Witkoff calls Putin a 'humanitarian' after Hubbard release, drawing bipartisan criticism as peace talks continue
At talks in St Petersburg, US envoy Steve Witkoff called Putin 'a humanitarian' after Russia freed American Stephen Hubbard. The remark drew criticism across party lines while Witkoff and Kushner presented an updated peace proposal.
Left 2 · Centre-left 17 · Centre 6 · Centre-right 8 · Right 8
Sources by leanFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
Moral outrage: 'the US feeds Putin with lies as Ukraine's children… die' (Guardian), 'fury in Ukraine' at the 'sycophantic envoy' (Independent), 'debased the US' (i), praise came '48 hours after strike kills baby' (Mirror).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Witkoff calls Putin a ‘humanitarian’ after Russia releases US prisoner” (Semafor); “Witkoff praises Putin as 'a humanitarian'” (BBC News).
Right-leaning outlets
Split. Critics: 'embarrassing' (Express), Brit Hume calls it 'absurd' (Fox), 'to his shame and ours' (Washington Examiner). Defenders: flattery as tactics to free a prisoner (Breitbart quotes a former official), Trump 'stops short' of the word (Newsmax).
Holding the paradox
Agreed facts
During talks in St Petersburg, Witkoff told Putin 'You are a humanitarian also, sir', after Russia released American teacher Stephen Hubbard. Witkoff and Kushner presented an updated peace proposal following talks with Zelensky in Oslo. Trump welcomed Hubbard's release but did not repeat the word.
Where claims conflict
Whether flattery is a tactic that worked (Hubbard is free) or a gift to the Kremlin. Whether the talks moved peace forward: the Economist summarises 'Putin agrees to peace negotiations', while the BBC's Rosenberg sees 'little hope for imminent peace'.
The paradox
Criticism of the remark crosses party lines, yet the prisoner release it accompanied is real. Both readings can be true: a man came home, and the word cost the US something with its allies.
Sources by lean
Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.
Left 3
Centre 3
Right 3
Showing 3 from each side of 41 rated outlets (L 19 / C 6 / R 16). More coverage
Follow the money
Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.
Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (41 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Beast | Left | The Daily Beast’s parent company is IAC (InterActiveCorp). which is run by Barry Diller, who had led the creation of the Fox network. IAC’s CEO is Joey Levin. IAC (InterActiveCorp) is a media and Internet company comprised of some of the world’s well-known brands, such as HomeAdvisor, Vimeo, About.com, Dictionary.com, Investopedia, and more. source |
| HuffPost | Left | HuffPost is owned by BuzzFeed, Inc., a publicly traded digital media company based in New York. In November 2020, BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost from Verizon Media Group, with Verizon becoming a minority shareholder. In February 2021, BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti took charge of the combined properties. source |
| Al Jazeera | Centre-left | Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source |
| Associated Press | Centre-left | The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled “ AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,” t he Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as “mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year.” source |
| Axios | Centre-left | Cox Enterprises, a significant media conglomerate in the U.S, primarily own Axios. The outlet generates revenue primarily through advertising, native content, and sponsored newsletters. Unlike some outlets, Axios does not rely on subscription fees, allowing its content to remain widely accessible. source |
| Bloomberg | Centre-left | Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source |
| CNBC | Centre-left | CNBC is owned by NBC Universal, which Comcast owns. Comcast’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Brian L. Roberts, founded by his father, Ralph J. source |
| CNN | Centre-left | No ownership data found |
| Channel 4 News | Centre-left | Channel 4 is owned by the nonprofit Channel Four Television Corporation. Advertising and licensing of their programs generate revenue. source |
| Daily Mirror | Centre-left | British Publishing Company Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror) owns The Daily Mirror. Revenue is generated through digital advertising, print ads, and subscription fees. source |
| NBC News | Centre-left | No ownership data found |
| New York Times | Centre-left | The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source |
| Politico Europe | Centre-left | On 8/26/2021, German publisher Axel Springer purchased Politico and Politico Europe for a reported 1 billion dollars. Axel Springer owns numerous publications, including Bild, Business Insider, and Fakt. source |
| The Atlantic | Centre-left | The Atlantic is published by The Atlantic Monthly Group. In 2017, Emerson Collective, the organization founded and led by Laurene Powell Jobs, acquired majority ownership of The Atlantic from Atlantic Media’s David G. Bradley, who retained a minority stake at the time of the sale. source |
| The Guardian | Centre-left | The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source |
| The Independent | Centre-left | The Independent is owned by Independent Print Limited, a company owned by the Lebedev family (Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev). In 2017, Saudi Businessman Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in the Independent online newspaper. Advertising and subscription generate revenue for the paper..push({}); source |
| USA Today | Centre-left | USA Today is owned by the Gannett Company, headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It is one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States, with interests in newspapers, digital marketing services companies, and television broadcasting. Subscriptions and advertising generate revenue. source |
| Washington Post | Centre-left | In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos is a frequent target of Trump, who has accused the businessman of using the Postal System as its “ Delivery Boy. ” The newspaper’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, is not involved in its news coverage. source |
| i (inews) | Centre-left | DMG Media owns iNews, which publishes the Daily Mail and The Metro. Advertising, sponsored content, and subscriptions generate revenue. source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| France 24 | Centre | France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source |
| Reuters | Centre | In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source |
| Semafor | Centre | The website was funded with $25 million in private capital. Advertising and sponsorships generate revenue. However, according to CNBC, Semafor will move to a paywall and subscription model within 18 months. source |
| Sky News | Centre | Sky News is owned by Comcast as of November 2018 and is funded through advertising. Rupert Murdoch is no longer affiliated with Sky News UK; however, Newscorp still has a share of Sky News Australia, which reports with a right-leaning bias. source |
| The Hill | Centre | In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source |
| CBS News | Centre-right | CBS News is owned by Paramount Global, which was formerly controlled by National Amusements, Inc., the holding company of the Redstone family. In 2025, Paramount entered into a merger agreement with Skydance Media, effectively ending the Redstones’ majority control. CBS News generates revenue primarily through advertising and affiliate broadcasting fees..push({}); source |
| ITV News | Centre-right | No ownership data found |
| Jerusalem Post | Centre-right | In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. for $17-million, which Canadian-born British Conservative Conrad Black owned. Conrad Black later was charged with “swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million.” He was serving a prison sentence; however, in 2019, President Donald Trump pardoned him. source |
| New York Post | Centre-right | The New York Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which owns many conservative/sensational media outlets worldwide. The paper is funded through advertising, subscriptions, and newsstand sales. source |
| Newsweek | Centre-right | Newsweek is owned by Newsweek Publishing LLC, which is co-owned by Dev Pragad and Johnathan Davis. Newsweek is funded through a paid subscription and advertising model. source |
| The Times | Centre-right | The Times and Sunday Times is owned by News UK (News Corp UK & Ireland Limited), which American News Corp owns. The owner and Executive Chairman of News Corp are Rupert Murdoch. Revenue is derived from advertising and subscription fees. source |
| Wall Street Journal | Centre-right | In 2007, The Bancroft family and relatives sold the Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch for 5 billion dollars. Rupert Murdoch also purchased its parent company, Dow Jones & Co., through News Corporation. Subscriptions and advertising fund the Wall Street Journal. source |
| Washington Examiner | Centre-right | The Washington Examiner is owned by Clarity Media Group, owned by Philip Anschutz, an American billionaire entrepreneur who describes himself as a “conservative Christian.” Anschutz is also the owner of the right-leaning Weekly Standard and has donated millions of dollars to right-leaning causes, including anti-LGBT groups, such as the Family Research Council, which has been labeled a hate group. source |
| Breitbart | Right | After the death of Andrew Breitbart in 2012, Larry Solov became CEO and president of Breitbart News. In 2017, according to Politico, Larry Solov revealed the owner of Breitbart as “himself, founder Andrew Breitbart’s widow, Susie Breitbart, and the Republican mega-donor family, the Mercers.” Further, Solov also stated that he wants “to disclose as little as possible about financial and ownership structure.” source |
| Daily Express | Right | The Daily Express is owned by Reach plc (formerly known as Trinity Mirror), a British newspaper, magazine, and digital publisher. Subscriptions, newsstand sales, and advertising generate revenue. source |
| Daily Mail | Right | The Daily Mail is published by Associated Newspapers Limited, part of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). DMGT is controlled by the Rothermere family and is 100% owned by Rothermere Continuation Limited. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, serves as Chairman..push({}); DMGT became privately owned after delisting from the London Stock Exchange in 2022. source |
| Fox News | Right | Rupert Murdoch is the owner and a board member of News Corp 21st Century Fox. According to Reuters, James Murdoch (son) was chief executive of 21st Century Fox and left in May 2018. L achlan (the other son of Murdoch) and Rupert Murdoch will serve as the new Fox co-chairman. source |
| GB News | Right | GB News lacks transparency as they do not disclose ownership. A search reveals that London-based ALL Perspectives Ltd owns GB News. According to Reuters, the television channel “secured millions of dollars from investors such as Discovery Inc, Legatum and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall. source |
| National Review | Right | The National Review magazine and website are both owned by the National Review Institute. William F. Buckley Jr. founded the National Review Institute as a nonprofit, and according to an article from The Nation, the “National Review‘s biggest financial supporter, Roger Milliken was a Birch Society member. source |
| Newsmax | Right | Newsmax is owned by publicly traded Newsmax Inc., which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NMAX on March 31, 2025. The company completed a $75 million public offering after previously raising approximately $225 million through a preferred-stock offering. source |
| The Telegraph | Right | Telegraph Media Group (TMG) owns The Telegraph, which is owned by Press Acquisitions Ltd., which in turn is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. In 2004, Twin Brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay acquired the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph from the Canadian media company Hollinger Inc. for £665 million. For a complete list of Board members, see here. source |