Veterans Today
{{short description|Fake news website}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Veterans Today
| type = Conspiracy theory website
| language = English
| founded = 2004
| founder =
| registration = Optional
| url = {{URL|https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/}}
| logo = Veterans-today-logo.jpg
}}
{{Antisemitism}}
Veterans Today is an American antisemitic and conspiracy theory website. It describes itself as a "military veterans and foreign affairs journal", while multiple sources describe it as a pro-Kremlin propaganda outlet.
History
Veterans Today was founded in 2004 "in opposition to the invasion of Iraq." According to Politico, the site "soon began publishing wild conspiracy theories" and "has consistently published articles that push the Kremlin party line". It has ties with the Iranian state media outlet Press TV, and has had ties with Russia's New Eastern Outlook website since 2013, though according to The Daily Beast, the latter connection ended in 2018. The website is formally partnered with several other Russian institutions.{{cite news|last=Poulsen|first=Kevin|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/accused-russian-troll-uses-a-novel-argument-to-fire-back-at-facebook|title=Accused Russian Troll Uses a Novel Argument to Fire Back at Facebook|work=The Daily Beast|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=August 29, 2019|archive-date=July 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731082729/https://www.thedailybeast.com/accused-russian-troll-uses-a-novel-argument-to-fire-back-at-facebook|url-status=live}} The New Hampshire Union Leader says that the website mixes "advice for veterans on how to find jobs and pay medical bills" with conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda.{{cite news |last1=Gordon |first1=Greg |last2=Goldstein |first2=David |title=Russian propaganda engaged U.S. vets, troops via social media, study finds |work=The Union Leader |date=9 October 2017|id={{ProQuest|1953868609}} }} Its editorial board includes a former head of Pakistan's intelligence services.
It has published false headlines such as, "Pravda: Ukraine indignant at 80% of Jews in power" and "Water Terrorism by India to Overawe Pakistan."{{cite news |last1=Schreckinger |first1=Ben |title=How Russia Targets the U.S. Military |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/12/how-russia-targets-the-us-military-215247 |access-date=10 August 2018 |publisher=Politico |date=12 June 2017 |archive-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220214625/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/12/how-russia-targets-the-us-military-215247/ |url-status=live }} A joint article with Press TV, written by Jim Fetzer, was entitled: "Did Mossad death squads slaughter American children at Sandy Hook?"{{cite news |last1=Kamm |first1=Oliver |title=From nonsense to indecency |url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/from-nonsense-to-indecency-1.40149 |access-date=January 7, 2018 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=January 4, 2013 |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810235439/https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/from-nonsense-to-indecency-1.40149 |url-status=live }} According to Veterans Today, Israel was behind the 9/11 attacks in collaboration with the United States and Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is controlled by the Israeli government. Duff wrote in an August 2021 article for the website: "The biggest story of the last 20 years is one of the brazen uses of nuclear weapons by Israel against its perceived enemies. Israel nuked the US on 9/11 and [Veterans Today] has proven it beyond a doubt."{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later|title=Antisemitic Conspiracies About 9/11 Endure 20 Years Later|website=Anti-Defamation League|date=September 9, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2022|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613131053/https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later|url-status=live}}
In 2012, the website's chairman, Gordon Duff, told an interviewer that "about 30% of what's written on Veterans Today, is patently false. About 40% of what I write, is at least purposely, partially false, because if I didn't write false information I wouldn't be alive".
Duff spoke at a conference organized by the Syrian government Counterterrorism and Religious Extremism Conference held in Syria on November 30 and December 1, 2014. The four-man Veterans Today delegation (eight Americans in all were present) also included managing editor Jim Dean.{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/syrian-counterterrorism-conference-attracts-us-anti-semites?_ga=2.94668444.1840273308.1545917185-1750321487.1545917185|title=Syrian Counterterrorism Conference Attracts U.S. Anti-Semites|work=Anti-Defamation League|date=December 4, 2014|access-date=December 27, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227230205/https://www.adl.org/blog/syrian-counterterrorism-conference-attracts-us-anti-semites?_ga=2.94668444.1840273308.1545917185-1750321487.1545917185|url-status=dead}} During his speech, he indicated his delegation from Veterans Today wanted:
{{blockquote|to try to establish a method of communication that will allow Syria and other nations in the area to understand Israel's control of the U.S., the control of the U.S. by organized crime, and how the U.S. government is subservient to a worldwide criminal organization.{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/anti-semite-gordon-duff-discusses-israeli-control-of-us-in-syria|title=Anti-Semite Gordon Duff Discusses Israeli Control of U.S. In Syria|work=Anti-Defamation League|date=December 12, 2014|access-date=December 27, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227230240/https://www.adl.org/blog/anti-semite-gordon-duff-discusses-israeli-control-of-us-in-syria|url-status=live}}}}
In February 2022, a piece by Thomas Ertl largely justifies Russia's invasion of Ukraine and says it is a lie that Ukraine is a sovereign country.{{cite news |last1=Ertl |first1=Thomas |title=The Ukraine Crisis: Facts Versus Lies — An American Christian Perspective |url=https://www.veteransstoday.com/2022/02/12/the-ukraine-crisis-facts-versus-lies-an-american-christian-perspective/ |access-date=5 May 2022 |publisher=Veterans Today |date=12 February 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Reception
According to British journalist Oliver Kamm, Veterans Today "promotes conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial". James Kirchick, writing in Time magazine, calls Veterans Today a "virulently anti-Semitic website".{{cite magazine |last1=Kirchick |first1=James |title=Inside the Bizarro World of 'Russia Today' |url=https://time.com/3015512/inside-the-bizarro-world-of-russia-today/ |access-date=12 August 2018 |magazine=Time |date=22 July 2014}}
The Times of Israel describes it as "a clearinghouse of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories".{{cite news |last1=Zehavi |first1=Ben |title=Why do Jews and Israel so often feature at center of conspiracy theories? |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-do-jews-and-israel-so-often-feature-at-center-of-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=12 August 2018 |work=The Times of Israel |date=3 May 2013 |archive-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812182041/https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-do-jews-and-israel-so-often-feature-at-center-of-conspiracy-theories/ |url-status=live }} According to The Jerusalem Post, the website has published "articles defending Hitler, and promotes Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and the anti-semitic musician Gilad Atzmon".{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Jonny |title=British Jewish group accuses Church of England vicar of anti-Semitism. Formal complaint documents Rev. Stephen Sizer's offensive anti-Semitic statements|work=The Jerusalem Post |date=2 November 2012|id={{ProQuest|1143932907}} }} Michael C. Moynihan, writing for The Daily Beast, has described it as a "Holocaust denial outfit".{{cite news |last=Moynihan |first=Michael |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-isis-to-ebola-what-has-made-naomi-wolf-so-paranoid |title=From ISIS to Ebola, What Has Made Naomi Wolf So Paranoid? |work=The Daily Beast |date=11 October 2014 |id={{ProQuest|1649038195}} |access-date=27 February 2021 |archive-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131142458/https://www.thedailybeast.com/from-isis-to-ebola-what-has-made-naomi-wolf-so-paranoid |url-status=live }} Veterans Today has said The Holocaust either did not occur or has been greatly inflated alleging it has been invented by the Jews to manipulate non-Jews. The Forward describes Veterans Today as "a hub for anti-Israel conspiracy theories."{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Anne |title=The Jewish Victim of Newtown Conspiracy Theorists |work=The Forward |date=18 January 2013 |url=https://forward.com/news/169490/the-jewish-victim-of-newtown-conspiracy-theorists/ |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224130048/https://forward.com/news/169490/the-jewish-victim-of-newtown-conspiracy-theorists/ |url-status=live }} Vice magazine called it "conspiracy-oriented".{{cite news |last1=Thomson |first1=Alex |title=9/11 'truthers' vow to never, ever forget |url=https://news.vice.com/article/911-truthers-vow-to-never-ever-forget |access-date=12 August 2018 |work=Vice |date=11 September 2016 |archive-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812181706/https://news.vice.com/article/911-truthers-vow-to-never-ever-forget |url-status=live }}
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is highly critical of the website, stating that "the anti-Israel bent on VT can slide pretty quickly into overt anti-Semitism."{{cite news|last=Schlatter|first=Evelyn|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/01/06/buyer-beware-veterans-today-and-its-anti-israel-agenda|title=Buyer Beware: Veterans Today and Its Anti-Israel Agenda|work=Southern Poverty Law Center|date=January 6, 2011|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230817/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/01/06/buyer-beware-veterans-today-and-its-anti-israel-agenda|url-status=live}}