Caption
A digital display stock index is seen in Lujiazui, China, on March 9, 2026. (Getty Images)
Caption
(Swell Media/Getty Images)
Is It Time to Rein in Kleptocrats Who Seek to Dominate the World's Information?
It’s an increasingly prevalent phenomenon across the globe: media companies are being taken over by business tycoons and kleptocrats less concerned with honest journalism than with their own political and financial self-interest. Their wealth itself isn’t necessarily a problem. There are genuine philanthropists now sustaining serious news publications and opinion outlets, and serious investors seeking new revenue streams to pay for high-quality news. But the overall trend is disturbing.
What to do? Are there safeguards that governments can put in place? Does that even make sense in a digital age? How might governmental responses be squared with Western faith in free economic competition? Does that still offer a path forward, or is the global erosion of media freedom best described as a market failure?
On Thursday, December 1, Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative hosted the first in a series of debates on kleptocracy and democracy. Featuring Hudson Visiting Fellow Martha Bayles of Boston College and Megan McArdle of Bloomberg View, this event was held at the 5th & K Busboys and Poets.
Related Events
27
April 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Future of the Gulf: Commerce and Security in the Middle East After Operation Epic Fury
Featured Speakers:
Mike Gallagher
Jared Cohen
27
April 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Future of the Gulf: Commerce and Security in the Middle East After Operation Epic Fury
Join Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Mike Gallagher for a fireside chat with Jared Cohen, president of global affairs at Goldman Sachs and co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, for a discussion on the future of the Persian Gulf.
Featured Speakers:
Mike Gallagher
Jared Cohen
29
April 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Updating US Trade Policy: A Discussion on the Strategic and Economic Importance of Central Asia with Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA)
Featured Speakers:
Ken Moriyasu
Congressman Jimmy Panetta
29
April 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Updating US Trade Policy: A Discussion on the Strategic and Economic Importance of Central Asia with Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA)
Please join Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Senior Fellow Ken Moriyasu for a discussion on Central Asia’s economic and strategic significance and why updating US trade policy is key to unlocking the region’s potential in an era of renewed great power competition.
Featured Speakers:
Ken Moriyasu
Congressman Jimmy Panetta
29
April 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Cuba: Prospects for Transition
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Batlle
Frank Calzon
29
April 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Cuba: Prospects for Transition
Join Hudson Institute for a conversation with Frank Calzon, a veteran human rights advocate and one of the foremost authorities on Cuban civil society, as we examine the state of the island, lessons from democratic transitions elsewhere, and prospects for the Trump administration’s Cuba strategy.
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Batlle
Frank Calzon
24
April 2026
Past Event
Strains and Strength: The Future of the US-UK Alliance in a Time of War
Featured Speakers:
Joel Rayburn
Tobias Ellwood
24
April 2026
Past Event
Strains and Strength: The Future of the US-UK Alliance in a Time of War
Join the Hudson Institute for a timely conversation with former UK minister for the Middle East and North Africa and former minister of state for defence Tobias Ellwood, one of Britain’s most experienced voices on security and foreign policy.
Featured Speakers:
Joel Rayburn
Tobias Ellwood
Related Research
Caption
People gather in front of the Chinese Consulate General to protest the unjust conviction of Jimmy Lai on February 14, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)
Caption
Watchtowers are seen from a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp in northwest Xinjiang, China, on May 31, 2019. (Getty Images)
Caption
A woman holds up a sign that reads "anti-semitism kills" between police officers as people take part in a Hanukkah candle-lighting in central London on December 15, 2025. (Getty Images)
