Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

International Business Times

U.S. center to center-left (digital business and general news)

Owned byIBT Media, a privately held company co-founded in 2005–06 by Etienne Uzac and Johnathan Davis. Uzac is reported as its current owner and CEO. The company has historical ties to Olivet University and its network of affiliated organizations.
FundingMainly online advertising and sponsored or syndicated content, funded by a private owner. In the past, reporting showed IBT Media had financial and staffing links to Olivet University. Olivet students worked there as low-paid interns.
On the administrationmixed

Background

International Business Times was conceived in 2005 and launched in 2006 by Etienne Uzac and Johnathan Davis as an online outlet for global business news. Over time it grew into a general news site with regional editions, including U.S. and U.K. versions, and sister sites such as Medical Daily. IBT Media bought Newsweek in 2013 and renamed its parent Newsweek Media Group. In 2018 the Newsweek business was split off, one day before the Manhattan District Attorney indicted IBT Media and Uzac. Prosecutors accused them of a roughly $35 million scheme to defraud equipment lenders and launder money, in connection with Olivet University and a related company. The company was charged, and Uzac later pleaded guilty to money laundering and scheme-to-defraud charges and received a sentence reported as probation. Newsweek and other outlets reported that IBT Media supported Olivet University, a Christian school founded by pastor David Jang, and employed its students on very low pay. Olivet disputed Newsweek's reporting and sued over it. Bias raters such as AllSides and Ad Fontes classify IBT as center, while Media Bias/Fact Check rates it left-center with mostly factual reporting. Its mix of wire-style and aggregated stories, along with its ownership history, are common points of criticism.

Sources

  1. IBT Media (Wikipedia)
  2. International Business Times (Wikipedia)
  3. Newsweek's former parent company indicted in fraud and money laundering case (CNN)
  4. Former IBT Media Head Pleads Guilty In Fraud Case (Newsweek)
  5. David Jang's Christian University Charged in $35 Million Fraud Scheme (Christianity Today)
  6. International Business Times Media Bias (AllSides)
  7. International Business Times (Media Bias/Fact Check)
  8. International Business Times Bias and Reliability (Ad Fontes Media)

Profile compiled 2026-10-08; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record