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David Pecker
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<p>David Jay Pecker (born September 24, 1951) is an American publishing executive and businessman, who was the <a href="/facts/Chief_executive_officer/mg4A8y5M">CEO</a> of <a href="/facts/American_Media,_Inc./sevG7PL3">American Media</a> until August 2020. He was the publisher of <i><a href="/facts/Men%27s_Fitness/sJS6Ys5W">Men's Fitness</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Muscle_and_Fitness/2l25mPy7">Muscle and Fitness</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Flex_(magazine)/W05CXJqe">Flex</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Fit_Pregnancy/Cj7stCTc">Fit Pregnancy</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Shape_(magazine)/WXspHySW">Shape</a></i>, and <i><a href="/facts/Star_(magazine)/HLvlP7dh">Star</a></i>. He was also the publisher of <i><a href="/facts/National_Enquirer/qfCnlBeU">National Enquirer</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Sun_(supermarket_tabloid)/PNgddm1x">Sun</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Weekly_World_News/DYM1N2c5">Weekly World News</a></i>, and <i><a href="/facts/Globe_(tabloid)/18km4ojo">Globe</a></i>. </p><p>In 2018, Pecker became embroiled in controversy regarding his involvement in a <a href="/facts/Catch_and_kill/rXRUderM">catch and kill</a> operation under which his company would buy exclusive rights to stories that might embarrass his friend <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump/pqqKY21P">Donald Trump</a>, the idea being to prevent those stories from becoming public during <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump_2016_presidential_campaign/lSJEDMjy">the latter's 2016 presidential campaign</a>. </p>