International Business Times
The International Business Times is an American online newspaper[1] that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called IBTimes or IBT, offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and commerce. IBT is one of the world's largest online news sources, receiving forty million unique visitors each month.[2][3] Its 2013 revenues were around $21 million.[4] As of January 2022, IBTimes editions include Australia,[5] India,[6] International,[7] Singapore,[8] U.K.[9] and U.S.[10]
Not to be confused with Business Insider.Type
IBTimes was launched in 2005; it is owned by IBT Media,[11] and was founded by Etienne Uzac and Johnathan Davis. Its headquarters are in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City.[12]
Labor relations[edit]
Early in its history, IBT Media allegedly employed immigrant students of Olivet University who were not authorized to work in the United States to translate English content into Chinese and other languages, paying them less than minimum wage to do so.[2] In 2016, employees complained publicly about missed payroll, meager or nonexistent severance packages, and one-sided nondisclosure agreements.[52][53]
Relationship to "The Community"[edit]
The nature of the connection between IBT and The Community, a Christian sect led by David Jang, is disputed; IBT states that many reports about its connections to The Community are false or exaggerated.[2]
Davis and Uzac both have ties to Olivet University, an evangelical institution founded by Jang. Graduates of Olivet are known to work at Newsweek Media Group, which has donated money to Olivet. Davis was formerly on faculty at Olivet, where his wife serves as university president. Uzac has served on the Olivet board of trustees; his wife has worked as press secretary for the World Evangelical Alliance, of which Olivet is a member. Davis has personally endorsed the view that homosexuality can be caused by childhood sexual abuse and cured by therapy, although he declines to elaborate on his religious views regarding homosexuality, stating that he separates his work from his faith.[27]
Christianity Today claimed in 2012 that it had obtained an email in which Davis stated that he could not join a certain Jang-affiliated organization because his "commission is inherently covert". Davis denied the claim.[27]