In August 2021 German publishing giant Axel Springer bought the mostly online news platform Politico for over $1 billion. This acquisition provoked numerous controversies for comments made by Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, who made clear his intentions to bring new staff to Politico, to establish a new “constitution” for the news outlet, and to ultimately put their content behind a paywall. Döpfner was accused of attempting a bait and switch by Politico staffers over promises made during negotiations to not use paywalls to generate revenue, but quickly backtracking on the matter. His comments were also interpreted as an open admission to use the outlet as propaganda, saying journalists that do not support Israel, a united Europe and a free-market economy should not work for Anel Springer . What effect will this have on Politico and the wider news-sphere?