Politico appears to have erased any evidence of a sponsorship deal with weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin on its “National Security Daily” newsletter after the relationship between the company and the media outlet was criticized online in August.
National Security Daily was “Presented by Lockheed Martin,” America’s largest weapons manufacturer, from late March until mid-August. A viral tweet highlighting the relationship on Aug. 16 by Eli Clifton led to online criticism of the branding deal, and Politico has since removed the Lockheed branding from all past editions of the newsletter.
— Eli Clifton (@EliClifton) August 16, 2021
The Monday afternoon edition released the same day as Clifton’s tweet no longer attributed Lockheed as a sponsor, despite the deal having still been in place the Friday before. Internet archives show the sponsorship present on Aug. 13 and in previous editions of the newsletter, but the current versions of those pages contain no sponsorship from Lockheed.
UPDATE: Politico appears to have ended, or is hiding, its sponsorship deal between Lockheed Martin, the largest weapons manufacturer in the United States, and its popular newsletter National Security Daily. @ethancpaul @RStatecraft https://t.co/3qRNkUCPxG https://t.co/VrDrMyoToO
— Eli Clifton (@EliClifton) September 3, 2021
The removal was highlighted by Clifton’s outlet and publication of the Quincy Institute, Responsible Statecraft, earlier Friday and was previously reported on by Heavy.com the day after the initial removal occurred in August. The sponsorship was not only pointed out on Twitter but was mocked on other social platforms such as Reddit. (RELATED: Washington Post Runs Op-Ed Criticizing Afghanistan Withdrawal, Doesn’t Disclose Author Is On Defense Contractor Board)
Prior to being sponsored by America’s largest weapons producer, National Security Daily was sponsored by Northrup Grumman, America’s third-largest weapons manufacturer. Politico did not respond to a request for comment on the nature of its relationship with Lockheed or what prompted the scrubbing of the company’s branding from its newsletter, which is popular in Washington, D.C. foreign and defense policy circles.