When Mehdi Hasan launched a new publication called Zeteo News in April, a few months after his weekly MSNBC show was canceled, the longtime liberal political commentator had no experience as a media executive.

But he perceived a “gap in the market” for an online-first outlet that would be more clear-eyed, honest and forceful in writing about what he sees as Donald Trump’s threat to democracy and a moral catastrophe in Gaza.