The Gateway Pundit

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Jones with Jim and Joe Hoft on a 2020 video call

“”The frequency with which he posts hoaxes and complete fabrications as fact suggests Hoft either has a reckless and total disregard for the truth or is so incompetent he cannot separate fact from fiction.

—Media Matters accurately describes Jim Hoft and The Gateway Pundit[1]

The Gateway Pundit is a far-right fake news website founded by former corporate executive (and dumbest man on the Internet[2]) Jim Hoft, who is also a principal writer,[3] along with his twin brother Joe.[4] Often cited by such "scholars" as Matt Drudge, it holds a strong pro-Trump[5] 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.

## Contents

* 1 Disinformation
* 2 Positions
* 3 Comments section
* 4 2020 election denialism and Capitol riot
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 References
* 8 Notes

## Disinformation[edit]

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.[6]

The site often misidentifies perpetrators of attacks, claiming they are liberal.[note 1] 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);[3] in both events, Gateway Pundit has claimed, without evidence, that the perpetrators were Democrats.[3] 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.[7]

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.[3]

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.[3][8] The case against The Pundit was settled for a few thousand dollars,[9] while another defendant, GotNews.com, shuttered without explanation.[10]

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.[11][12] 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.[1] 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.[13][14]

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.[4]

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.[15][16]

## Positions[edit]

* Godwin's law invoked on Obama and the Daily Mail cited as a credible source.[17][18]
* Godwin's law also invoked on environmentalists, because trying to do something about global warming is a "Fascistic/Statist (ie, Progressive) power grab".[19] The site in general is consistent on its global warming denialism.[20][21]
* Pushing Birtherism, mainly through just asking questions combined with appeal to authority,[22][23] but sometimes they're more direct about it.[24][25] Obama may also be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.[26]
* Pushing the November 4th Antifa Civil War conspiracy theory.[27]
* Red-baiting, because they don't realize the Cold War is over.[28]
* Gun nuttery, such as claiming that universal background checks will lead to Stalin-like tyranny.[29]
* Pandering to homophobes.[30][31] Ironically, Hoft came out as gay after the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida.[32]
* Citing actual white supremacists, such as the European Union Times[33], Diversity is Crap[34], and the Council of Conservative Citizens[35]

## Comments section[edit]

The top rated comments give us a good idea of who the site attracts.

> He is NOT BLACK he is an SUNI MUSLIM he looks black but his culture is Islamist! He speaks perfect araibec and can recite the call for prayer! Do you know a black man that can do that?????? Most black American men are Christians. He hates Christians, and he has a fake marriage! Its all fake!! First thing he did was delete all the words of GOD and take out any words of Islamists and change all the miranda rights\--this isnt an American this is a traitor! He is not an American! They trained him he is an imposter! He didnt care about the 30 Navy seal tean six or Bengazi!!! He used the black people to get their vote! He is an actor!! (181 upvotes, 0 downvotes)

> Do you actually think OUR, *cough*, congress IS GOING to impeach the first black POS marxist muslim potus? *sigh* he NEVER should have been elected in the first place. (220 upvotes, 2 downvotes) (Basically, 220 people don't understand that nearly all Marxists are atheists)

> Muslim in NOT a race of people, it's a Satanic cult! (77 upvotes, 1 downvote)

> They are using the gays to destroy Christianity, then the Muslims are going to kill all the gays, that's how they are going to take over the world. (42 upvotes, 0 downvotes)[36]

> That’s right, anything filed against a lib has GOTTA be bogus! Anything thrown up against the wall that accuses Trump of something??? Now THAT’S true! (50 upvotes, 0 downvotes)[37]

## 2020 election denialism and Capitol riot[edit]

Hoft was one of the invited speakers at the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot warmup rally.[38]

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.[39][40] The bankruptcy filing was dismissed by a judge, ruling that it was not filed in good faith.[41]

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.[42] Hoft stated in 2024 on the Gateway Pundit website:

“”Georgia officials concluded that there was no widespread voter fraud by election workers who counted ballots at the State Farm Arena in November 2020. The results of this investigation indicate that Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss did not engage in ballot fraud or criminal misconduct while working at State Farm Arena on election night. A legal matter with this news organization and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.

—Jim Hoft[43]

## See also[edit]

* Jonanism: What The Gateway Pundit does.
* Moonbattery.com
* Fake News
* Jacob Wohl — a former employee
* WorldNetDaily

## External links[edit]

* Jim Hoft: Dumbest Man on the Internet? from Media Matters

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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.
2. ↑ "Jim Hoft: Dumbest Man on the Internet?" by Ben Dimiero, Media Matters, 2010 September 21
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 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.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 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.
5. ↑ Fake news is still here, despite efforts by Google, Facebook by Barbara Ortutay & Ryan Nakashima (Oct. 09, 2017) AP.
6. ↑ Naturally, very few of the commenters caught on to the fact the site was lying
7. ↑ Luke Barnes, Gateway Pundit caught spreading fake narrative again after Jacksonville shooting. Think Progress, 28 August 2018.
8. ↑ 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.
9. ↑ 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.
10. ↑ [1] by Brett Barrouquere (September 19, 2018) Southern Poverty Law Center.
11. ↑ "Jim Hoft, Known as the “Stupidest Man on the Internet,” Suspended by Twitter" by Charles Johnson, Little Green Footballs, 2021 February 6
12. ↑ "Twitter banned Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft" by Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business, 2021 Februrary 7
13. ↑ 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).
14. ↑ 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.
15. ↑ Carly Novell, Google finally boots Gateway Pundit from its ad platform. The Daily Dot, 7 September 2021.
16. ↑ Abram Brown, Google Cuts Off Ad Money To ‘Gateway Pundit,’ A Haven For Vaccine And Election Misinformation. Forbes, 10 September 2021.
17. ↑ "What is this? Obama’s Nazi America?"
18. ↑ COMMUNIST INDOCTRINATION AT SCHOOLS AHHHHH!!!
19. ↑ 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/
20. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/scientists-global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago/
21. ↑ Damn liberals, teaching children Al Gore lies!
22. ↑ Joe Arapio is the middleman here
23. ↑ Phyllis Schlafly is the middle woman this time around
24. ↑ Very direct
25. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2008/07/blogger-admits-obamas-birth-certificate/
26. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/shocking-report-egyptian-media-says-obama-is-a-muslim-brotherhood-member/
27. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/10/antifa-leader-november-4th-millions-antifa-supersoldiers-will-behead-white-parents/
28. ↑ Is Obama a communist or a fascist? Now I'm confused.
29. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/obama-to-sign-un-gun-treaty-this-month-will-lead-to-national-registry/
30. ↑ "Unhinged Lesbian Mob"? "Lesbian Violence"? Really?
31. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/05/fabulous-newsweek-obama-cover-the-first-gay-president/
32. ↑ https://www.chron.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Conservative-Blogger-Jim-Hoft-Comes-Out-As-Gay-8100833.php
33. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/04/report-sarkozy-slams-obama-says-he-might-be-insane/
34. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/09/two-men-charged-in-violent-racist-attack-on-white-teen/
35. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2008/09/missouri-sheriffs-prosecuters-form/
36. ↑ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/07/dod-holds-first-lesbian-gay-transgender-event-in-kandahar-afghanistan-video/
37. ↑ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/04/socialist-ocasio-cortez-says-latest-campaign-finance-charges-filed-against-her-are-bogus-video/
38. ↑ President Trump Wants You in DC January 6 Wild Protest (archived from January 1, 2021).
39. ↑ 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.
40. ↑ Gateway Pundit files for bankruptcy after election conspiracy defamation lawsuits by Huo Jingnan (April 24, 20247:04 PM ET) NPR.
41. ↑ 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.
42. ↑ 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.
43. ↑ Note from the Editor: Legal Update by Jim Hoft (Oct. 12, 2024 7:00 am) Gateway Pundit (archived from 12 Oct 2024 18:00:10 UTC).

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Because why not capitalize on a tragedy by using it as a smear campaign against ideological enemies?