The Gateway Pundit

The Gateway Pundit is a far-right website founded by former corporate executive (and dumbest man on the Internet"Jim Hoft: Dumbest Man on the Internet?" by Ben Dimiero, Media Matters, 2010 September 21) Jim Hoft, who is also a principal writer,What is Gateway Pundit, the conspiracy-hawking site at the center of the bogus Florida 'crisis actors' hype? by Paul Farhi (February 23, 2018 at 5:43 PM) The Washington Post. along with his twin brother Joe.Two Georgia election workers targeted by Trump sue far-right conspiracy site Gateway Pundit for defamation by Felicia Sonmez (December 2, 2021) The Washington Post. Often cited by such "scholars" as Matt Drudge, it holds a strong pro-TrumpFake news is still here, despite efforts by Google, Facebook by Barbara Ortutay & Ryan Nakashima (Oct. 09, 2017) AP. stance, is anti-liberal, and has occasional flirtation with outright white supremacists. It is a fairly popular blog, allegedly getting 4 to 5 million views each month, once again proving that being popular doesn't necessarily make you right.
==Disinformation==
The Gateway Pundit tends to care primarily about riling up its right-wing base over actually doing any journalism, such as fact checking. 
As such, they have published a number of false stories. These include such claims as Hillary Clinton taking Algeria off the terror watch list, with their "proof" being a politifact story that debunks the claim.Naturally, very few of the commenters caught on to the fact the site was lying
The site often misidentifies perpetrators of attacks, claiming they are liberal.Because why not capitalize on a tragedy by using it as a smear campaign against ideological enemies? The site has spread false information about the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (misidentifying the perpetrator) and the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting (stating that the survivors were crisis actors); in both events, Gateway Pundit has claimed, without evidence, that the perpetrators were Democrats. The site also falsely claimed that the Jacksonville landing shooter was a redditor who posts anti-trump messages, despite the shooter being dead and the redditor being alive.Luke Barnes, Gateway Pundit caught spreading fake narrative again after Jacksonville shooting. Think Progress, 28 August 2018.
The Gateway Pundit actually received White House press credentials in 2017 from the Trump administration, but the tipping point of their vileness may have been reached when they were disinvited from a panel at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference due to their "reportage" over the Stoneman Douglas shooting by Wintrich.
On February 14, 2018, Hoft, Gavin McInnes, Paul Nehlen, and several other people and entities were sued for defamation for falsely naming the driver who killed Heather Heyer at the 2017 Unite the Right rally.Joel Vangheluwe and Jerome Vangheluwe, Plaintiffs, v. GotNews, LLC, Freedom Daily, LLC, Charles C. Johnson, Alberto Waisman, Jeffrey Rainfort, Jim Hoft, David Petersen, Jonathan Spiel, Shirley Husar, Eduardo Doitteau, Lita Coulthart-Villanueva, Kenneth Strawn, Patrick Lehnhoff, Beth Eyestone, Lori Twohy, Raechel Hitchye, James Christopher Hastey, Christopher Jones, Connie Comeaux, Gavin McInnes, Richard Weikart, and Paul Nehlen, Defendants. (2/14/18) United States District Court for the Eastern District Of Michigan, Southern Division. The case against The Pundit was settled for a few thousand dollars,at should have been a joyful day at a family wedding for Joel Vangheluwe and his dad, Jerome, turned into a nightmare. by Brett Barrouquere (June 08, 2018) Southern Poverty Law Center. while another defendant, GotNews.com, shuttered without explanation. by Brett Barrouquere (September 19, 2018) Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Gateway Pundit was one of the many far-right media outlets who pushed baseless fraud claims after the 2020 United States presidential election. On February 7, 2021, this got Jim Hoft's @gatewaypundit Twitter account suspended."Jim Hoft, Known as the “Stupidest Man on the Internet,” Suspended by Twitter" by Charles Johnson, Little Green Footballs, 2021 February 6"Twitter banned Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft" by Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business, 2021 Februrary 7 In May 2021, Hoft claimed that the January 6 insurrection was "staged" by anti-Trump operatives, and everything that the FBI and media say about the event are lies.Peter Montgomery, Pence Turning His Back on ‘Trump Nation’ Is the Only Story That Matters From Jan. 6, Says Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft. Right Wing Watch, 24 May 2021. The Gateway Pundit was so sure that no one could convince them otherwise about their claim about one particular false allegation that they made (what they call "drop and roll"), that they dangled $10,000 to anyone who wanted to try to fight their wilful ignorance.Reward Offered: $10,000 to the First Individual Who Can Successfully Address and Defend as Legitimate the 2020 Election Anomaly Referred to as the ‘Drop and Roll’ by Joe Hoft (July 29, 2021 at 12:00pm) The Gateway Pundit (archived from July 29, 2021).A conspiracy website will pay you $10,000 to bring it back to reality. Spoiler: You can’t by Philip Bump (July 30, 2021) The Washington Post.
Gateway Pundit and the Hoft twins have been named in a defamation lawsuit by two minor election officials who claim that the website made false accusations against them that resulted in a torrent of threats and harassment resulting in them being unable to live normal lives.
In September 2021, Google had enough of the Gateway Pundit's COVID, COVID vaccines, and 2020 election disinformation and kickbanned them from its AdSense advertising program, effectively cutting off the site's primary source of revenue.Carly Novell, Google finally boots Gateway Pundit from its ad platform. The Daily Dot, 7 September 2021.Abram Brown, Google Cuts Off Ad Money To ‘Gateway Pundit,’ A Haven For Vaccine And Election Misinformation. Forbes, 10 September 2021.
==Positions==
*Godwin's law invoked on Obama and the Daily Mail cited as a credible source."What is this? Obama’s Nazi America?"COMMUNIST INDOCTRINATION AT SCHOOLS AHHHHH!!!
*Godwin's law also invoked on environmentalists, because trying to do something about global warming is a "Fascistic/Statist (ie, Progressive) power grab".http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/oops-uk-guardian-lets-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-as-to-the-purpose-of-the-climate-change-movement/ The site in general is consistent on its global warming denialism.http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/scientists-global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago/Damn liberals, teaching children Al Gore lies!
*Pushing Birtherism, mainly through just asking questions combined with appeal to authority,Joe Arapio is the middleman herePhyllis Schlafly is the middle woman this time around but sometimes they're more direct about it.Very directhttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2008/07/blogger-admits-obamas-birth-certificate/ Obama may also be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/shocking-report-egyptian-media-says-obama-is-a-muslim-brotherhood-member/
*Pushing the November 4th Antifa Civil War conspiracy theory.http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/10/antifa-leader-november-4th-millions-antifa-supersoldiers-will-behead-white-parents/
*Red-baiting, because they don't realize the Cold War is over.Is Obama a communist or a fascist? Now I'm confused.
*Gun nuttery, such as claiming that universal background checks will lead to Stalin-like tyranny.http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/obama-to-sign-un-gun-treaty-this-month-will-lead-to-national-registry/
*Pandering to homophobes."Unhinged Lesbian Mob"? "Lesbian Violence"? Really?http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/05/fabulous-newsweek-obama-cover-the-first-gay-president/ Ironically, Hoft came out as gay after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida.https://www.chron.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Conservative-Blogger-Jim-Hoft-Comes-Out-As-Gay-8100833.php
*Citing actual white supremacists, such as the European Union Timeshttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/04/report-sarkozy-slams-obama-says-he-might-be-insane/, Diversity is Craphttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/09/two-men-charged-in-violent-racist-attack-on-white-teen/, and the Council of Conservative Citizenshttp://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2008/09/missouri-sheriffs-prosecuters-form/
==Comments section==
The top rated comments give us a good idea of who the site attracts.
==2020 election denialism and Capitol riot==
Hoft was one of the invited speakers at the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot warmup rally.President Trump Wants You in DC January 6 Wild Protest (archived from January 1, 2021).
Following Trump's loss of the 2020 election, The Gateway Pundit promoted the lie that Trump had won the election. For their efforts, they were sued by Dominion Voting Systems and Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss. The Pundit declared bankruptcy in 2024 due to the lawsuits in a move reminiscent of Alex Jones trying to avoid paying damages to the families of the Sandy Hook massacre.Gateway Pundit to file for bankruptcy amid election conspiracy lawsuits by Will Sommer (April 24, 2024 at 4:33 p.m. EDT) The Washington Post.Gateway Pundit files for bankruptcy after election conspiracy defamation lawsuits by Huo Jingnan (April 24, 20247:04 PM ET) NPR. The bankruptcy filing was dismissed by a judge, ruling that it was not filed in good faith.Judge says far-right US news outlet filed bankruptcy in bad faith: Bankruptcy judge dismisses case filed by Gateway Pundit, which faces defamation cases over false election claims by Sam Levine (25 Jul 2024 11.35 EDT) The Guardian.
It took a defamation lawsuit by two election workers against Gateway Pundit for the site to finally admit that there was no widespread voter fraud in 2020.Far-right website admits there was no fraud at 2020 vote-count in Atlanta: Gateway Pundit settled defamation lawsuit brought by election workers it had falsely accused of wrongdoing by Sam Levine (12 Oct 2024 11.16 EDT) The Guardian. Hoft stated in 2024 on the Gateway Pundit website:
==See also==
*Jonanism: What The Gateway Pundit does.
*Moonbattery.com
*Fake News
*Jacob Wohl — a former employee
*WorldNetDaily
==External links==
*Jim Hoft: Dumbest Man on the Internet? from Media Matters
==References==
==Notes==
Category:2020 election denialists
Category:Alt-lite
Category:Anti-vaccination movement
Category:Birtherism
Category:Blogs
Category:Clogosphere
Category:Conservative deceit
Category:Conspiracy theorists 
Category:COVID-19 denialists
Category:Denialist websites
Category:Fake news
Category:Global warming denialists
Category:Holocaust denial
Category:Homophobia
Category:Internalized discrimination
Category:Internet hate sites
Category:Internet kooks
Category:Islamophobia
Category:Political pundits
Category:Propaganda
Category:Pseudoscience promoting organizations
Category:Racism
Category:Shysters
Category:Webshites