees receiving up to 18 months of base pay.

Notably, the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper shed two other prominent newspaper staffers after Pulitzer Prize winners Darrin Bell—a cartoonist—and Thomas Pham LeGro—a video journalist—were separately arrested on charges of possession of child pornography.

Kessler and the other departures come amid broader editorial changes at the paper, driven by Bezos’s push to align the Post with principles of personal liberties and free markets. Bezos’ directive earlier this year led to the resignation of opinion editor David Shipley and sparked further resignations and subscription cancellations from liberal readers. The paper has faced similar backlash in the past over editorial decisions.

Despite a career mostly aimed at smearing Republican lawmakers, and especially President Donald J. Trump, the soon-to-be former fact checker for The Washington Post did begrudgingly admit in 2023 that former President Joe Biden regularly lies to the public regarding his past, not simply embellishing, but outright fabricating details about his personal and family history.

Image by Dion Hinchcliffe.

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