Right-wingers at war: Daily Wire reportedly gets gag order against ex-host Candace Owens

A conservative news site co-founded by Ben Shapiro secretly obtained a gag order against its former host Candace Owens even while publicly negotiating to debate her, according to a new report.

The Daily Wire, which «ended its relationship» with Ms Owens in March after clashes over Israel and antisemitism, has repeatedly said it wants to organise a debate between her and Mr Shapiro.

But on Thursday, the veteran journalist Glenn Greenwald reported that The Daily Wire had persuaded a private arbitrator to ban Ms Owens from publicly disparaging the company, citing her demand for debate as an example.

The company reportedly told the arbitrator that while it did not object to «healthy debate» in principle, her method of requesting and negotiating it constituted a breach of her contract.

"The Daily Wire has ensured that the debate with Owens that they publicly claimed to want could not, in fact, take place," wrote Mr Greenwald, who did not explain the source for his story.

«Any such debate would be in conflict with the gag order they obtained on Owens from expressing any criticisms of the site or of Shapiro.»

In response, The Daily Wire's co-CEO Jeremy Boreing told Mr Greenwald that it was «inaccurate to the point of being false», without denying any specific facts.

«I’m sure you can appreciate how fraught a high profile break-up like this is. For that reason, we are trying to resolve our issues with Candace privately,» he reportedly added.

Ms Owens told Mr Greenwald: «I wish I could comment on this, but I can't». The Independent has asked both Ms Owens andThe Daily Wire for comment.

It marks the latest twist in a long dispute between Ms Owens and Mr Shapiro, which has seen both parties publicly insult and belittle each other