Red Bull has spent years aligning themselves with progressive youth culture by supporting up-and-coming musicians, hosting innovative performances and working with left-leaning athletes. But it seems more and more clear that rich, old people often sway a certain way, and it looks like Red Bull’s CEO is no exception. Dietrich Mateschitz revealed in an interview with the Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung that he supports Donald Trump, is against the resettlement of refugees in the European Union and is launching his own right-wing news platform that’s drawing comparisons to the far-right American news site Breitbart.
The platform will be called Näher an die Wahrheit — which roughly translates to “Closer To The Truth” — and presumably will trade in the sort of stories that Steve Bannon made his name on: Barely veiled xenophobia, opinion columns about political correctness run amok and unwavering support of European far-right politicians.
Red Bull released a statement to The Fader about Mateschitz’ planned news site which, it should be noted, will be an independent venture outside of the Red Bull umbrella.
“Mr. Mateschitz gave a personal interview — published on April 8th, 2017,” they said. “Our company values freedom of mind and encourages open conversation.”
Mateschitz revelation is merely the latest indication of people who profit off of progressive youth culture showing their true colors. It was recently revealed that the owner of the Coachella festival regularly used his wealth to support anti-LGBT and far-right causes, though he adamantly denies it.
