True Pundit

Far-right and fake news website, 2016–2021

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True PunditType of business| Limited liability company

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Type of site

| fake news website
Available in| English
Founded| 2016
Key people| Michael D. Moore
Advertising| Yes
Commercial| Yes
Current status| Inactive

True Pundit is a far-right[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] fake news website known for publishing conspiracy theories.[1][2][4][8][9][10][11][12][13] According to The Atlantic, True Pundit had "a well-known modus operandi, perfected during the 2016 U.S. election: running baseless stories and then asking leading questions".[14]

True Pundit was "fluent in the paranoid language of 2016 social media" and often credited false stories about the FBI and Hillary Clinton to anonymous sources and claimed the mainstream media was covering it up. The website helped spread the Plandemic conspiracy theory. It was often promoted by partisan and conspiracy websites and prominent pro-Trump figures, including Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr.[1][10][11][15][16]

True Pundit earned revenue by selling merchandise and advertising with Revcontent, a service that monetized fake news sites, and briefly worked with the ad firm Intermarkets.[1][17]

## Notable conspiracy theories

[edit]

In October 2016 True Pundit was the source of the claim that Hillary Clinton asked, "Can’t we just drone this guy?" about Julian Assange. The conspiracy theory was amplified by WikiLeaks, InfoWars, RT, Heat Street and Fox News. WikiLeaks sent a private message to Donald Trump Jr. asking him to "comment on/push" the story. Trump Jr. replied that he "already did that".[1][15][18][19]

The website also published stories about Hillary Clinton possibly wearing an earpiece at a debate, using hand signals with debate moderators, and being drunk before a campaign rally.[1][11][20]

In 2016 and 2017 True Pundit promoted theories that mass shootings in Las Vegas and at the Orlando Pulse nightclub involved FBI cover-ups and a conspiracy theory related to Trump Tower wiretapping allegations.[1] Years after True Pundit said FBI sources fingered the Pulse shooter as an FBI asset, Omar Mateen's family connections to the FBI was revealed. [21]

In February 2018 True Pundit promoted conspiracy theories about the Parkland high school shooting.[22][23][24] In August 2018 True Pundit was the first to imply a link between a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist's death and the Clinton family.[10]

In 2020, True Pundit played a key role in boosting the Plandemic conspiracy theory.[16]

## History

[edit]

The website for True Pundit was registered in March 2016 and launched that June. True Pundit was created by Michael D. Moore using the pseudonym Thomas Paine and managed by True Pundit Media LLC.[1][11]

In 2017 Moore sarcastically said True Pundit was "flattered to be accused of participating in disinformation campaigns" for Russia and implied that mainstream media do the same for other governments.[25] “We are flattered to be accused of participating in disinformation campaigns for government because as a start-up that's the exact time-tested model we have been emulating from the New York Times, Washington Post and other mainstream media outlets," Paine said. [26] The allegations were later proven false when reporters admitted the claims were fabricated. Left-wing critics of True Pundit, including the Washington Post, were forced to print [27]numerous retractions. Business Insider admitted targets like True Pundit were manufactured and the original allegations were false.[28]

## Thomas Paine pseudonym

[edit]

Michael D. Moore had a background in journalism, previously a contractor with FBI, when he created True Pundit in 2016 using the pseudonym, Thomas Paine. Moore's autobiography as Thomas Paine says he won the Gerald Loeb Award, and claimed he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting twice and a George Polk Political Reporting award once. In YouTube appearances Moore has praised Infowars conspiracy theorist and QAnon proponent Jerome Corsi.[1][16]

In 1996, Moore won the coveted Gerald Loeb Award for its series "Formula for Disaster: The Lodi Explosion" by Michael Moore, Bruce Locklin and Debra Lynn Vial. The series was the catalyst for the creation of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

In 1996 Moore was co-winner of a Gerald Loeb Award for reporting about TWA Flight 800. Moore said that in the late 1990s he left journalism to work in "intelligence" and started the company "Dig Dirt" with the tagline "investigative intelligence". When Moore's newspaper learned about Dig Dirt, they opened an internal investigation. The paper's editor said it "very clearly created the appearance and potential for a conflict of interest" but Moore was cleared of wrongdoing, but resigned from the newspaper.[1][29][30]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Silverman, Craig (2018-08-27). "Revealed: Notorious Pro-Trump Misinformation Site True Pundit Is Run By An Ex-Journalist With A Grudge Against The FBI". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
2. ^ a b Gibian, Rebecca. "Pro-Trump Blogger Revealed To Be Ex-Journalist Who Hates FBI". InsideHook. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
3. ^ Smith, Allan. "The far right thinks there's a massive FBI-linked conspiracy around survivors of the Florida school shooting". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
4. ^ a b Rothschild, Mike (2018-12-10). "What life is like inside the right-wing Twitter bubble". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
5. ^ Farhi, Paul (2018-02-23). "What is Gateway Pundit, the conspiracy-hawking site at the center of the bogus Florida 'crisis actors' hype?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
6. ^ Garcia, Arturo (2018-02-20). "Far Right Blogs, Conspiracy Theorists Attack Parkland Mass Shooting Survivor". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
7. ^ Emery, David (2018-08-11). "Was the Father of the Man Accused of Training School Shooters the Keynote Speaker at Obama's Democratic National Convention?". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
8. ^ Wilson, Jason (2018-02-21). "Crisis actors, deep state, false flag: the rise of conspiracy theory code words". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
9. ^ Borchers, Callum (2021-11-25). "Hillary Clinton earpiece speculation conjures the ghost of George W. Bush's back bulge". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
10. ^ a b c Sommer, Will (2018-08-23). "Conspiracy Theorists Try to Turn Pizzagate Pusher Into New Seth Rich". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
11. ^ a b c d Silverman, Craig (2016-12-05). "How The Bizarre Conspiracy Theory Behind "Pizzagate" Was Spread". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
12. ^ "True Pundit". Media Matters for America. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
13. ^ Palma, Bethania (2019-07-30). "Was the Death of FBI Agent Sal Cincinelli Linked to the Clinton Foundation?". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
14. ^ Lewis, Helen (2020-06-12). "The Mainstream Media Won't Tell You This". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
15. ^ a b Singal, Jesse (2016-10-03). "Explaining the Rumor That Hillary Clinton Wanted to Drone-Strike Julian Assange". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
16. ^ a b c Breland, Ali. "After a conspiracy site boosted the debunked "Plandemic" video, Trump pushed its take on Joe Scarborough". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
17. ^ Vo, Craig Silverman, Jeremy Singer-Vine, Lam Thuy (2017-04-04). "Fake News, Real Ads: Fake News Publishers Are Still Earning Money From Big Ad Networks". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-10-29.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
18. ^ LaCapria, Kim (2016-10-03). "To Silence Wikileaks, Hillary Clinton Proposed Drone Strike on Julian Assange?". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
19. ^ Ioffe, Julia (2017-11-13). "The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
20. ^ Kaplan, Alex (2018-06-25). "Return of Pizzagate: Pro-Trump media use FBI IG report to revive conspiracy theory". Salon. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
21. ^ "Father of Pulse gunman was FBI informant, widow's attorneys say - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
22. ^ Smith, Allan. "Some of Trump's most fervent supporters have started to criticize a school-shooting survivor who has made a flurry of media appearances". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
23. ^ Smith, Allan. "The far right thinks there's a massive FBI-linked conspiracy around survivors of the Florida school shooting". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
24. ^ Smith, Allan. "The conspiracy theory around one of the Florida school-shooting survivors is getting even more insane". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
25. ^ Dorell, Oren. "Breitbart, other 'alt-right' websites are the darlings of Russian propaganda effort". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
26. ^ Dorell, Oren. "Breitbart, other 'alt-right' websites are the darlings of Russian propaganda effort". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
27. ^ "The Post issues minor corrections in coverage of Hamilton 68". Washington Post. 2023-05-18. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
28. ^ Mark, Sonam Sheth, Michelle. "Here's what we know about Hamilton 68, the Russian online influence tracker called into question by the 'Twitter Files'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-10.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
29. ^ "Asbury Park Press Clipping On TWA Crash Story". www.documentcloud.org.
30. ^ ""On the Record: Top Reporter at N.J. Daily Resign" by Giobbe, Dorothy - Editor & Publisher, Vol. 129, Issue 50, December 14, 1996 | Online Research Library: Questia". 2018-09-15. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2023-10-29.

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