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{{Short description|American far-right fake news website}}
{{Infobox Newspaper |
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
name = ] |
{{Infobox website
owners = WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. |
| name = WorldNetDaily
type = Online news site |
| logo = WorldNetDaily logo.svg
format = Website |
| type = {{plainlist|
foundation = ] |
*]<ref name="far-right" />
headquarters = Medford, ] |
*]<ref name="fake news" />
website = |
}}
| owners = WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
| founder = ]
| editor = Joseph Farah
| foundation = {{start date and age|1997}}
| language = English
| website = {{official URL}}
}} }}


'''WND''' (formerly '''WorldNetDaily''') is an ]{{r|far-right}} news and opinion website. It is known for promoting ]{{r|fake news}} and ],{{r|conspiracy theories}} including the false claim that former President Barack Obama ].{{r|birther}}
:''For the Internet service, see ]''.
{{POV-check|date=February 2008}}
'''WorldNetDaily''', also known as '''WND''', is a far right conservative web site<ref>''Desperate Bush Turns To the National Guard.'' The New York Observer (New York, NY) (May 22, 2006) quote: ''"On the far-right Web site WorldNetDaily, a columnist who describes himself as a "Christian libertarian" recently explained why he knew that the President is wrong about mass deportations."''</ref><ref name="Far-right">{{cite web |url=http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2008/2/15/farright_website_settles_case_that_arose_from_gore_2000_campaign |title=Far-right Web site settles case |accessdate=2008-02-27 |format= |work=}}</ref> and online news site<ref>{{cite book
|author=Alterman, Eric
|title=What liberal media?: the truth about bias and the news
|publisher=Basic Books
|location=New York
|year=2003
|pages=pg 75-76
|isbn=0465001769
|oclc=
|doi=
}}</ref>, founded in ]. It is currently in the top 90 news sites as listed at ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.alexa.com/browse/general/?&CategoryID=8&mode=general&SortBy=Popularity&mode=general&R=True&Start=71&BrowseStart=51&CategoryID=8 | title=Alexa - Sites in: News | work=Alexa | accessdate=2007-11-02 }}</ref>


The site was founded in May 1997 by ], who is its current editor-in-chief and CEO. The website publishes news, editorials, and ]s, while also aggregating content from other publications.
==Foundation==
WND was founded in 1997 by ]. In 1991, after resigning as editor of the '']'', Farah co-founded the ], known for its promotion of conservative causes, with ], former publisher of the '']''.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/primer.html| title=Joesph Farah and WorldNetDaily| journal=ConWebWatch| accessdate=2006-10-28}}</ref> In 1994 and 1995, foundations controlled by conservative financier and former owner of the Union ] gave $330,000 to the Center.<ref name="WaPo">{{cite journal| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/scaifeside050299.htm| title='Arkansas Project' Led to Turmoil and Rifts| journal=Washington Post| month=May 2| year=1999| pages=A24| accessdate=2006-05-03}}</ref> By May 1997, Farah set his eyes on the internet and set up WorldNetDaily as a project of the Center. In 1999, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc., with offices in ], was incorporated in Delaware as a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit Western Journalism Center with the backing of $4.5 million from investors.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17207 | title = "World's 'No. 1 website' goes for-profit" | work = World Net Daily | accessmonthday = October 31 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> As a result, Farah and the Western Journalism Center possess the bulk of the WND stock, but the remainder is owned by about 75 private investors. In August 2001, '']'' cited Farah who claimed WND had begun to turn a profit.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010828_333.htm| title=On the Web, Small and Focused Pays Off| journal=BusinessWeek Online| accessdate=2006-11-04}}</ref> Currently the webpage has a staff of approximately 25 people.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldnetdaily.com/resources/about_WND.asp | title=WorldNetDaily: About Us | accessmonthday=December 1 | accessyear=2006}}</ref>


==Description== ==History==
{{Conservatism US|media}}
WorldNetDaily is a for-profit website that provides primarily conservative-oriented news and editorials, as well as publishing letters to the editor and maintaining forums and a daily poll. Besides providing articles authored by its own staff, the site links to news from other publications. The website features editorials from the site's founder, ] and other conservative authors such as ], ], and ], as well as liberals like ] and ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/resources/columnists.asp | work = WorldNetDaily | title = WorldNetDaily: Columnists | accessmonthday = December 16 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> The site also offers products for sale in a fashion similar to its news articles, advertising these products with related news stories. Typically these are products sold by its related book service, , publishing house, ], or its retail operation, . The site also contains advertisements for WND's printed magazine, ], and other companies. WND also operates the , a subscription-only website described as an "intelligence resource" for "insights into geo-political and geo-strategic developments."
In 1997, ] created the news website WorldNetDaily as a division of the ]. It was subsequently spun off in 1999 as a for-profit organization<ref name="Foley 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Foley |first1=Jordan M. |title=Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents |journal=Journalism Practice |date=13 September 2020 |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=9–10 |issn=1751-2794 |doi=10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214 |url=https://jordanfoley.net/files/papers/press_credentials_wnd/press_credentials_wnd_jp.pdf |s2cid=210645440 |via=Jordan M. Foley |access-date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> with the backing of $4.5 million from investors, Farah owning a majority of the stock. The site describes itself as "an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism". In 1999, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. was incorporated in ]<ref name="Farah 1999">{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Farah |url=http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17207 |title=World's 'No. 1 website' goes for-profit |date=October 1, 1999 |access-date=May 25, 2011 |website=WorldNetDaily |location=McLean, Virginia |quote=Beginning today, WorldNetDaily.com, voted the most popular website on the Internet the last 23 weeks, is officially a for-profit corporation... |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073423/http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17207 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with offices in ], ].<ref name="Black 2001">{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010828_333.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011024020122/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010828_333.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 24, 2001 |title=On the Web, Small and Focused Pays Off |work=BusinessWeek |date=August 27, 2001 |access-date=November 4, 2006 |last=Black |first=Jane |location=New York}}</ref>


The website gained notoriety for stoking false "]" conspiracy theories about President ].<ref name="Roig-Franzia 2019">{{cite news |first=Manuel |last=Roig-Franzia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |title=Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites |date=April 2, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited |access-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211092836/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
WorldNetDaily claims to be "the largest independent, full-service newssite in the world."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36620 | title = "WND most popular 'political site'" | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = August 24 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> WND currently claims eight million visitors a month to its website.<ref></ref> As of ], ], it is listed by ] as the most popular website in the "Conservatism > News and Media" category.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://www.alexa.com/browse?&CategoryID=29409 | title = Alexa - Browse: News and Media | accessdate = November 8 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> WorldNetDaily articles are often linked by other websites, including the popular ].


In 2018, Farah wrote about WorldNetDaily{{'}}s financial problems, saying it faced an "existential threat". Farah ceased contributing to the site after his March 12, 2019, column; the site announced a few weeks later that he had suffered a major stroke. In April 2019, '']'' reported that ''WorldNetDaily'' suffered from declining revenue and diminishing readership. Farah blamed the website's financial woes on what he claimed was suppression by powerful technology companies.<ref name="Roig-Franzia 2019"/>
From July 2000 to early 2002, WorldNetDaily offered a service called TalkNetDaily, which provided an Internet audio stream of a daily talk show by then-WND columnist ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17546 | title = "Metcalf Live -- Monday through Friday" | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = April 7 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>


In 2019, WorldNetDaily created the WND News Center, a nonprofit organization where its reporting operation would move.<ref name=NewsCenter>{{cite news |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832729761 |title=Wnd News Center |website=ProPublica (Nonprofit Explorer)|access-date=December 3, 2024}}</ref> The structure is similar to that used by another conservative news website, '']''.
==WND Books==
WorldNetDaily also publishes books under the name WND Books. The imprint was launched in 2002 through a partnership with ] (a prominent Christian publishing house) and released books by politicians and pundits like ], ], and Farah himself. The partnership with Thomas Nelson Publishing ended shortly before the 2004 election;<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/primer.html | title = Joseph Farah and WorldNetDaily | work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = November 14 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> Thomas Nelson has continued the division under the Nelson Current imprint.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.writenews.com/2004/110504_thomas_nelson_politics.htm | work = The Write News | title = Thomas Nelson Launches Political Imprint | accessmonthday = November 18 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> The WND Books imprint was subsequently published under a partnership with ]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40983 | work = WorldNetDaily | title = WND Books signs 'Unfit for Command' author | accessmonthday = November 21 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> and released books by ], ] and ], among other authors. In 2007, Los Angeles-based conservative publisher ] became the publisher of WND Books.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52262 | work = WorldNetDaily | title = New publishing partner for WND Books | accessmonthday = November 23 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> In January 2008, WND announced it had acquired World Ahead Media.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59826 | work = WorldNetDaily | title = WND acquires World Ahead Media | accessmonthday = February 24 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref>


===Application for congressional press credentials (2002)===
==Congressman Jim Welker controversy==
Seeking credentials to cover the ] in 2002, WND was opposed by the ]. This panel of journalists is charged by Congress with administering press credentials. Until 1996, Internet-only publications had been deemed unacceptable.<ref>{{citation |first=Michael T |last=Heaney |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mheaney/Press_Galleries.pdf |title=Blogging Congress: Technological Change and the Politics of the Congressional Press Galleries |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |year=2008 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=422–426 |issn=1049-0965 |doi=10.1017/S1049096508290670 |s2cid=154642023 |access-date=July 7, 2010 |archive-date=February 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202121315/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mheaney/Press_Galleries.pdf |url-status=dead}}.</ref> ''WND'' turned to the ] for help, arguing that the panel's decision had violated the site's constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and freedom of the press. Faced "with legal threats and negative publicity, the panel reversed itself, voting 3–2 to award ''WND'' its credentials".<ref>{{citation |first=Jesse |last=Walker |author-link=Jesse Walker |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_6_34/ai_93090045/ |title=Galley gatekeepers: the politics of press credentials – Citings |newspaper=Reason |date=November 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713163707/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_6_34/ai_93090045/ |archive-date=July 13, 2012}}.</ref> Shortly after, the rules were formally adjusted to clarify the participation of online publications.<ref>{{citation |first=Mark |last=Thompson |url=http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1075604186.php |title=New Media Often Takes Back Seat to Old Media on Press Credentials |newspaper=Online Journalism Review |date=April 22, 2004 |access-date=May 16, 2010 |archive-date=January 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102163943/http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1075604186.php |url-status=live }}.</ref>


===Ann Coulter speech at Homocon (2010)===
In March 2006 Republican Colorado State Representative ] was criticized for forwarding a WorldNetDaily commentary by ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46440 | work = WorldNetDaily | title = Moral poverty costs blacks in New Orleans | accessmonthday = November 22 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> Congressmen criticized Welker for uncritically sending a copy of the article by email, which included the statements "President Bush is not to blame for the rampant immorality of blacks" and accused "welfare-pampered blacks" of waiting for the federal government to save them from ]. Welker stated that he did not agree with everything in the article. He said that the reason he sent it was because of its message "about society victimizing people by making them dependent on government programs."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_4857415,00.html | work = Rocky Mountain News | title = Racially charged e-mail stirs outrage | accessmonthday = December 17 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref>
In 2010, when ] accepted an invitation to attend and speak at ]'s Homocon 2010 convention, Farah announced the withdrawal of Coulter's name from the list of speakers at the company's 'Taking America Back' conference.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Ben |title=WorldNet dumps 'right-wing Judy Garland' Coulter over gay event |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/WorldNet_dumps_Coulter_over_gay_event.html |access-date=July 30, 2015 |publisher=Politico |date=August 18, 2010 |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508051333/http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/WorldNet_dumps_Coulter_over_gay_event.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Coulter responded by saying that speaking engagements do not imply endorsement of the hosting organization.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}


==Web filtering== ==Content==
WND provides news, editorials, letters to the editor, forums, videos and conducts a daily poll. Its CEO Joseph Farah has said that ''WND'' provides "the broadest spectrum of opinion anywhere in the news business", but acknowledges "some misinformation by columnists".<ref name="Elliot 2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/joseph_farah_wnd_misinformation |title=Right-wing publisher: We run "some misinformation" |first=Justin |last=Elliot |work=Salon |date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=September 13, 2015 |archive-date=September 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903122130/http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/joseph_farah_wnd_misinformation |url-status=dead}}</ref> ''WND'''s content is predominantly ].<ref name="Burns 2009">{{cite news |title=Britain Identifies 16 Barred From Entering U.K. |first=John F. |last=Burns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |quote=according to WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative Web site. |url-access=limited |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312200857/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Gail |title=Celebrities get nasty over Gaza and Israel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/celebrities-get-nasty-over-gaza-and-israel/ |access-date=July 30, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 5, 2014 |url-access=limited |archive-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023080305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/celebrities-get-nasty-over-gaza-and-israel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Besides providing articles written by its own staff, the site links to news from other publications.
WND often battles what it claims is unfair blocks by common web filtering applications. For example, ] blocks WND for "hate / violence" content. <ref></ref> At different times, organizations such as the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and American Airlines have blocked WND.{{fact|date=March 2008}}


WND{{'}}s political lean has been described as ]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Aaron |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Introducing the 'alt-left': The GOP's response to its alt-right problem |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/meet-the-alt-left-the-gops-response-to-its-alt-right-problem/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |issn=0190-8286 |quote=It started with alt-right websites like World Net Daily |url-access=limited |archive-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824182141/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/meet-the-alt-left-the-gops-response-to-its-alt-right-problem/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fuchs |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Fuchs (sociologist) |date=20 July 2020 |title=Towards a critical theory of communication as renewal and update of Marxist humanism in the age of digital capitalism |journal=Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=335–356 |doi=10.1111/jtsb.12247 |issn=0021-8308 |quote=Examples of alt-right websites are Breitbart, Drudge Report, InfoWars, Daily Caller, Daily Wire, and WorldNetDaily. |s2cid=225578399 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and ].{{refn|name=far-right|Sources describing ''WorldNetDaily'' as far-right:
==Controversial articles==
* {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=] |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=Joseph Francis Farah (b. 1955) is editor in chief and CEO of ''WorldNetDaily'' (WND, About), a far-right "news" Web site he founded in 1997}}
WND has published many articles that have created controversies and criticism of the site by other media outlets. Some of these include:
* {{cite book |last1=Strømmen |first1=Hannah M. |chapter=The War Bible |title=The Bibles of the Far Right |date=30 October 2024 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-778989-6 |page=152 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FL8gEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=] |access-date=15 September 2024 |language=en |quote=Farah is the editor-in-chief of the far-right news website World Net Daily, which is cited several times in Breivik's manifesto.}}
* {{cite book |last1=Andersen |first1=Robin |editor1-last=Andersen |editor1-first=Robin |editor-last2=de Silva |editor-first2=Purnaka L. |title=The Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action |date=29 September 2017 |publisher=] |location=New York |isbn=9781315538129 |pages=490–491 |chapter=Weaponizing Social Media: "The Alt-Right," the Election of Donald J. Trump, and the Rise of Ethno-Nationalism in the United States |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315538129-49/weaponizing-social-media-robin-andersen |chapter-url-access=subscription |doi=10.4324/9781315538129-49 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315538129/routledge-companion-media-humanitarian-action-robin-andersen-purnaka-de-silva |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |via=] |quote=It started in January 2016 with an opinion piece Ulukaya wrote for ''CNN Money'', about his efforts to motivate businesses to help end the refugee crisis. Though Ulukaya never mentioned Muslims, the piece attracted the far-right website ''World Net Daily'' that published a story titled, "American Yogurt Tycoon Vows to Choke U.S. With Muslims."}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Moffitt |first1=Benjamin |title=What Was the 'Alt' in Alt-Right, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Left? On 'Alt' as a Political Modifier |journal=] |date=2 February 2023 |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=903–923 |doi=10.1177/00323217221150871 |doi-access=free |publisher=] |quote=Despite Trump's claim that there was no alt-left, within days, editor of the far-right site ''World Net Daily'' Joseph Farah published a column entitled 'Let's take a look at the Alt-Left'}}
* {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=] |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax<nowiki/>.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
* {{cite news |date=2009-09-06 |first=Andrew |last=Sullivan |title=Obama's in the ER but he'll get his reforms |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/obamas-in-the-er-but-hell-get-his-reforms-09zp9xvksvp |newspaper=] |issn=0956-1382 |quote=One of the most popular far-right websites, WorldNetDaily |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/theres-the-major-media-and-then-theres-the-other-white-house-press-corps/2016/02/21/f69c5f92-c460-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html |title=There's the major media. And then there's the 'other' White House press corps. |last2=Bruno |first2=Debra |date=February 21, 2016 |quote=Les Kinsolving, a reporter for the far-right World Net Daily, was a familiar White House gadfly from the days of the Nixon administration on. |first1=Debra |last1=Bruno |newspaper=] |url-access=limited}}
* {{Cite web |last=Mackey |first=Robert |date=August 15, 2020 |title=White House Plants Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Among Reporters in Briefing Room |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/08/15/white-house-plants-pro-trump-conspiracy-theorists-among-reporters-briefing-room/ |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=] |language=en |quote=... Powe is a former blogger for WorldNetDaily, the far-right website that helped create the racist 'birther' conspiracy theory to undermine President Barack Obama.}}
* {{cite web |date=2020-10-12 |first=Samuel |last=Perry |title=Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked of conspiracies against God's chosen – those ideas are finding resonance today |url=https://theconversation.com/evangelical-leaders-like-billy-graham-and-jerry-falwell-sr-have-long-talked-of-conspiracies-against-gods-chosen-those-ideas-are-finding-resonance-today-132241 |website=] |quote=WND is a far-right website that entered the mainstream during President Obama's presidency. The website was a hub for the birther conspiracy.}} }} ''WND'' is known for promoting ]{{refn|name=fake news|Sources describing ''WorldNetDaily'' as a fake news website:
* {{Cite journal |last1=Grinberg |first1=Nir |last2=Joseph |first2=Kenneth |last3=Friedland |first3=Lisa |last4=Swire-Thompson |first4=Briony |last5=Lazer |first5=David |date=2019-01-25 |title=Fake news on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election |journal=] |language=en |volume=363 |issue=6425 |pages=374–378 |doi=10.1126/science.aau2706 |pmid=30679368 |bibcode=2019Sci...363..374G |s2cid=59248491 |issn=0036-8075 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Guess |first1=Andrew M. |last2=Nyhan |first2=Brendan |last3=Reifler |first3=Jason |date=2 March 2020 |title=Exposure to untrustworthy websites in the 2016 US election |journal=] |language=en |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=472–480 |doi=10.1038/s41562-020-0833-x |pmid=32123342 |pmc=7239673 |hdl=10871/121820 |issn=2397-3374}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Ognyanova |first1=Katherine |last2=Lazer |first2=David |last3=Robertson |first3=Ronald E. |last4=Wilson |first4=Christo |date=2020-06-02 |title=Misinformation in action: Fake news exposure is linked to lower trust in media, higher trust in government when your side is in power |journal=] |language=en-US |doi=10.37016/mr-2020-024 |s2cid=219904597 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Laura Hazard |date=October 26, 2020 |title=Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=]}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Guess |first1=Andrew |last2=Aslett |first2=Kevin |last3=Tucker |first3=Joshua |last4=Bonneau |first4=Richard |author-link4=Richard Bonneau |last5=Nagler |first5=Jonathan |date=2021-04-26 |title=Cracking Open the News Feed: Exploring What U.S. Facebook Users See and Share with Large-Scale Platform Data |journal=Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media |volume=1 |pages=1–48 |doi=10.51685/jqd.2021.006 |issn=2673-8813 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Osmundsen |first1=Mathias |last2=Bor |first2=Alexander |last3=Vahlstrup |first3=Peter Bjerregaard |last4=Bechmann |first4=Anja |last5=Petersen |first5=Michael Bang |date=May 7, 2021 |title=Partisan Polarization Is the Primary Psychological Motivation behind Political Fake News Sharing on Twitter |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=115 |issue=3 |pages=999–1015 |doi=10.1017/S0003055421000290 |s2cid=235527523 |issn=0003-0554|url=https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/partisan-polarization-is-the-primary-psychological-motivation-behind-political-fake-news-sharing-on-twitter(54c023f3-0ad3-4a1a-a924-b4892bdb46f9).html }}
* {{Cite web |last=Kukura |first=Joe |date=2017-03-16 |title=The Inside Dope on Jean Quan's Pot Club |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/suckafreecity/the-inside-dope-on-jean-quans-pot-club/ |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=] |language=en-US |quote=As of press time, the homepage of their website lists links to right-wing fake news sites like WorldNetDaily...}}
}} and ],{{refn|name=conspiracy theories|Sources describing ''WorldNetDaily''{{'}}s publication of conspiracy theories:
* {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=] |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=''WorldNetDaily'' specializes in conspiracy theories and has become a leading platform for Tea Party activists and end times prophets}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Foley |first1=Jordan M. |title=Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents |journal=Journalism Practice |date=13 September 2020 |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=9–10 |issn=1751-2794 |doi=10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214 |url=https://jordanfoley.net/files/papers/press_credentials_wnd/press_credentials_wnd_jp.pdf |s2cid=210645440 |via=jordanfoley.net |access-date=October 9, 2020}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/theres-the-major-media-and-then-theres-the-other-white-house-press-corps/2016/02/21/f69c5f92-c460-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html |title=There's the major media. And then there's the 'other' White House press corps. |last2=Bruno |first2=Debra |date=February 21, 2016 |quote=Les Kinsolving, a reporter for the far-right World Net Daily, was a familiar White House gadfly from the days of the Nixon administration on. |first1=Debra |last1=Bruno |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=Columbia Journalism Review |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax<nowiki/>.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
* {{Cite journal |last=O'Donnell |first=S. Jonathon |date=10 August 2016 |title=Secularizing Demons: Fundamentalist Navigations in Religion and Secularity: with Sebastian Musch, 'The Atomic Priesthood and Nuclear Waste Management: Religion, Sci-Fi Literature, and the End of Our Civilization'; S. Jonathon |journal=Zygon |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=640–660 |issn=0591-2385 |doi=10.1111/zygo.12275 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23980/1/secularizing-demons-fundamentalist-navigitions-in-religion.pdf |quote=While such oddities might cast Horn as marginal, he has been featured heavily on popular right-wing conspiracist website WorldNetDaily (wnd.com)}}
* {{cite news |title=Britain Identifies 16 Barred From Entering U.K. |first=John F. |last=Burns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |quote=according to WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative Web site. |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/11/fact-checking-president-elect-trumps-news-conference/ |title=Fact-checking President-elect Trump's news conference |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=He frequently claimed that Obama had spent $2 million to cover this up — a number he plucked out of World Net Daily, which promotes conservative-leaning conspiracy theories. |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/12/the-highly-reliable-definitely-not-crazy-places-where-donald-trump-gets-his-news/ |title=The highly reliable, definitely-not-crazy places where Donald Trump gets his news |last=Borchers |first=Callum |date=August 12, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=WND is a leader in preserving murder cover-up theories, publishing 'exclusive reports' linking the Clintons to a plot to kill their longtime friend. |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/politics/donald-trump-supporters-violent-words/index.html |title=Trump's supporters and their bloody words of war |first=Gregory |last=Krieg |website=CNN |date=October 28, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=Writing in the right-wing site WorldNetDaily, Pat Buchanan...}}
}} including the ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gedye |first=Lloyd |date=2018-03-23 |title=White genocide: How the big lie spread to the US and beyond |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-03-23-00-radical-right-plugs-swart-gevaar/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=] |language=en-ZA |archive-date=April 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405033326/https://mg.co.za/article/2018-03-23-00-radical-right-plugs-swart-gevaar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the false claim that former President ] ].{{refn|name=birther|Sources describing ''WorldNetDaily''{{'}}s promotion of ]:
* {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=] |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=One of WND’s most prominent conspiracy theories was the discredited “birther” claim about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. WND worked very closely with Donald Trump, before he was elected president, to spread the false allegations that President Obama had not been born in the United States}}
* {{cite news |first=Manuel |last=Roig-Franzia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |title=Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites |date=April 2, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=Columbia Journalism Review |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax<nowiki/>.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
* {{Cite web |last=Mackey |first=Robert |date=August 15, 2020 |title=White House Plants Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Among Reporters in Briefing Room |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/08/15/white-house-plants-pro-trump-conspiracy-theorists-among-reporters-briefing-room/ |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=] |language=en |quote=... Powe is a former blogger for WorldNetDaily, the far-right website that helped create the racist "birther" conspiracy theory to undermine President Barack Obama.}}
* {{cite web |date=2020-10-12 |first=Samuel |last=Perry |title=Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked of conspiracies against God's chosen – those ideas are finding resonance today |url=https://theconversation.com/evangelical-leaders-like-billy-graham-and-jerry-falwell-sr-have-long-talked-of-conspiracies-against-gods-chosen-those-ideas-are-finding-resonance-today-132241 |website=] |quote=WND is a far-right website that entered the mainstream during President Obama's presidency. The website was a hub for the birther conspiracy.}} }} The ] (SPLC) labels ''WND'' an anti-government extremist group.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/worldnetdaily |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |title=WorldNetDaily |date=n.d. |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |quote=WorldNetDaily is an online publication founded and run by Joseph Farah that claims to pursue truth, justice and liberty. But in fact, its pages are devoted to manipulative fear-mongering and outright fabrications designed to further the paranoid, gay-hating, conspiratorial and apocalyptic visions of Farah and his hand-picked contributors |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112194010/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/worldnetdaily |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gais 2020" />


====9/11 attacks==== ===Anthony C. LoBaido commentary on September 11 attacks (2001)===
On ] ], WND published a commentary by ] regarding the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington two days earlier. In his column, LoBaido outlined what he regarded as the moral depravity of America in general and New York in particular, asking whether "God (has) raised up Shiite Islam as a sword against America". <ref>{{cite web | url = http://web.archive.org/web/20010917014615/http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24458 | title = Judgement Day in Mystery Babylon? | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = September 13 | accessyear = 2001}}</ref> Commentators ] of '']'' magazine and ] of the '']'' criticized LoBaido and Joseph Farah for the piece and called for columnists ] and ] to sever their ties with WND, prompting Farah to respond with a column of his own denouncing Postrel and Taranto as "political correctness police". <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24670 | title = The ''new'' political correctness police | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = September 26 | accessyear = 2001}}</ref> On September 13, 2001, ''WND'' published an opinion article by Anthony C. LoBaido regarding the ] on New York City and Washington, D.C., that had occurred two days earlier. In his column, LoBaido described what he said was the moral depravity of America in general and New York in particular, asking whether "God (has) raised up ] as a sword against America". Commentators ] of '']'' magazine and ] of '']'' criticized LoBaido and Joseph Farah for the piece and called for columnists ] and ] to sever their ties with ''WND.'' Founder Farah responded with his own column, saying that LoBaido's opinion piece did not reflect the viewpoint of ''WND'', and that it, like most other commentary pieces, had not been reviewed before publication.


===Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories===
====United Airlines Flight 93====
], questioning the ] and by extension ]<ref name="Farley 2009">{{cite web |last=Farley |first=Robert |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/28/worldnetdaily/birthers-claim-gibbs-lied-when-he-said-obamas-birt/ |date=July 28, 2009 |work=Politifact |publisher=The St. Petersburg Times |title=White House spokesman Robert Gibbs 'lied' when he said President Obama's birth certificate is posted on the Internet. |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=March 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315121801/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/28/worldnetdaily/birthers-claim-gibbs-lied-when-he-said-obamas-birt/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The billboard was part of an ] by WorldNetDaily, whose ] appears on the billboard's bottom right corner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=100914 |title=Grass roots sign onto eligibility billboard campaign |work=WorldNetDaily |date=June 12, 2009 |access-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-date=November 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105180403/http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=100914 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
In 2004, WND published a commentary by ] entitled "The Downing of United Airlines Flight 93"<ref name="Downing93">{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38207 | title = "The Downing of United Airlines Flight 93" | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = August 15 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> which proposed that, to defend Washington D.C., Flight 93 had been intercepted and shot with a missile by a military aircraft. It also alleged that the government had tried to cover up this information. The article stated:


WND has published hundreds of articles promoting ], for which it has gained notoriety.<ref name="Dougherty 2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-craziest-theory-about-andrew-breitbarts-death-yet-2012-3?IR=T |title=Conservative Radio Host Says Andrew Breitbart Might Have Been Assassinated |first=Michael Brendan |last=Dougherty |access-date=February 17, 2017 |language=en |quote=The report comes from WorldNetDaily, a right-wing website that periodically promotes conspiracy theories about Obama's birth certificate. |newspaper=Business Insider |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218145440/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-craziest-theory-about-andrew-breitbarts-death-yet-2012-3?IR=T |url-status=live }}</ref> It has falsely claimed that Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen and thus is not eligible to serve as president.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stetler |first=Brian |title=In Trying to Debunk a Theory, the News Media Extended Its Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/business/media/28birth.html |access-date=November 18, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2011 |url-access=limited |archive-date=April 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405122718/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/business/media/28birth.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |title=Publisher of upcoming 'birther' book makes no apologies |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42786288/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/publisher-upcoming-birther-book-makes-no-apologies/#.Uopr9mSG2kU |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606211555/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42786288/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/publisher-upcoming-birther-book-makes-no-apologies/#.Uopr9mSG2kU |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2013 |work=NBC News |date=April 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Page |first1=Susan |last2=Kucinich |first2=Jackie |title=Obama releases long-form birth certificate |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-04-27-obama-birth-certificate_n.htm |access-date=November 18, 2013 |newspaper=USA Today |date=April 28, 2011 |quote=Joseph Farah, CEO of the conservative website WorldNetDaily and publisher of a new book that investigates whether Obama is eligible to be president, says the issue isn't over. |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717054522/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-04-27-obama-birth-certificate_n.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> After the ], WND began an ] to have Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate released to the public and Farah offered a $15,000 award for its release. The website also unsuccessfully urged ] justices to hear several lawsuits aiming to release Obama's birth certificate. The White House released copies of the president's original long-form birth certificate on April 27, 2011. After the long-form birth certificate was released, Farah refused to pay the promised award and WND continued to promote its conspiracy theory, publishing an article questioning the certificate's authenticity.<ref name="Balleck 2018">{{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=] |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=At one point, Farah had pledged $15,000 for the "long form" birth certificate that proved Obama’s birth in Hawaii (WND 2010). After the White House posted the certificate in April 2011, Farah called it "fraudulent" and reneged on the pledge |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915055656/https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html |title=Obama releases original long-form birth certificate |publisher=] |access-date=July 28, 2015 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008065111/http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{quotation|"Witnesses to this low-flying jet ... told their story to journalists. Shortly thereafter, the FBI began to attack the witnesses with perhaps the most inane disinformation ever--alleging the witnesses actually observed a private jet at 34,000 ft. The FBI says the jet was asked to come down to 5000 ft. and try to find the crash site. This would require about 20 minutes to descend."<ref name="Downing93"/>}}


===Advertisement featuring Neil Patrick Harris (2013)===
According to a '']'' article entitled "Debunking the 9/11 Myths",<ref name="PopularMechanics">{{cite web | url = http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1227842.html?page=7&c=y | title = "Debunking the 9/11 Myths" | work = ] | accessmonthday = November 29 | accessyear = 2005}}</ref> which mentions WorldNetDaily, there was a low flying jet in the vicinity on descent into Johnstown.
In January 2013, a WorldNetDaily article criticized a ] advertisement in which ] wore ] with "Feb 3 2013" written on it. The website accused Harris of "mocking Christianity". Quarterback ] was known for inscribing ] verses with eye black to wear during ] games. A similar advertisement by ] for the Super Bowl had not been criticized.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--anonymous author(s)--> |url=http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/01/08/Does-Neil-Patrick-Harris-Super-Bowl-ad-mock-Christianity-and-Tim-Tebow/8351357664830/ |title=Does Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl ad mock Christianity and Tim Tebow? |work=United Press International |date=January 8, 2013 |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123101158/http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/01/08/Does-Neil-Patrick-Harris-Super-Bowl-ad-mock-Christianity-and-Tim-Tebow/8351357664830/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a later ] post by Harris about the Super Bowl, he used the ] "#noagenda".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--anonymous author(s)--> |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neil-patrick-harris-super-bowl-cbs-ad-slammed_n_2424579 |title=Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl Ad Slammed For 'Pushing Gay Agenda' On CBS |work=HuffPost |date=January 7, 2013 |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115135448/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neil-patrick-harris-super-bowl-cbs-ad-slammed_n_2424579 |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Russian interference in US politics===
====Valerie Plame leak====
{{More information|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections}}
WND has also published controversial claims about the ]. A 2005 report by ] includes the following quote from a WND article:
On August 7, 2017, WorldNetDaily published "The 8 Dirtiest Scandals of ] No One Is Talking About", which was pushed out by ]'s operation, targeting the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/russian-woman-indicted-alleged-meddling-upcoming-u-s-midterms-n922206 |title=Russian woman charged with attempted meddling in upcoming U.S. midterms: Elena Khusyaynova works for a company owned by a Putin pal who has already been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller's team. |first=Pete |last=Williams |author2=Tom Winter |date=October 19, 2018 |website=NBCNews.com |access-date=October 29, 2018 |archive-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028191731/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/russian-woman-indicted-alleged-meddling-upcoming-u-s-midterms-n922206 |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== COVID-19 misinformation ===
{{quotation|Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely told ''WorldNetDaily'' that Wilson mentioned Plame's status as a CIA employee over the course of at least three, possibly five, conversations in 2002 in the Fox News Channel's "green room" in Washington, D.C., as they waited to appear on air as analysts.
{{Further|COVID-19 misinformation}}
<br>...<br>
In April 2020, the SPLC reported that WND "has boosted a number of articles featuring ] ], fake cures and other ]" about ], with headlines such as "Coronavirus is being weaponized by ], others behind anti-Trump ads", "]: Democrats must use Chinese virus to restructure America 'to fit our vision'" and "]'s question for Biden exposes Obama's undeniable role in N95 mask shortage".<ref name="Gais 2020" /> Another headline proclaimed that a three-drug cocktail promoted by ]<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Roose |first1=Kevin |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |date=2020-04-02 |title=Touting Virus Cure, 'Simple Country Doctor' Becomes a Right-Wing Star |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/technology/doctor-zelenko-coronavirus-drugs.html |access-date=2022-10-02 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited |archive-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101103950/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/technology/doctor-zelenko-coronavirus-drugs.html |url-status=live }}</ref> had a "100% success" rate in treating 350 COVID-19 patients.<ref name="Gais 2020">{{Cite web |last=Gais |first=Hannah |date=April 17, 2020 |title=Hate Groups and Racist Pundits Spew COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media Despite Companies' Pledges to Combat It |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/04/17/hate-groups-and-racist-pundits-spew-covid-19-misinformation-social-media-despite-companies |access-date=2022-10-02 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004212419/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/04/17/hate-groups-and-racist-pundits-spew-covid-19-misinformation-social-media-despite-companies |url-status=live }}</ref>


A 2020 study by researchers from ], ], ] and ] universities found that ''WND'' was among the top 5 most shared ] in tweets related to COVID-19, the others being '']'', '']'', ] and ].<ref name="Owen 2020">{{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Laura Hazard |date=October 26, 2020 |title=Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=] |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030040313/https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Vallely says, according to his recollection, Wilson mentioned his wife's job in the spring of 2002 -- more than a year before Robert Novak's ] ], column identified her, citing senior administration officials, as "an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mediamatters.org/items/200511090011 | title = "Two years into leak investigation, Gen. Vallely suddenly claims, in contradictory statements, that Wilson revealed Plame's identity to him" | work = ] | accessmonthday = November 29 | accessyear = 2005}}</ref>}}


==Products==
As noted above Vallely said he was told once in the spring of 2002, but on ] ], WND reported:
WND publishes books under the imprint ''WND Books''. The imprint was launched in 2002. ''WND''{{'}}s imprint publishing partner was Christian publishing house ] (2002–2004).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.writenews.com/2004/110504_thomas_nelson_politics.htm |work=The Write News |title=Thomas Nelson Launches Political Imprint |access-date=November 18, 2006 |archive-date=November 9, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109121040/http://www.writenews.com/2004/110504_thomas_nelson_politics.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Cumberland House Publishing (2004–2007), and conservative publisher World Ahead Publishing (2007). In 2008, ''WND'' acquired World Ahead Media.


WND Books has published books written by right-wing politicians and pundits such as ], former ] in office in 2000 during the presidential election under Governor ]; commentator ]; conspiracy theorist ]; ex-congressman ]; and former ] ]. In October 2009, WND Books published '']'' by Paul David Gaubatz and ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaubatz |first1=P. David |last2=Sperry |first2=Paul E. |title=Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America |date=2009 |publisher=WND Books |isbn=9781935071105 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781935071105 |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref> In April 2011, Paul Harris, writing for '']'', described ''WND Books'' as "a niche producer of rightwing conspiracy theories, religious books and 'family values' tracts".<ref name="Harris 2011">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/21/barack-obama-us-elections-2012 |title=The born-again birther debate |first=Paul |last=Harris |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |date=April 21, 2011 |access-date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>
{{quotation|After recalling further over the weekend his contacts with Wilson, Vallely says now it was on just one occasion – the first of several conversations – that the ambassador revealed his wife's employment with the CIA and that it likely occurred some time in the late summer or early fall of 2002.


WND also publishes a printed magazine, ''Whistleblower''. It operates other companies such as the ''G2 Bulletin'', a subscription-only website described as an "intelligence resource" for "insights into geo-political and geo-strategic developments".
He is certain, he says, the conversation took place in 2002.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47289 | title = "General wants Wilson apology Threatened again with lawsuit over claim of 'outing' CIA wife" | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = November 29 | accessyear = 2005}}</ref>}}


The WND website also sells ].<ref name="Dougherty 2012" />
====Middle East reporting====
In early 2005, WND hired ] to run a ] bureau.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42535 | title = WND to open Jerusalem bureau | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = January 21 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> ConWebWatch, a website critical of conservative news, in early 2006 alleged that Klein's articles promoted the causes of ] settlers in the ] and ] who opposed ] from those areas.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2006/wndklein.html | title = Something to Hide | author = Krepel, Terry | work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = January 23 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> The group also argued that Klein did not disclose the ties of Israeli activists tied to the ] ] movement.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2005/wndgaza.html | author = Krepel, Terry | title = Where the Killer Is A Victim = work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = January 26 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> When ] shot and killed four people on a bus in Gaza on August 4, 2005, he was beaten to death afterwards by a crowd that witnessed the shooting. Klein wrote an article for WND claiming that Zada was "murdered" by a "mob of Palestinians" after the shooting, although he also mentioned that police called the shooting a "Jewish terror attack."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45608 | title = Arab mob lynches Israeli who killed 4 | work = WorldNetDaily | author = Klein, Aaron | accessmonthday = January 26 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> Klein has also written numerous articles critical of Israeli Prime Minister ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2006/wndolmert2.html | title = WorldNetDaily Undermines Olmert | author = Krepel, Terry | work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = January 23 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>


====Terri Schiavo case==== == Reception ==
The SPLC has accused WND of "peddling ]", due to its publication of a series of articles on "black mob violence" by writer Colin Flaherty. It accused the website of being a source of "anti-government conspiracy theories, gay-bashing, anti-Muslim propaganda, and ] prophecy".<ref name="Nelson 2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/10/23/worldnetdaily-now-peddling-white-nationalism |title=WorldNetDaily Now Peddling White Nationalism |first=Leah |last=Nelson |date=October 23, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2015 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002062118/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/10/23/worldnetdaily-now-peddling-white-nationalism |url-status=live }}</ref>
WorldNetDaily published numerous stories about the ] case. Its articles generally supported Terri Schiavo's parents against her husband, ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2005/schiavo3.html | work = ConWebWatch | author = Krepel, Terry | title = A Less-Than-Whole Story | accessmonthday = January 26 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> (WND did, however, modify at least one story following criticism to this effect.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2005/schiavo3.html | work = ConWebWatch | author = Krepel, Terry | title = A Less-Than-Whole Story | accessmonthday = January 26 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>) ], who "covered the Terri Schiavo story for three years as a reporter and news editor for WorldNetDaily,"<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46875 | title = 'Terri's Story' author on Farah show | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = January 26 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> wrote a , published by WND Books, that showed a similar bias toward Terri Schiavo's parents and against Michael Schiavo.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2005/terristory.html | title = Another Less-Than-Whole Story | author = Krepel, Terry |work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = March 16 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref>


== Litigation ==
====Litvinenko and terrorism conspiracy====
===Clark Jones libel lawsuit (2000–2008)===
On ] ] a WND article said that: "Reports that KGB defector ] converted to Islam before his mysterious poisoning with radioactive polonium 210 is raising suspicions that he may have been involved in a plot to smuggle the deadly substance to terrorist groups."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53208 | title=Radioactive spy Islamic convert?|publisher=WorldNetDaily | date=December 3, 2006 | first=Joseph | last=Farah | accessdate = 2006-12-14}}</ref> According to an article in '']'', apparently mentioning the WND article, the evidence for these suspicions was "gossip from his Muslim next-door neighbour."<ref name="TimesDec">{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2486880,00.html | title=Emergency! I've been poisoned by speculation |publisher=] | date=December 5, 2006 | first=Mick | last=Hume | accessdate = 2006-12-14}}</ref>
On September 20, 2000, WND published an article saying that Clark Jones, a ] car dealer, a fund-raiser for then-Vice President ] in his presidential campaign, had interfered with a criminal investigation, had been a "subject" of a criminal investigation, and was listed on law enforcement computers as a "dope dealer". It implied that he had ties to others involved in alleged criminal activity. The authors later put forward the theory that the publication of this article, as well as other ''WND'' articles that were critical of Gore, contributed significantly to Gore losing his home state of Tennessee that November.


In 2001, Clark Jones filed a ] against WND; the reporters, Charles C. Thompson II and Tony Hays; the ], which had underwritten Thompson and Hays' reporting on the article and related ones; and various Tennessee publications and broadcasters whom he accused of repeating the claim, arguing these entities had committed libel and ].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Gordon, J. Houston |author2=Hopper, Curtis F. |url=http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/graphics/wndlawsuitdocs/jonessuit.pdf |title=Second Amended Complaint |date=December 20, 2004 |access-date=November 18, 2013 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318223104/http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/graphics/wndlawsuitdocs/jonessuit.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Jones v. WorldNetDaily |url=http://www.dmlp.org/threats/jones-v-worldnetdaily |date=April 2001 |court=Tenn. Cir. (Hardin); Tenn. App.; Tenn. |quote=The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2008. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601105447/http://www.dmlp.org/threats/jones-v-worldnetdaily |url-status=live }}</ref> The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in March 2008; but, on February 13, 2008, WND announced that a confidential out-of-court settlement had been reached with Jones. A settlement statement jointly drafted by all parties in the lawsuit stated that a ] request showed that the allegations had been false, and that WND had misquoted sources.
====Soy/homosexuality link claim====
WorldNetDaily published an editorial<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327 | title = Soy is making kids 'gay' | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = December 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> in December 2006 written by ] of "Megashift Ministries" where he claimed that eating soy at a young age increases the chance that a child will be gay, and that soy's estrogen content will feminize a young boy. Rutz is not a doctor or nutritionist, but has founded his own church. His claims are contradicted by research done by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?250&hlt | work = Research at Penn | title = Congratulations, It’s a Soy! | accessmonthday = December 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> The article was referenced by ] in a '']'' op-ed piece on December 17, 2006, describing the reaction to homosexuality in the Republican Party.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://select.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/opinion/17rich.html?hp | work = New York Times | title = Mary Cheney’s Bundle of Joy | author = Frank Rich}}</ref> The liberal advocacy organization ] mocked Rutz's claims in their online "RightWing Watch" feature, commenting "sometimes you just have to marvel at the things published by WorldNetDaily."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2006/12/soy_makes_you_g_1.html?tr=y&auid=2228237 | title = Soy Makes You Gay | work = Right Wing Watch | accessmonthday = December 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> In response to the interest in the article, WorldNetDaily later published columns by Rutz providing documentation to back up his claims.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53425 | title = The trouble with soy – part 2 | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = December 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53507 | title = The trouble with soy, part 3 | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = December 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref>


== Staff ==
====Anglo-Saxon identity====
Notable staff members include Jerusalem Bureau Chief ], former White House correspondent ], Ohio State Senate Senior Press Secretary Garth Kant,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bischoff |first1=Laura A. |title=Ohio Senate Republicans start website to push back on perceived liberal bias |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/09/29/ohio-senate-republicans-launched-a-website-and-podcast-to-push-back-against-what-they-view-as-a-libe/70980376007/ |access-date=16 January 2024 |work=] |date=29 September 2023}}</ref> and staff writer ]. Its commentary pages feature editorials by the site's founder ], as well as by commentators including 2016 Republican presidential candidate ], ], ], ], ], ], Ilana Mercer, ], and ].
A commentary by Canadian evangelical ] <ref></ref> decried so called "Anglo-Saxon self-hatred" in Canada and the United States, and used "warring factions" of third world immigrants as a base against ] in order to suggest a whites-only immigration policy for North America.


In February 2020, ] reported that Michael J. Thompson, who worked in WND's marketing department, had also worked at ] publications such as ] and ] under the pseudonym of "Paul Kersey". It found that his position at ''WND'' allowed him to move in professional circles that included white nationalists, writers at '']'' and '']'', and prominent Trump supporters such as ] and ].<ref>{{cite news |date=2020-02-03 |first=Jason |last=Wilson |title=White nationalist has long worked at conservative outlets under real name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/paul-kersey-michael-j-thompson-white-nationalist-report |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2022-06-28 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222180650/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/paul-kersey-michael-j-thompson-white-nationalist-report |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2020-02-03 |first=Jared |last=Holt |title=Hiding in Plain Sight: The White Nationalist Who Toiled Inside a Right-Wing Media Powerhouse |url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/hiding-in-plain-sight-the-white-nationalist-who-toiled-inside-a-right-wing-media-powerhouse/ |website=] |access-date=2022-06-28 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222180053/https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/hiding-in-plain-sight-the-white-nationalist-who-toiled-inside-a-right-wing-media-powerhouse/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Alleged North American Union====
During the debate over the failed 2007 Immigration Bill, WND popularized opposition to an alleged "]", a dystopian vision of a future America merged with Mexico. WND blames a "shadow government" in the form of the ] for the alleged NAU plot. ] are not a new phenomenon. The "North American Union" is considered a conspiracy theory by popular conservatives such as ] and ] , and has been disputed in the mainstream media.<ref>
{{cite news
| last = Dine
| first = Philip
| title = Urban legend of "North American Union" feeds on fears
| publisher = ]
| date = ]
| url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003713518_rumor19.html
| accessdate = 2007-07-16}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| last = Kovach
| first = Gretel
| title = Highway to Hell?
| publisher = ]
| date = ]
| url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/73372
| accessdate = 2007-12-07}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| last = Bennett
| first = Drake
| title = The amero conspiracy
| newspaper = ]
| date = ]
| url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/25/america/25Amero.php
| accessdate = 2007-12-20}}</ref>


====Libel lawsuit==== == See also ==
* ]
On September 20, 2000, WND published an article<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=4260 | title = Officials say Gore killed drug probe | author = Thompson II, Charles C., and Hays, Tony | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref> claiming that Clark Jones, a ], car dealer and fund-raiser for then-Vice President ], had interfered with a criminal investigation, had been a "subject" of a criminal investigation, was listed on law enforcement computers as a "dope dealer," and implied that he had ties to others involved in alleged criminal activity. In 2001, Jones filed a lawsuit<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/graphics/wndlawsuitdocs/jonessuit.pdf | title = Second Amended Complaint | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref> against WND; the reporters, Charles C. Thompson II and Tony Hays; the ], which had underwritten Thompson and Hays' reporting on the article and related ones<ref>{{cite web | url = http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2007/wndlawsuit.html | title = WorldNetDaily on Trial | author = Krepel, Terry | work = ConWebWatch | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref>; and various Tennessee publications and broadcasters who he accused of repeating the claim, claiming libel and defamation. The lawsuit had been scheduled to go to trial in March 2008<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59844 | title = Future of reporting scheduled for trial | author = Unruh, Bob | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref>, but on February 13, 2008, WND announced that a confidential out-of-court settlement had been reached with Jones.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56353 | title = WND settles $165 million libel case | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref> A settlement statement jointly drafted by all parties in the lawsuit states in part:


==References==
{{Quotation|Discovery has revealed to WorldNetDaily.com that no witness verifies the truth of what the witnesses are reported by authors to have stated. Additionally, no document has been discovered that provides any verification that the statements written were true.</br ></br >
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
Factual discovery in the litigation and response from Freedom of Information Act requests to law enforcement agencies confirm Clark Jones' assertion that his name has never been on law enforcement computers, that he has not been the subject of any criminal investigation nor has he interfered with any investigation as stated in the articles. Discovery has also revealed that the sources named in the publications have stated under oath that statements attributed to them in the articles were either not made by them, were misquoted by the authors, were misconstrued, or the statements were taken out of context.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56353 | title = WND settles $165 million libel case | work = WorldNetDaily | accessmonthday = February 18 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref>
}}

==Columnists==
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==See also==
* ] The aim to discredit ], which was connected to ].

==References==
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* {{Official website}}
==External links==
{{Alt-right footer}}
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Latest revision as of 07:48, 3 December 2024

American far-right fake news website

WorldNetDaily
Type of site
Available inEnglish
Founded1997; 28 years ago (1997)
OwnersWorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
Founder(s)Joseph Farah
EditorJoseph Farah
URLwww.wnd.com Edit this at Wikidata

WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) is an American far-right news and opinion website. It is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was born outside the United States.

The site was founded in May 1997 by Joseph Farah, who is its current editor-in-chief and CEO. The website publishes news, editorials, and opinion columns, while also aggregating content from other publications.

History

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In 1997, Joseph Farah created the news website WorldNetDaily as a division of the Western Journalism Center. It was subsequently spun off in 1999 as a for-profit organization with the backing of $4.5 million from investors, Farah owning a majority of the stock. The site describes itself as "an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism". In 1999, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware with offices in Cave Junction, Oregon.

The website gained notoriety for stoking false "birther" conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama.

In 2018, Farah wrote about WorldNetDaily's financial problems, saying it faced an "existential threat". Farah ceased contributing to the site after his March 12, 2019, column; the site announced a few weeks later that he had suffered a major stroke. In April 2019, The Washington Post reported that WorldNetDaily suffered from declining revenue and diminishing readership. Farah blamed the website's financial woes on what he claimed was suppression by powerful technology companies.

In 2019, WorldNetDaily created the WND News Center, a nonprofit organization where its reporting operation would move. The structure is similar to that used by another conservative news website, The Daily Caller.

Application for congressional press credentials (2002)

Seeking credentials to cover the United States Congress in 2002, WND was opposed by the Standing Committee of Correspondents. This panel of journalists is charged by Congress with administering press credentials. Until 1996, Internet-only publications had been deemed unacceptable. WND turned to the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration for help, arguing that the panel's decision had violated the site's constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and freedom of the press. Faced "with legal threats and negative publicity, the panel reversed itself, voting 3–2 to award WND its credentials". Shortly after, the rules were formally adjusted to clarify the participation of online publications.

Ann Coulter speech at Homocon (2010)

In 2010, when Ann Coulter accepted an invitation to attend and speak at GOProud's Homocon 2010 convention, Farah announced the withdrawal of Coulter's name from the list of speakers at the company's 'Taking America Back' conference. Coulter responded by saying that speaking engagements do not imply endorsement of the hosting organization.

Content

WND provides news, editorials, letters to the editor, forums, videos and conducts a daily poll. Its CEO Joseph Farah has said that WND provides "the broadest spectrum of opinion anywhere in the news business", but acknowledges "some misinformation by columnists". WND's content is predominantly conservative. Besides providing articles written by its own staff, the site links to news from other publications.

WND's political lean has been described as alt-right and far-right. WND is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the white genocide conspiracy theory and the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labels WND an anti-government extremist group.

Anthony C. LoBaido commentary on September 11 attacks (2001)

On September 13, 2001, WND published an opinion article by Anthony C. LoBaido regarding the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., that had occurred two days earlier. In his column, LoBaido described what he said was the moral depravity of America in general and New York in particular, asking whether "God (has) raised up Shiite Islam as a sword against America". Commentators Virginia Postrel of Reason magazine and James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal criticized LoBaido and Joseph Farah for the piece and called for columnists Hugh Hewitt and Bill O'Reilly to sever their ties with WND. Founder Farah responded with his own column, saying that LoBaido's opinion piece did not reflect the viewpoint of WND, and that it, like most other commentary pieces, had not been reviewed before publication.

Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories

A 2010 billboard displayed in South Gate, California, questioning the validity of Barack Obama's birth certificate and by extension his citizenship and eligibility to serve as President of the U.S. The billboard was part of an advertising campaign by WorldNetDaily, whose URL appears on the billboard's bottom right corner.

WND has published hundreds of articles promoting "birther" conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, for which it has gained notoriety. It has falsely claimed that Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen and thus is not eligible to serve as president. After the 2008 presidential campaign, WND began an online petition to have Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate released to the public and Farah offered a $15,000 award for its release. The website also unsuccessfully urged Supreme Court justices to hear several lawsuits aiming to release Obama's birth certificate. The White House released copies of the president's original long-form birth certificate on April 27, 2011. After the long-form birth certificate was released, Farah refused to pay the promised award and WND continued to promote its conspiracy theory, publishing an article questioning the certificate's authenticity.

Advertisement featuring Neil Patrick Harris (2013)

In January 2013, a WorldNetDaily article criticized a Super Bowl XLVII advertisement in which Neil Patrick Harris wore eye black with "Feb 3 2013" written on it. The website accused Harris of "mocking Christianity". Quarterback Tim Tebow was known for inscribing Bible verses with eye black to wear during NFL games. A similar advertisement by Beyoncé for the Super Bowl had not been criticized. In a later Twitter post by Harris about the Super Bowl, he used the hashtag "#noagenda".

Russian interference in US politics

Further information: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

On August 7, 2017, WorldNetDaily published "The 8 Dirtiest Scandals of Robert Mueller No One Is Talking About", which was pushed out by Elena Khusyaynova's operation, targeting the Mueller investigation.

COVID-19 misinformation

Further information: COVID-19 misinformation

In April 2020, the SPLC reported that WND "has boosted a number of articles featuring antisemitic dog whistles, fake cures and other disinformation" about COVID-19, with headlines such as "Coronavirus is being weaponized by Soros, others behind anti-Trump ads", "Clyburn: Democrats must use Chinese virus to restructure America 'to fit our vision'" and "Newt Gingrich's question for Biden exposes Obama's undeniable role in N95 mask shortage". Another headline proclaimed that a three-drug cocktail promoted by Vladimir Zelenko had a "100% success" rate in treating 350 COVID-19 patients.

A 2020 study by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern and Rutgers universities found that WND was among the top 5 most shared fake news domains in tweets related to COVID-19, the others being The Gateway Pundit, InfoWars, Judicial Watch and Natural News.

Products

WND publishes books under the imprint WND Books. The imprint was launched in 2002. WND's imprint publishing partner was Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson Publishers (2002–2004). Cumberland House Publishing (2004–2007), and conservative publisher World Ahead Publishing (2007). In 2008, WND acquired World Ahead Media.

WND Books has published books written by right-wing politicians and pundits such as Katherine Harris, former Secretary of State of Florida in office in 2000 during the presidential election under Governor Jeb Bush; commentator Michael Savage; conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi; ex-congressman Tom Tancredo; and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. In October 2009, WND Books published Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America by Paul David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry. In April 2011, Paul Harris, writing for The Guardian, described WND Books as "a niche producer of rightwing conspiracy theories, religious books and 'family values' tracts".

WND also publishes a printed magazine, Whistleblower. It operates other companies such as the G2 Bulletin, a subscription-only website described as an "intelligence resource" for "insights into geo-political and geo-strategic developments".

The WND website also sells survivalist gear.

Reception

The SPLC has accused WND of "peddling white nationalism", due to its publication of a series of articles on "black mob violence" by writer Colin Flaherty. It accused the website of being a source of "anti-government conspiracy theories, gay-bashing, anti-Muslim propaganda, and End Times prophecy".

Litigation

Clark Jones libel lawsuit (2000–2008)

On September 20, 2000, WND published an article saying that Clark Jones, a Savannah, Tennessee car dealer, a fund-raiser for then-Vice President Al Gore in his presidential campaign, had interfered with a criminal investigation, had been a "subject" of a criminal investigation, and was listed on law enforcement computers as a "dope dealer". It implied that he had ties to others involved in alleged criminal activity. The authors later put forward the theory that the publication of this article, as well as other WND articles that were critical of Gore, contributed significantly to Gore losing his home state of Tennessee that November.

In 2001, Clark Jones filed a lawsuit against WND; the reporters, Charles C. Thompson II and Tony Hays; the Center for Public Integrity, which had underwritten Thompson and Hays' reporting on the article and related ones; and various Tennessee publications and broadcasters whom he accused of repeating the claim, arguing these entities had committed libel and defamation. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in March 2008; but, on February 13, 2008, WND announced that a confidential out-of-court settlement had been reached with Jones. A settlement statement jointly drafted by all parties in the lawsuit stated that a Freedom of Information Act request showed that the allegations had been false, and that WND had misquoted sources.

Staff

Notable staff members include Jerusalem Bureau Chief Aaron Klein, former White House correspondent Lester Kinsolving, Ohio State Senate Senior Press Secretary Garth Kant, and staff writer Jerome Corsi. Its commentary pages feature editorials by the site's founder Joseph Farah, as well as by commentators including 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, David Limbaugh, Chuck Norris, Walter E. Williams, Ilana Mercer, Bill Press, and Nat Hentoff.

In February 2020, Right Wing Watch reported that Michael J. Thompson, who worked in WND's marketing department, had also worked at white nationalist publications such as VDARE and American Renaissance under the pseudonym of "Paul Kersey". It found that his position at WND allowed him to move in professional circles that included white nationalists, writers at Breitbart News and The Daily Caller, and prominent Trump supporters such as Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sources describing WorldNetDaily as far-right:
  2. ^ Sources describing WorldNetDaily as a fake news website:
  3. ^ Sources describing WorldNetDaily's publication of conspiracy theories:
  4. ^ Sources describing WorldNetDaily's promotion of Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories:
  5. Foley, Jordan M. (September 13, 2020). "Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents" (PDF). Journalism Practice. 14 (8): 9–10. doi:10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214. ISSN 1751-2794. S2CID 210645440. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Jordan M. Foley.
  6. Farah, Joseph (October 1, 1999). "World's 'No. 1 website' goes for-profit". WorldNetDaily. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011. Beginning today, WorldNetDaily.com, voted the most popular website on the Internet the last 23 weeks, is officially a for-profit corporation...
  7. Black, Jane (August 27, 2001). "On the Web, Small and Focused Pays Off". BusinessWeek. New York. Archived from the original on October 24, 2001. Retrieved November 4, 2006.
  8. ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel (April 2, 2019). "Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  9. "Wnd News Center". ProPublica (Nonprofit Explorer). Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  10. Heaney, Michael T (2008), "Blogging Congress: Technological Change and the Politics of the Congressional Press Galleries" (PDF), PS: Political Science & Politics, 41 (2): 422–426, doi:10.1017/S1049096508290670, ISSN 1049-0965, S2CID 154642023, archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2012, retrieved July 7, 2010.
  11. Walker, Jesse (November 2002), "Galley gatekeepers: the politics of press credentials – Citings", Reason, archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
  12. Thompson, Mark (April 22, 2004), "New Media Often Takes Back Seat to Old Media on Press Credentials", Online Journalism Review, archived from the original on January 2, 2011, retrieved May 16, 2010.
  13. Smith, Ben (August 18, 2010). "WorldNet dumps 'right-wing Judy Garland' Coulter over gay event". Politico. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  14. Elliot, Justin (April 13, 2011). "Right-wing publisher: We run "some misinformation"". Salon. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  15. Burns, John F. (May 5, 2009). "Britain Identifies 16 Barred From Entering U.K.". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2010. according to WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative Web site.
  16. Sullivan, Gail (August 5, 2014). "Celebrities get nasty over Gaza and Israel". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  17. Blake, Aaron (December 1, 2016). "Introducing the 'alt-left': The GOP's response to its alt-right problem". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2022. It started with alt-right websites like World Net Daily
  18. Fuchs, Christian (July 20, 2020). "Towards a critical theory of communication as renewal and update of Marxist humanism in the age of digital capitalism". Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 50 (3): 335–356. doi:10.1111/jtsb.12247. ISSN 0021-8308. S2CID 225578399. Examples of alt-right websites are Breitbart, Drudge Report, InfoWars, Daily Caller, Daily Wire, and WorldNetDaily.
  19. Gedye, Lloyd (March 23, 2018). "White genocide: How the big lie spread to the US and beyond". The Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  20. "WorldNetDaily". Southern Poverty Law Center. n.d. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2023. WorldNetDaily is an online publication founded and run by Joseph Farah that claims to pursue truth, justice and liberty. But in fact, its pages are devoted to manipulative fear-mongering and outright fabrications designed to further the paranoid, gay-hating, conspiratorial and apocalyptic visions of Farah and his hand-picked contributors
  21. ^ Gais, Hannah (April 17, 2020). "Hate Groups and Racist Pundits Spew COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media Despite Companies' Pledges to Combat It". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  22. Farley, Robert (July 28, 2009). "White House spokesman Robert Gibbs 'lied' when he said President Obama's birth certificate is posted on the Internet". Politifact. The St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  23. "Grass roots sign onto eligibility billboard campaign". WorldNetDaily. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  24. ^ Dougherty, Michael Brendan. "Conservative Radio Host Says Andrew Breitbart Might Have Been Assassinated". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017. The report comes from WorldNetDaily, a right-wing website that periodically promotes conspiracy theories about Obama's birth certificate.
  25. Stetler, Brian (April 27, 2011). "In Trying to Debunk a Theory, the News Media Extended Its Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  26. Isikoff, Michael (April 27, 2011). "Publisher of upcoming 'birther' book makes no apologies". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  27. Page, Susan; Kucinich, Jackie (April 28, 2011). "Obama releases long-form birth certificate". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2013. Joseph Farah, CEO of the conservative website WorldNetDaily and publisher of a new book that investigates whether Obama is eligible to be president, says the issue isn't over.
  28. Balleck, Barry J. (June 1, 2018). "Farah, Joseph Francis". Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups. ABC-CLIO. pp. 110–111. ISBN 9781440852756. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024 – via Google Books. At one point, Farah had pledged $15,000 for the "long form" birth certificate that proved Obama's birth in Hawaii (WND 2010). After the White House posted the certificate in April 2011, Farah called it "fraudulent" and reneged on the pledge
  29. "Obama releases original long-form birth certificate". CNN. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  30. "Does Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl ad mock Christianity and Tim Tebow?". United Press International. January 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  31. "Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl Ad Slammed For 'Pushing Gay Agenda' On CBS". HuffPost. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  32. Williams, Pete; Tom Winter (October 19, 2018). "Russian woman charged with attempted meddling in upcoming U.S. midterms: Elena Khusyaynova works for a company owned by a Putin pal who has already been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller's team". NBCNews.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  33. Roose, Kevin; Rosenberg, Matthew (April 2, 2020). "Touting Virus Cure, 'Simple Country Doctor' Becomes a Right-Wing Star". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  34. Owen, Laura Hazard (October 26, 2020). "Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter". Nieman Lab. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  35. "Thomas Nelson Launches Political Imprint". The Write News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2006.
  36. Gaubatz, P. David; Sperry, Paul E. (2009). Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America. WND Books. ISBN 9781935071105.
  37. Harris, Paul (April 21, 2011). "The born-again birther debate". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  38. Nelson, Leah (October 23, 2012). "WorldNetDaily Now Peddling White Nationalism". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  39. Gordon, J. Houston; Hopper, Curtis F. (December 20, 2004). "Second Amended Complaint" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  40. Jones v. WorldNetDaily (Tenn. Cir. (Hardin); Tenn. App.; Tenn. April 2001) ("The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2008."), Text, archived from the original.
  41. Bischoff, Laura A. (September 29, 2023). "Ohio Senate Republicans start website to push back on perceived liberal bias". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  42. Wilson, Jason (February 3, 2020). "White nationalist has long worked at conservative outlets under real name". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  43. Holt, Jared (February 3, 2020). "Hiding in Plain Sight: The White Nationalist Who Toiled Inside a Right-Wing Media Powerhouse". Right Wing Watch. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2022.

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