Is Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz the next Andrew Breitbart? Photo: Forbes
The CEO of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, is launching a new website — but don’t expect it to cover surfing, snowboarding, race cars, or even energy drinks. The site, which Mateschitz said will be separate from Red Bull, will be what the reclusive Austrian billionaire called in a recent interview a “research platform.”
Given the fact that Mateschitz has voiced support for President Donald Trump, along with a whole bunch of right-wing views, the German-language site has drawn comparisons to Trump-boosting conservative site Breitbart. It even has a conspiracy theory-sounding name that translates to “Closer to the Truth.” Many European news publications have started referring to it as “Bullbart.”
In the recent interview, Mateschitz railed against the “intellectual elite” and voiced anti-immigration sentiment. “It was clear from the start that most of the people weren’t refugees,” he said about immigrants and refugees seeking a new life in Europe. “At least not according to the definition of the term in the Geneva Conventions.”
For its part, a spokesperson from Red Bull told the magazine The Fader that the energy drink company would remain independent from “Closer to the Truth.”
“Mr. Mateschitz gave a personal interview – published on April 8th, 2017. Our company values freedom of mind and encourages open conversation,” Red Bull said.
Yet, some reports have called that into question. Mateschitz has said that the website will be funded by his private foundation, Quo Vadis Veritas. Artnet News points to a German newspaper article which reports that “the foundation’s only benefactors are listed in its commercial register as Mateschitz and Servus Medien GmbH, which is run by the Red Bull Media House, a subsidiary of Red Bull.”
