Little Green Footballs
Encyclopedia
Little Green Footballs is an American
political blog
run by web designer Charles Johnson.
Media observers in the United States long described the site as "right wing", but since 2007, the site's emphasis has changed, such that "LGF has become better known for the various fights it picks with many on the right."
Johnson stated in 2006:
More recently, in 2009, he has claimed that:
Earlier, after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Johnson—who has described himself as "pretty much center-left before 9/11"— transformed his blog's discussion of bicycle racing
, programming, web design
, and the occasional humorous news item into a very active discussion of the War on Terror
, Islam
and Islamism
, Eurabia
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
LGF won the "Best Israel Advocacy Blog" award from the Jerusalem Post in 2005. According to Gil Ronen, a reporter for Internet news outlet, Israel National News, "If anyone ever compiles a list of Internet sites that contribute to Israel’s public relations effort, Johnson's site will probably come in first, far above the Israeli Foreign Ministry's site."
In the United States
, LGF is perhaps best known for playing a key role in exposing the fraud of the Killian documents
regarding President George W. Bush
, which preceded the resignation of CBS
's Dan Rather
. The site won the Washington Posts reader poll for Best International Blog in November 2004 and played a role in bringing attention to altered photographs in the Adnan Hajj photographs controversy
. In July 2008, LGF identified that photographs of Iran's missile test had been altered, and was credited by much of the media for this.
. Until Spring 2007, all data was stored in flat files. The website now uses MySQL
.
LGF was one of four sources, along with the Power Line and Allahpundit
blogs and the Free Republic
discussion forum, who conducted the initial investigation of Dan Rather
's assertions on 60 Minutes
that the Killian documents were genuine.
's "Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge". Supporters also donate pizzas for IDF
soldiers. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
several registered users also offered their direct services donating and transporting goods to the hardest hit, inviting contributions from other readers. Johnson also posted a number of links to charitable efforts and thanked his readers for their response.
launched a news site called Pajamas Media
(briefly called Open Source Media) featuring mostly conservative and libertarian
bloggers and journalists (e.g., Michelle Malkin
, Glenn Reynolds
, Michael Barone
, Tammy Bruce
, John Podhoretz
, Michael Ledeen
, Cathy Seipp
) with some liberal
participants (e.g., David Corn
, Marc Cooper
). The name refers to Jonathan Klein
's comment about bloggers working in their pajamas.
As of 15 September 2009, Johnson has removed all links to Pajamas Media
sites from Little Green Footballs.
after an Israeli air strike taken by Adnan Hajj was manipulated before being published.
On July 10, 2008 the website documented alterations to photos of Iranian missile tests. Fox News credited the website for discovering the doctored photos.
, in a blog post where Johnson notes that, after having been captured and beaten by Afghan refugees, Fisk claimed he sympathized with them.
Historically, Little Green Footballs had a second annual award; The Fallaci. This award was named after the late Oriana Fallaci
, and given to people who in the previous year best embodied the "Anti-Idiotarian" worldview. The Fallaci was discontinued after 2007. Johnson quietly removed a link to her memorial site from the blog during his ideological shift in 2008.
", claiming that "The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won’t be going over the cliff with them." He has been heavily critical of conservatives and libertarians since then.
, which he described as an "Islamic Shrine". Johnson was discovered to have deleted these posts without acknowledging their deletion. Johnson had also described the lead figure in the Park51 project, Feisal Abdul Rauf
, as an "Islamic Supremacist," but later revised that description from the post without acknowledging the change
, Charles Krauthammer
, Mark Steyn
, James Lileks
, and Oriana Fallaci. Johnson has expressed a strong disdain for the Tea Party protests. He frequently references climatologist Peter Sinclair in posts about global warming.
.
activist Rachel Corrie
, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer
in Rafah
, a town in the Gaza Strip
. Johnson disputes the ISM's account, holding that Corrie was "trying to 'protect' a house used for drugs and weapons smuggling". Johnson states:
In support of this view, he has cited a diary entry from Corrie in which he claims that she expresses the view that Palestinian violence towards Israel is justifiable and laudable.
In posts about her on LGF, Johnson often features a photo of Corrie burning a hand-drawn American flag and surrounded by Palestinian children.
, and Johnson regularly posts to criticize the subject and those who endorse it. He is particularly critical of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on this point. In 2009, he stated that the Republican Party's having visible advocates of Intelligent Design is one of the reasons that the Democrats were in power.
") have engaged in a number of high-profile feud
s and flame wars, pitting LGF supporters against readers of other blogs (e.g., Daily Kos
and later Hot Air) and alternative media sites (e.g., Fark
and Digg
). Claims Derek van Vliet, a writer for the Blog Herald:
homepage.
Following a news release which CAIR
sent to pay-for-play organization PRNewswire.com, Johnson redirected the news release's link traffic to a site regarding CAIR
's ties to terrorist organizations. CAIR
responded by having the links removed from the press release.
Johnson's allegations were picked up in the New York Times "Medium" section, where Virginia Heffernan
cited LGF's coverage of claims by Bill White
, writing:
and Sweden Democrats
, political parties he believes to be fascist or neo-Nazi in character. This resulted in a falling out with several other prominent right-wing bloggers, including Diana West
, Robert Spencer, and Fjordman
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political blog
Political blog
A political blog is a common type of blog that comments on politics. In liberal democracies the right to criticize the government without interference is considered an important element of free speech...
run by web designer Charles Johnson.
Media observers in the United States long described the site as "right wing", but since 2007, the site's emphasis has changed, such that "LGF has become better known for the various fights it picks with many on the right."
Johnson stated in 2006:
More recently, in 2009, he has claimed that:
Earlier, after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Johnson—who has described himself as "pretty much center-left before 9/11"— transformed his blog's discussion of bicycle racing
Bicycle racing
Bicycle racing is a competition sport in which various types of bicycles are used. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, bike trials, and cycle speedway. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport...
, programming, web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
, and the occasional humorous news item into a very active discussion of the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
, Eurabia
Eurabia
Eurabia is a conspiracy theory about the alleged Arabization and Islamization of Europe, and the European leaders' alleged capitulation to Islamic influences.-Origin of the term:...
, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
LGF won the "Best Israel Advocacy Blog" award from the Jerusalem Post in 2005. According to Gil Ronen, a reporter for Internet news outlet, Israel National News, "If anyone ever compiles a list of Internet sites that contribute to Israel’s public relations effort, Johnson's site will probably come in first, far above the Israeli Foreign Ministry's site."
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, LGF is perhaps best known for playing a key role in exposing the fraud of the Killian documents
Killian documents
The Killian documents controversy involved six documents critical of President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972–73...
regarding President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, which preceded the resignation of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
. The site won the Washington Posts reader poll for Best International Blog in November 2004 and played a role in bringing attention to altered photographs in the Adnan Hajj photographs controversy
Adnan Hajj photographs controversy
The Adnan Hajj photographs controversy involves digitally manipulated photographs taken by Adnan Hajj, a Lebanese freelance photographer based in the Middle East, who had worked for Reuters over a period of more than ten years...
. In July 2008, LGF identified that photographs of Iran's missile test had been altered, and was credited by much of the media for this.
History and notable events
The software for the website was written by Johnson himself, in PHPPHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
. Until Spring 2007, all data was stored in flat files. The website now uses MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
.
Killian documents
Allah Is in the House
Allahpundit is an anonymous blogger, and the lead reporter for the blog Hot Air, once owned by conservative commentator and author Michelle Malkin...
blogs and the Free Republic
Free Republic
Free Republic is a moderated Internet forum for activists, and chat site for self-described conservatives, primarily within the United States. It presents articles and comments posted pseudonymously by registered members, known as "Freepers", using screen names...
discussion forum, who conducted the initial investigation of Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
's assertions on 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
that the Killian documents were genuine.
Charitable contributions
Little Green Footballs supporters have helped raise thousands of dollars for Spirit of AmericaSpirit of America (company)
Spirit of America is a non-profit company which assists Americans serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa help the local people of those areas. The organization was founded by Jim Hake in 2003...
's "Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge". Supporters also donate pizzas for IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldiers. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
several registered users also offered their direct services donating and transporting goods to the hardest hit, inviting contributions from other readers. Johnson also posted a number of links to charitable efforts and thanked his readers for their response.
Pajamas Media
In late 2005 Johnson, along with blogger and author Roger L. SimonRoger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is currently CEO of Pajamas Media. He is the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and six screenplays...
launched a news site called Pajamas Media
Pajamas Media
PJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
(briefly called Open Source Media) featuring mostly conservative and libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
bloggers and journalists (e.g., Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
, Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
, Michael Barone
Michael Barone
Michael Barone may refer to:*Michael Barone , US political expert and conservative commentator*J. Michael Barone , host of the American Public Media programs Pipedreams, The New Releases, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra...
, Tammy Bruce
Tammy Bruce
Tammy Bruce is an American radio host, author, and political commentator. Her nationally-syndicated talk show, The Tammy Bruce Show, airs live weekdays from 11am-1pm Pacific time online via ....
, John Podhoretz
John Podhoretz
John Podhoretz is an American neoconservative columnist for the New York Post, the editor of Commentary magazine, the author of several books on politics, and a former presidential speechwriter.-Life and career:...
, Michael Ledeen
Michael Ledeen
Michael Arthur Ledeen is an American specialist on foreign policy. His research areas have included state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe , U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa and is a leading neoconservative...
, Cathy Seipp
Catherine Seipp
Catherine Seipp was a Los Angeles freelance writer and media critic. She is best known for writing the weekly "From the Left Coast" column for National Review Online and a monthly column for the Independent Women's Forum and for her early recognition of the potential significance of the...
) with some liberal
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
participants (e.g., David Corn
David Corn
David Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv opposite James Pinkerton or other media...
, Marc Cooper
Marc Cooper
Marc Cooper is an American journalist, author, journalism professor and blogger. He is currently a contributing editor to The Nation. He wrote the popular "Dissonance" column for LA Weekly from 2001 until November 2008...
). The name refers to Jonathan Klein
Jonathan Klein (CNN)
Jonathan Klein is the former president of CNN/U.S., who was responsible for management oversight of all programming, editorial tone and strategic direction of the network. Klein led CNN during its coverage of the 2008 presidential election, which resulted in the highest ratings in the history of...
's comment about bloggers working in their pajamas.
As of 15 September 2009, Johnson has removed all links to Pajamas Media
Pajamas Media
PJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
sites from Little Green Footballs.
Doctored photographs
On August 5, 2006, LGF showed how a photograph of BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
after an Israeli air strike taken by Adnan Hajj was manipulated before being published.
On July 10, 2008 the website documented alterations to photos of Iranian missile tests. Fox News credited the website for discovering the doctored photos.
Awards
Little Green Footballs has one annual award; The Fiskie, given to people who in the previous year best embodied the "Idiotarian" worldview. The Fiskie was named after journalist Robert FiskRobert Fisk
Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's...
, in a blog post where Johnson notes that, after having been captured and beaten by Afghan refugees, Fisk claimed he sympathized with them.
Historically, Little Green Footballs had a second annual award; The Fallaci. This award was named after the late Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci was an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer. A former partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career...
, and given to people who in the previous year best embodied the "Anti-Idiotarian" worldview. The Fallaci was discontinued after 2007. Johnson quietly removed a link to her memorial site from the blog during his ideological shift in 2008.
Name
The name "Little Green Footballs" has not been explained by Charles Johnson. The most he has said about it is:I am at liberty to reveal that it has something to do with an incident in my youth that happened in Japan.
Parting ways with the Right
On November 30, 2009, Johnson blogged that he was disassociating himself with "the rightRight-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
", claiming that "The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won’t be going over the cliff with them." He has been heavily critical of conservatives and libertarians since then.
Alteration and Deletion of Posts
In early September, 2010, it was discovered that Johnson had begun altering some posts and deleting others which expressed sentiments which were substantively similar to the ones he had recently been condemning others for. In one example, Johnson had been condemning opponents of the Park51 project as "bigots", though he had expressed similar opposition to the proposed Flight 93 memorialFlight 93 National Memorial
The Flight 93 National Memorial is located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, about north of Shanksville, and southeast of Pittsburgh. The memorial was made to honor the passengers of Flight...
, which he described as an "Islamic Shrine". Johnson was discovered to have deleted these posts without acknowledging their deletion. Johnson had also described the lead figure in the Park51 project, Feisal Abdul Rauf
Feisal Abdul Rauf
Feisal Abdul Rauf is an American Sufi imam, author, and activist whose stated goal is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West...
, as an "Islamic Supremacist," but later revised that description from the post without acknowledging the change
Monitoring and exposing rival websites for revisionist editing
Charles Johnson's posts on LGF frequently call attention to what he regards as unethical revisionism on the part of rival blogs.Ideological influences
Charles Johnson's posts on LGF frequently cited the writing of authors representing Neoconservative viewpoints, such as Victor Davis HansonVictor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
, Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer, MD is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. His weekly column appears in The Washington Post and is syndicated to more than 275 newspapers and media outlets. He is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and The New...
, Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn is a Canadian-born writer, conservative-leaning political commentator, and cultural critic. He has written five books, including America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller...
, James Lileks
James Lileks
James Lileks is an American journalist, columnist, and blogger living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.- Career :Lileks has had a wide-ranging career as a columnist, radio personality, author, and prominent blogger....
, and Oriana Fallaci. Johnson has expressed a strong disdain for the Tea Party protests. He frequently references climatologist Peter Sinclair in posts about global warming.
"Palestinian child abuse"
Johnson often posts photos taken by Associated Press and Reuters photographers, among others, of Palestinians dressing their children in paramilitary uniforms, or in clothing emblazoned with violent slogans such as "Death to Israel." These children are often shown carrying real guns and even wearing mock-ups of the explosive belts used by suicide bombers. Johnson refers to such photographs as evidence of Palestinian child abuseChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
.
Rachel Corrie
Johnson has stated many times that he is disgusted with media coverage of the death of International Solidarity MovementInternational Solidarity Movement
The International Solidarity Movement is an organization focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using nonviolent protests. It was founded in 2001 by Ghassan Andoni, a Palestinian activist; Neta Golan, an Israeli activist; Huwaida Arraf, a...
activist Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie
Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement . She was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer when she was standing or kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, thus acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the IDF from...
, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
in Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
, a town in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. Johnson disputes the ISM's account, holding that Corrie was "trying to 'protect' a house used for drugs and weapons smuggling". Johnson states:
-
- Rachel Corrie was emphatically not a "peace activist". She sided with terrorists and criminals, and advocated—in fact, was excited by—violence and mass murder.
In support of this view, he has cited a diary entry from Corrie in which he claims that she expresses the view that Palestinian violence towards Israel is justifiable and laudable.
In posts about her on LGF, Johnson often features a photo of Corrie burning a hand-drawn American flag and surrounded by Palestinian children.
Intelligent Design criticism
LGF has been ideologically opposed to Intelligent DesignIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, and Johnson regularly posts to criticize the subject and those who endorse it. He is particularly critical of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on this point. In 2009, he stated that the Republican Party's having visible advocates of Intelligent Design is one of the reasons that the Democrats were in power.
Slang
Discussing slang terms used by Johnson and his readers, Paul Farhi, a writer for the Washington Post, notes:-
- ...Little Green Footballs doesn't always traffic in subtlety and nuance. Dissenting points of view often are dismissed as "idiotarian" or "LLL" (for "loony liberal left"), and Islam is mockingly referred to as "RoP", meaning "religion of peaceReligion of PeaceThe Religion of peace is a political neologism used as a description of Islam. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, some politicians described Islam as a "religion of peace" in an effort to differentiate between Islamic terrorists and non-violent Muslims...
".
- ...Little Green Footballs doesn't always traffic in subtlety and nuance. Dissenting points of view often are dismissed as "idiotarian" or "LLL" (for "loony liberal left"), and Islam is mockingly referred to as "RoP", meaning "religion of peace
Posting filter
Johnson has put in place a filter which stops LGF members from using certain derogatory and racist terms in their posts to the site. Johnson stresses that the number of comments filtered in this way are "minuscule." The filter is intended to prevent abuse going unnoticed.Rivalries
According to the Blog Herald, Johnson and LGF "regulars" (the self-proclaimed "LizardoidsReptilian humanoid
Reptilian humanoids comprise a common motif in mythology, folklore, science fiction, fantasy, conspiracy theories, ufology, and cryptozoology.-Male:...
") have engaged in a number of high-profile feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
s and flame wars, pitting LGF supporters against readers of other blogs (e.g., Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
and later Hot Air) and alternative media sites (e.g., Fark
Fark
Fark is a community website created by Drew Curtis that allows members to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. As of June 2009, the site boasts approximately four million unique visitors per month, which puts it among the top 100 English language websites...
and Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
). Claims Derek van Vliet, a writer for the Blog Herald:
-
- In the past, Charles Johnson, the owner of the (LGF) blog has rallied his readers to establish a “beachhead” on Digg to counteract the perceived liberal bias. All the while peppering pejoratives like “moonbat” throughout the content directed at Digg users. Meanwhile, their site does not allow open discussion. Registration is required to comment. And opportunities to register are rare. Digg users are known to rail against closed systems. After all, they came to participate...
Redirects
Johnson often redirects incoming links from sites critical of LGF to the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
homepage.
Following a news release which CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
sent to pay-for-play organization PRNewswire.com, Johnson redirected the news release's link traffic to a site regarding CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
's ties to terrorist organizations. CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
responded by having the links removed from the press release.
Allegations of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment
- R. J. Smith, writing in Los Angeles Magazine, stated that LGF is a "dysfunctional mix of beautiful photos Johnson takes on coastal bike rides and constitutionally protected hate speech" which "believes all Muslims are terrorists until proven innocent."
- Ibrahim HooperIbrahim HooperIbrahim Hooper , a convert to Islam, is the National Communications Director and spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations , a Washington D.C.-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.-Early life:...
, spokesman for the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) called Little Green Footballs "a vicious, anti-Muslim hate site" and says that the FBI has "investigated several threats of physical harm against Muslims posted by Little Green Footballs readers".
- ColumnistColumnistA columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
Antonia ZerbisiasAntonia ZerbisiasAntonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the Toronto Star since 1989. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the Montreal correspondent for Variety trade paper...
has described LGF as a "virulently anti-Muslim/Arab website".
- Charles Johnson has referred to Al Jazeera English as "essentially a Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim BrotherhoodThe Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
front" and described it as "JihadTV".
Allegations of censorship
- In March 2005, Johnson called attention to Google's inclusion of the white supremacist National VanguardNational Vanguard (American organization)National Vanguard is an American National Socialist organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded in 2005 by Kevin Alfred Strom and former members of the National Alliance.-History:...
site (and simultaneous exclusion of LGF) in its news index; the NV site has since been dropped.
- In April 2007 Johnson reported that Little Green Footballs was being blocked by WebsenseWebsenseWebsense is a San Diego-based company specializing in Web security gateway software. It enables clients to block access to chosen categories of websites.-History:Websense was founded by Phil Trubey in 1994...
under its "Racism and Hate" category. Websense admitted that the site had been thus categorized briefly (but incorrectly) and subsequently reversed the decision.
Statements about Ron Paul
- Johnson removed Ron Paul's name from straw polls regarding the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination campaign, asserting that Ron Paul's supporters were fraudulently gaming the vote script to increase Paul's numbers: "The bottom line: if Ron Paul supporters weren’t spamming, he would still be in our polls. I really don’t have any nefarious motives here; I just don’t like being gamed, and since I run these silly unscientific polls I don’t have to put up with it." According to Johnson, the tactic used was an organized campaign by Ron Paul supporters to notify other supporters of online polls and vote in them.
- In December 2007, libertarianLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
writer David WeigelDavid WeigelDavid "Dave" Weigel , is an American journalist, currently working for Slate magazine and MSNBC. Weigel began appearing on MSNBC in 2009, accepting a position as a paid contributor in June 2010...
accused Johnson of launching a "smear" against RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential candidate Ron PaulRon PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
, writing in Reason Magazine that:
- Little Green Footballs has moved, over the space of a few weeks, from mercilessly mocking Ron PaulRon PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
and banning him from its straw polls to putting him at the center of a conspiracy for worldwide Nazi domination.
Johnson's allegations were picked up in the New York Times "Medium" section, where Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan is an American journalist. In March, 2011, she began to write regularly about digital and pop culture for the Opinion pages of The New York Times. She is also known as a television critic for The New York Times, and as "The Medium" columnist at The New York Times Magazine. In...
cited LGF's coverage of claims by Bill White
Bill White (neo-Nazi)
William Alexander "Bill" White is the leader of the internet-based American National Socialist Workers' Party, and former administrator of Overthrow.com, a now-defunct website dedicated to anti-communist thought, and far-right interpretations of anti-Zionist and anti-capitalist speech.White came...
, writing:
- Little Green Footballs, the hawkish and rigidly empiricist blog that first furnished evidence of memo-forging in the Rathergate case, has started due diligence...
Statements about Vlaams Belang
In the wake of the Brussels Counterjihad 2007 conference held on October 17–18, 2007, Charles Johnson became openly critical of the Vlaams BelangVlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang is a Belgian far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
and Sweden Democrats
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats is a political party in Sweden, founded in 1988. SD describes itself as a nationalist movement although others use the term far-right. Since 2005, its party chairman is Jimmie Åkesson, while Björn Söder is the party secretary and parliamentary group leader. An Anemone...
, political parties he believes to be fascist or neo-Nazi in character. This resulted in a falling out with several other prominent right-wing bloggers, including Diana West
Diana West
Diana West is a nationally syndicated conservative American columnist and author. Her weekly column for the Washington Examiner is syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association and appears in about 120 newspapers. She is the author of the book The Death of the Grown Up: How America's Arrested...
, Robert Spencer, and Fjordman
Fjordman
Peder Are Nøstvold Jensen is a Norwegian far-right anti-Islamic blogger who writes under the pseudonym Fjordman. Jensen wrote anonymously as Fjordman starting in 2005, until he disclosed his identity in 2011. He has been active in the counterjihad movement, which argues that multiculturalism,...
.
2002
- MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Will Femia wrote of LGF:
-
- This site is the focus of considerable controversy for its focus (and particularly the focus of the constituents in its comments section) on Islamic culture and dogma as the source of Islamic terror. As a popular, active, and well presented site, it is worth checking out, but some may find its content hateful or even racist.
- Syndicated columnist James TarantoJames TarantoJames Taranto is an American columnist for The Wall Street Journal, editor of its online editorial page OpinionJournal.com and a member of the newspaper's editorial board. He is best known for his daily online column Best of the Web Today...
defended LGF after MSNBC 'smeared' Johnson.
2005
- Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
theater critic James WolcottJames WolcottJames Wolcott is an American journalist, known for his critique of contemporary media. Wolcott is the cultural critic for Vanity Fair and contributes to The New Yorker. He also writes a blog....
characterized the LGF community as "sort of like a disorganized Nuremberg RallyNuremberg RallyThe Nuremberg Rally was the annual rally of the NSDAP in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938. Especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, they were large Nazi propaganda events...
, a lot of angry ruffians with nowhere to go...." after Johnson described an attack on Daniel PipesDaniel PipesDaniel Pipes is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the founder and director of the Middle East Forum and its Campus Watch project, and editor of its Middle East Quarterly journal...
by Wolcott as "the sort of high-toned writin’ that made Vanity Fair the journalistic juggernaut it is today".
- The Weekly StandardThe Weekly StandardThe Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
described LGF as one of "the saner precincts of the blogosphere".
2006
- Pajamas MediaPajamas MediaPJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
contributor Cathy SeippCatherine SeippCatherine Seipp was a Los Angeles freelance writer and media critic. She is best known for writing the weekly "From the Left Coast" column for National Review Online and a monthly column for the Independent Women's Forum and for her early recognition of the potential significance of the...
wrote in National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
that:
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- I'm losing patience with this notion, surely one of the most successful media Big LieBig LieThe Big Lie is a propaganda technique. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." Hitler asserted the technique was...
s of the past few years, that Charles runs a racist hate site. By now it's been repeated so often that even normally reasonable people believe it.
- I'm losing patience with this notion, surely one of the most successful media Big Lie
2009
- Charles Johnson and LGF received attention from the progressive blog the Huffington Post because of a blog post of Johnsons disassociating himself from "the right"Right-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
because of perceived bigotry, homophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, islamaphobia, embracing of conspiracy theories, "religious fanaticism", "anti-government lunacy", global warming denialism, "hate speech", "racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
" and "fascismFascismFascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
".
2010
- Author and journalist Jonathan Dee wrote a lengthy profile of Johnson for The New York Times MagazineThe New York Times MagazineThe New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
. Johnson later criticized the article for its negative slant and for lending too much weight to the opinions of people he claimed the Times would "normally assign to the 'wacko far right bigot' category".