WorldNetDaily#Controversial articles

{{Conservatism US|media}}

In 1997, Joseph Farah created the news website WorldNetDaily as a division of the Western Journalism Center. It was subsequently spun off in 1999 as a for-profit organization{{cite journal |last1=Foley |first1=Jordan M. |title=Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents |journal=Journalism Practice |date=13 September 2020 |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=9–10 |issn=1751-2794 |doi=10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214 |url=https://jordanfoley.net/files/papers/press_credentials_wnd/press_credentials_wnd_jp.pdf |s2cid=210645440 |via=Jordan M. Foley |access-date=October 9, 2020}} with the backing of $4.5 million from investors, Farah owning a majority of the stock. The site describes itself as "an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism". In 1999, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Farah |url=http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17207 |title=World's 'No. 1 website' goes for-profit |date=October 1, 1999 |access-date=May 25, 2011 |website=WorldNetDaily |location=McLean, Virginia |quote=Beginning today, WorldNetDaily.com, voted the most popular website on the Internet the last 23 weeks, is officially a for-profit corporation... |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073423/http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17207 |url-status=dead}} with offices in Cave Junction, Oregon.{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010828_333.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011024020122/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010828_333.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 24, 2001 |title=On the Web, Small and Focused Pays Off |work=BusinessWeek |date=August 27, 2001 |access-date=November 4, 2006 |last=Black |first=Jane |location=New York}}

The website gained notoriety for stoking false "birther" conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama.{{cite news |first=Manuel |last=Roig-Franzia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |title=Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites |date=April 2, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited |access-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211092836/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |url-status=live }}

In 2018, Farah wrote about WorldNetDaily{{'}}s financial problems, saying it faced an "existential threat". Farah ceased contributing to the site after his March 12, 2019, column; the site announced a few weeks later that he had suffered a major stroke. In April 2019, The Washington Post reported that WorldNetDaily suffered from declining revenue and diminishing readership. Farah blamed the website's financial woes on what he claimed was suppression by powerful technology companies.

In 2019, WorldNetDaily created the WND News Center, a nonprofit organization where its reporting operation would move.{{cite news |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832729761 |title=Wnd News Center |website=ProPublica (Nonprofit Explorer)|access-date=December 3, 2024}} The structure is similar to that used by another conservative news website, The Daily Caller.

Seeking credentials to cover the United States Congress in 2002, WND was opposed by the Standing Committee of Correspondents. This panel of journalists is charged by Congress with administering press credentials. Until 1996, Internet-only publications had been deemed unacceptable.{{citation |first=Michael T |last=Heaney |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mheaney/Press_Galleries.pdf |title=Blogging Congress: Technological Change and the Politics of the Congressional Press Galleries |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |year=2008 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=422–426 |issn=1049-0965 |doi=10.1017/S1049096508290670 |s2cid=154642023 |access-date=July 7, 2010 |archive-date=February 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202121315/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mheaney/Press_Galleries.pdf |url-status=dead}}. WND turned to the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration for help, arguing that the panel's decision had violated the site's constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and freedom of the press. Faced "with legal threats and negative publicity, the panel reversed itself, voting 3–2 to award WND its credentials".{{citation |first=Jesse |last=Walker |author-link=Jesse Walker |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_6_34/ai_93090045/ |title=Galley gatekeepers: the politics of press credentials – Citings |newspaper=Reason |date=November 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713163707/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_6_34/ai_93090045/ |archive-date=July 13, 2012}}. Shortly after, the rules were formally adjusted to clarify the participation of online publications.{{citation |first=Mark |last=Thompson |url=http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1075604186.php |title=New Media Often Takes Back Seat to Old Media on Press Credentials |newspaper=Online Journalism Review |date=April 22, 2004 |access-date=May 16, 2010 |archive-date=January 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102163943/http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1075604186.php |url-status=live }}.

In 2010, when Ann Coulter accepted an invitation to attend and speak at GOProud's Homocon 2010 convention, Farah announced the withdrawal of Coulter's name from the list of speakers at the company's 'Taking America Back' conference.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Ben |title=WorldNet dumps 'right-wing Judy Garland' Coulter over gay event |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/WorldNet_dumps_Coulter_over_gay_event.html |access-date=July 30, 2015 |publisher=Politico |date=August 18, 2010 |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508051333/http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0810/WorldNet_dumps_Coulter_over_gay_event.html |url-status=live }} Coulter responded by saying that speaking engagements do not imply endorsement of the hosting organization.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

WND provides news, editorials, letters to the editor, forums, videos and conducts a daily poll. Its CEO Joseph Farah has said that WND provides "the broadest spectrum of opinion anywhere in the news business", but acknowledges "some misinformation by columnists".{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/joseph_farah_wnd_misinformation |title=Right-wing publisher: We run "some misinformation" |first=Justin |last=Elliot |work=Salon |date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=September 13, 2015 |archive-date=September 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903122130/http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/joseph_farah_wnd_misinformation |url-status=dead}} WND's content is predominantly conservative.{{cite news |title=Britain Identifies 16 Barred From Entering U.K. |first=John F. |last=Burns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |quote=according to WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative Web site. |url-access=limited |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312200857/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Gail |title=Celebrities get nasty over Gaza and Israel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/celebrities-get-nasty-over-gaza-and-israel/ |access-date=July 30, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 5, 2014 |url-access=limited |archive-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023080305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/celebrities-get-nasty-over-gaza-and-israel/ |url-status=live }} Besides providing articles written by its own staff, the site links to news from other publications.

WND{{'}}s political lean has been described as alt-right{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Aaron |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Introducing the 'alt-left': The GOP's response to its alt-right problem |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/meet-the-alt-left-the-gops-response-to-its-alt-right-problem/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |issn=0190-8286 |quote=It started with alt-right websites like World Net Daily |url-access=limited |archive-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824182141/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/meet-the-alt-left-the-gops-response-to-its-alt-right-problem/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Fuchs |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Fuchs (sociologist) |date=20 July 2020 |title=Towards a critical theory of communication as renewal and update of Marxist humanism in the age of digital capitalism |journal=Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=335–356 |doi=10.1111/jtsb.12247 |issn=0021-8308 |quote=Examples of alt-right websites are Breitbart, Drudge Report, InfoWars, Daily Caller, Daily Wire, and WorldNetDaily. |s2cid=225578399 |doi-access=free}} and far-right.{{refn|name=far-right|Sources describing WorldNetDaily as far-right:

• {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=Google Books |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=Joseph Francis Farah (b. 1955) is editor in chief and CEO of WorldNetDaily (WND, About), a far-right "news" Web site he founded in 1997}}
• {{cite book |last1=Strømmen |first1=Hannah M. |chapter=The War Bible |title=The Bibles of the Far Right |date=30 October 2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-778989-6 |page=152 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FL8gEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=Google Books |access-date=15 September 2024 |language=en |quote=Farah is the editor-in-chief of the far-right news website World Net Daily, which is cited several times in Breivik's manifesto.}}
• {{cite book |last1=Andersen |first1=Robin |editor1-last=Andersen |editor1-first=Robin |editor-last2=de Silva |editor-first2=Purnaka L. |title=The Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action |date=29 September 2017 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=9781315538129 |pages=490–491 |chapter=Weaponizing Social Media: "The Alt-Right," the Election of Donald J. Trump, and the Rise of Ethno-Nationalism in the United States |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315538129-49/weaponizing-social-media-robin-andersen |chapter-url-access=subscription |doi=10.4324/9781315538129-49 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315538129/routledge-companion-media-humanitarian-action-robin-andersen-purnaka-de-silva |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |via=Taylor & Francis |quote=It started in January 2016 with an opinion piece Ulukaya wrote for CNN Money, about his efforts to motivate businesses to help end the refugee crisis. Though Ulukaya never mentioned Muslims, the piece attracted the far-right website World Net Daily that published a story titled, "American Yogurt Tycoon Vows to Choke U.S. With Muslims."}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Moffitt |first1=Benjamin |title=What Was the 'Alt' in Alt-Right, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Left? On 'Alt' as a Political Modifier |journal=Political Studies |date=2 February 2023 |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=903–923 |doi=10.1177/00323217221150871 |doi-access=free |publisher=Sage |quote=Despite Trump's claim that there was no alt-left, within days, editor of the far-right site World Net Daily Joseph Farah published a column entitled 'Let's take a look at the Alt-Left'}}
• {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=Columbia Journalism Review |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
• {{cite news |date=2009-09-06 |first=Andrew |last=Sullivan |title=Obama's in the ER but he'll get his reforms |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/obamas-in-the-er-but-hell-get-his-reforms-09zp9xvksvp |newspaper=The Sunday Times |issn=0956-1382 |quote=One of the most popular far-right websites, WorldNetDaily |url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/theres-the-major-media-and-then-theres-the-other-white-house-press-corps/2016/02/21/f69c5f92-c460-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html |title=There's the major media. And then there's the 'other' White House press corps. |last2=Bruno |first2=Debra |date=February 21, 2016 |quote=Les Kinsolving, a reporter for the far-right World Net Daily, was a familiar White House gadfly from the days of the Nixon administration on. |first1=Debra |last1=Bruno |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}
• {{Cite web |last=Mackey |first=Robert |date=August 15, 2020 |title=White House Plants Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Among Reporters in Briefing Room |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/08/15/white-house-plants-pro-trump-conspiracy-theorists-among-reporters-briefing-room/ |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=The Intercept |language=en |quote=... Powe is a former blogger for WorldNetDaily, the far-right website that helped create the racist 'birther' conspiracy theory to undermine President Barack Obama.}}
• {{cite web |date=2020-10-12 |first=Samuel |last=Perry |title=Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked of conspiracies against God's chosen – those ideas are finding resonance today |url=https://theconversation.com/evangelical-leaders-like-billy-graham-and-jerry-falwell-sr-have-long-talked-of-conspiracies-against-gods-chosen-those-ideas-are-finding-resonance-today-132241 |website=The Conversation |quote=WND is a far-right website that entered the mainstream during President Obama's presidency. The website was a hub for the birther conspiracy.}} }} WND is known for promoting fake news{{refn|name=fake news|Sources describing WorldNetDaily as a fake news website:
• {{Cite journal |last1=Grinberg |first1=Nir |last2=Joseph |first2=Kenneth |last3=Friedland |first3=Lisa |last4=Swire-Thompson |first4=Briony |last5=Lazer |first5=David |date=2019-01-25 |title=Fake news on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election |journal=Science |language=en |volume=363 |issue=6425 |pages=374–378 |doi=10.1126/science.aau2706 |pmid=30679368 |bibcode=2019Sci...363..374G |s2cid=59248491 |issn=0036-8075 |doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Guess |first1=Andrew M. |last2=Nyhan |first2=Brendan |last3=Reifler |first3=Jason |date=2 March 2020 |title=Exposure to untrustworthy websites in the 2016 US election |journal=Nature Human Behaviour |language=en |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=472–480 |doi=10.1038/s41562-020-0833-x |pmid=32123342 |pmc=7239673 |hdl=10871/121820 |issn=2397-3374}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Ognyanova |first1=Katherine |last2=Lazer |first2=David |last3=Robertson |first3=Ronald E. |last4=Wilson |first4=Christo |date=2020-06-02 |title=Misinformation in action: Fake news exposure is linked to lower trust in media, higher trust in government when your side is in power |journal=Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review |language=en-US |doi=10.37016/mr-2020-024 |s2cid=219904597 |doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Laura Hazard |date=October 26, 2020 |title=Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Nieman Lab}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Guess |first1=Andrew |last2=Aslett |first2=Kevin |last3=Tucker |first3=Joshua |last4=Bonneau |first4=Richard |author-link4=Richard Bonneau |last5=Nagler |first5=Jonathan |date=2021-04-26 |title=Cracking Open the News Feed: Exploring What U.S. Facebook Users See and Share with Large-Scale Platform Data |journal=Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media |volume=1 |pages=1–48 |doi=10.51685/jqd.2021.006 |issn=2673-8813 |doi-access=free}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Osmundsen |first1=Mathias |last2=Bor |first2=Alexander |last3=Vahlstrup |first3=Peter Bjerregaard |last4=Bechmann |first4=Anja |last5=Petersen |first5=Michael Bang |date=May 7, 2021 |title=Partisan Polarization Is the Primary Psychological Motivation behind Political Fake News Sharing on Twitter |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=115 |issue=3 |pages=999–1015 |doi=10.1017/S0003055421000290 |s2cid=235527523 |issn=0003-0554|url=https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/partisan-polarization-is-the-primary-psychological-motivation-behind-political-fake-news-sharing-on-twitter(54c023f3-0ad3-4a1a-a924-b4892bdb46f9).html }}
• {{Cite web |last=Kukura |first=Joe |date=2017-03-16 |title=The Inside Dope on Jean Quan's Pot Club |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/suckafreecity/the-inside-dope-on-jean-quans-pot-club/ |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=SF Weekly |language=en-US |quote=As of press time, the homepage of their website lists links to right-wing fake news sites like WorldNetDaily...}}

}} and conspiracy theories,{{refn|name=conspiracy theories|Sources describing WorldNetDaily{{'}}s publication of conspiracy theories:

• {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=Google Books |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=WorldNetDaily specializes in conspiracy theories and has become a leading platform for Tea Party activists and end times prophets}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Foley |first1=Jordan M. |title=Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones: The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents |journal=Journalism Practice |date=13 September 2020 |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=9–10 |issn=1751-2794 |doi=10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214 |url=https://jordanfoley.net/files/papers/press_credentials_wnd/press_credentials_wnd_jp.pdf |s2cid=210645440 |via=jordanfoley.net |access-date=October 9, 2020}}
• {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/theres-the-major-media-and-then-theres-the-other-white-house-press-corps/2016/02/21/f69c5f92-c460-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html |title=There's the major media. And then there's the 'other' White House press corps. |last2=Bruno |first2=Debra |date=February 21, 2016 |quote=Les Kinsolving, a reporter for the far-right World Net Daily, was a familiar White House gadfly from the days of the Nixon administration on. |first1=Debra |last1=Bruno |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=Columbia Journalism Review |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
• {{Cite journal |last=O'Donnell |first=S. Jonathon |date=10 August 2016 |title=Secularizing Demons: Fundamentalist Navigations in Religion and Secularity: with Sebastian Musch, 'The Atomic Priesthood and Nuclear Waste Management: Religion, Sci-Fi Literature, and the End of Our Civilization'; S. Jonathon |journal=Zygon |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=640–660 |issn=0591-2385 |doi=10.1111/zygo.12275 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23980/1/secularizing-demons-fundamentalist-navigitions-in-religion.pdf |quote=While such oddities might cast Horn as marginal, he has been featured heavily on popular right-wing conspiracist website WorldNetDaily (wnd.com)}}
• {{cite news |title=Britain Identifies 16 Barred From Entering U.K. |first=John F. |last=Burns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/world/europe/06britain.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |quote=according to WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative Web site. |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/11/fact-checking-president-elect-trumps-news-conference/ |title=Fact-checking President-elect Trump's news conference |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=He frequently claimed that Obama had spent $2 million to cover this up — a number he plucked out of World Net Daily, which promotes conservative-leaning conspiracy theories. |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/12/the-highly-reliable-definitely-not-crazy-places-where-donald-trump-gets-his-news/ |title=The highly reliable, definitely-not-crazy places where Donald Trump gets his news |last=Borchers |first=Callum |date=August 12, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=WND is a leader in preserving murder cover-up theories, publishing 'exclusive reports' linking the Clintons to a plot to kill their longtime friend. |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/politics/donald-trump-supporters-violent-words/index.html |title=Trump's supporters and their bloody words of war |first=Gregory |last=Krieg |website=CNN |date=October 28, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |quote=Writing in the right-wing site WorldNetDaily, Pat Buchanan...}}

}} including the white genocide conspiracy theory{{Cite web |last=Gedye |first=Lloyd |date=2018-03-23 |title=White genocide: How the big lie spread to the US and beyond |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-03-23-00-radical-right-plugs-swart-gevaar/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA |archive-date=April 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405033326/https://mg.co.za/article/2018-03-23-00-radical-right-plugs-swart-gevaar/ |url-status=live }} and the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.{{refn|name=birther|Sources describing WorldNetDaily{{'}}s promotion of Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories:

• {{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=Google Books |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=One of WND’s most prominent conspiracy theories was the discredited “birther” claim about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. WND worked very closely with Donald Trump, before he was elected president, to spread the false allegations that President Obama had not been born in the United States}}
• {{cite news |first=Manuel |last=Roig-Franzia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-spectacular-fall-of-the-granddaddy-of-right-wing-conspiracy-sites/2019/04/02/6ac53122-3ba6-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html |title=Inside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites |date=April 2, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}
• {{cite web |date=February 2009 |url=https://www.cjr.org/essay/unamerican_1.php |title=Un-American |last=Massing |first=Michael |website=Columbia Journalism Review |quote=Far-right Web sites like World Net Daily and Newsmax.com floated all kinds of specious stories about Obama that quickly careened around the blogosphere and onto talk radio.}}
• {{Cite web |last=Mackey |first=Robert |date=August 15, 2020 |title=White House Plants Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists Among Reporters in Briefing Room |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/08/15/white-house-plants-pro-trump-conspiracy-theorists-among-reporters-briefing-room/ |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=The Intercept |language=en |quote=... Powe is a former blogger for WorldNetDaily, the far-right website that helped create the racist "birther" conspiracy theory to undermine President Barack Obama.}}
• {{cite web |date=2020-10-12 |first=Samuel |last=Perry |title=Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked of conspiracies against God's chosen – those ideas are finding resonance today |url=https://theconversation.com/evangelical-leaders-like-billy-graham-and-jerry-falwell-sr-have-long-talked-of-conspiracies-against-gods-chosen-those-ideas-are-finding-resonance-today-132241 |website=The Conversation |quote=WND is a far-right website that entered the mainstream during President Obama's presidency. The website was a hub for the birther conspiracy.}} }} The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labels WND an anti-government extremist group.{{cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/worldnetdaily |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |title=WorldNetDaily |date=n.d. |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |quote=WorldNetDaily is an online publication founded and run by Joseph Farah that claims to pursue truth, justice and liberty. But in fact, its pages are devoted to manipulative fear-mongering and outright fabrications designed to further the paranoid, gay-hating, conspiratorial and apocalyptic visions of Farah and his hand-picked contributors [...] |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112194010/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/worldnetdaily |url-status=live }}

On September 13, 2001, WND published an opinion article by Anthony C. LoBaido regarding the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., that had occurred two days earlier. In his column, LoBaido described what he said was the moral depravity of America in general and New York in particular, asking whether "God (has) raised up Shiite Islam as a sword against America". Commentators Virginia Postrel of Reason magazine and James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal criticized LoBaido and Joseph Farah for the piece and called for columnists Hugh Hewitt and Bill O'Reilly to sever their ties with WND. Founder Farah responded with his own column, saying that LoBaido's opinion piece did not reflect the viewpoint of WND, and that it, like most other commentary pieces, had not been reviewed before publication.

File:Billboard Challenging the validity of Barack Obama's Birth Certificate.JPG, questioning the validity of Barack Obama's birth certificate and by extension his citizenship and eligibility to serve as President of the U.S.{{cite web |last=Farley |first=Robert |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/28/worldnetdaily/birthers-claim-gibbs-lied-when-he-said-obamas-birt/ |date=July 28, 2009 |work=Politifact |publisher=The St. Petersburg Times |title=White House spokesman Robert Gibbs 'lied' when he said President Obama's birth certificate is posted on the Internet. |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=March 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315121801/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/28/worldnetdaily/birthers-claim-gibbs-lied-when-he-said-obamas-birt/ |url-status=live }} The billboard was part of an advertising campaign by WorldNetDaily, whose URL appears on the billboard's bottom right corner.{{cite web |url=http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=100914 |title=Grass roots sign onto eligibility billboard campaign |work=WorldNetDaily |date=June 12, 2009 |access-date=April 30, 2011 |archive-date=November 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105180403/http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=100914 |url-status=live }}]]

WND has published hundreds of articles promoting "birther" conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, for which it has gained notoriety.{{cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-craziest-theory-about-andrew-breitbarts-death-yet-2012-3?IR=T |title=Conservative Radio Host Says Andrew Breitbart Might Have Been Assassinated |first=Michael Brendan |last=Dougherty |access-date=February 17, 2017 |language=en |quote=The report comes from WorldNetDaily, a right-wing website that periodically promotes conspiracy theories about Obama's birth certificate. |newspaper=Business Insider |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218145440/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-craziest-theory-about-andrew-breitbarts-death-yet-2012-3?IR=T |url-status=live }} It has falsely claimed that Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen and thus is not eligible to serve as president.{{cite news |last=Stetler |first=Brian |title=In Trying to Debunk a Theory, the News Media Extended Its Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/business/media/28birth.html |access-date=November 18, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2011 |url-access=limited |archive-date=April 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405122718/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/business/media/28birth.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |title=Publisher of upcoming 'birther' book makes no apologies |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42786288/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/publisher-upcoming-birther-book-makes-no-apologies/#.Uopr9mSG2kU |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606211555/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42786288/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/publisher-upcoming-birther-book-makes-no-apologies/#.Uopr9mSG2kU |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2013 |work=NBC News |date=April 27, 2011}}{{cite news |last1=Page |first1=Susan |last2=Kucinich |first2=Jackie |title=Obama releases long-form birth certificate |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-04-27-obama-birth-certificate_n.htm |access-date=November 18, 2013 |newspaper=USA Today |date=April 28, 2011 |quote=Joseph Farah, CEO of the conservative website WorldNetDaily and publisher of a new book that investigates whether Obama is eligible to be president, says the issue isn't over. |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717054522/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-04-27-obama-birth-certificate_n.htm |url-status=live }} After the 2008 presidential campaign, WND began an online petition to have Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate released to the public and Farah offered a $15,000 award for its release. The website also unsuccessfully urged Supreme Court justices to hear several lawsuits aiming to release Obama's birth certificate. The White House released copies of the president's original long-form birth certificate on April 27, 2011. After the long-form birth certificate was released, Farah refused to pay the promised award and WND continued to promote its conspiracy theory, publishing an article questioning the certificate's authenticity.{{cite book |last1=Balleck |first1=Barry J. |title=Modern American Extremism and Domestic Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Extremists and Extremist Groups |date=1 June 2018 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440852756 |pages=110–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QPHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |chapter-url-access=limited |via=Google Books |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 September 2024 |chapter=Farah, Joseph Francis |quote=At one point, Farah had pledged $15,000 for the "long form" birth certificate that proved Obama’s birth in Hawaii (WND 2010). After the White House posted the certificate in April 2011, Farah called it "fraudulent" and reneged on the pledge |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915055656/https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/modern-american-extremism-and-domestic-terrorism-9781440852756/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html |title=Obama releases original long-form birth certificate |publisher=CNN |access-date=July 28, 2015 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008065111/http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html |url-status=live }}

In January 2013, a WorldNetDaily article criticized a Super Bowl XLVII advertisement in which Neil Patrick Harris wore eye black with "Feb 3 2013" written on it. The website accused Harris of "mocking Christianity". Quarterback Tim Tebow was known for inscribing Bible verses with eye black to wear during NFL games. A similar advertisement by Beyoncé for the Super Bowl had not been criticized.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/01/08/Does-Neil-Patrick-Harris-Super-Bowl-ad-mock-Christianity-and-Tim-Tebow/8351357664830/ |title=Does Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl ad mock Christianity and Tim Tebow? |work=United Press International |date=January 8, 2013 |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123101158/http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/01/08/Does-Neil-Patrick-Harris-Super-Bowl-ad-mock-Christianity-and-Tim-Tebow/8351357664830/ |url-status=live }} In a later Twitter post by Harris about the Super Bowl, he used the hashtag "#noagenda".{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neil-patrick-harris-super-bowl-cbs-ad-slammed_n_2424579 |title=Neil Patrick Harris' Super Bowl Ad Slammed For 'Pushing Gay Agenda' On CBS |work=HuffPost |date=January 7, 2013 |access-date=15 Jan 2023 |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115135448/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neil-patrick-harris-super-bowl-cbs-ad-slammed_n_2424579 |url-status=live }}

{{More information|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections}}

On August 7, 2017, WorldNetDaily published "The 8 Dirtiest Scandals of Robert Mueller No One Is Talking About", which was pushed out by Elena Khusyaynova's operation, targeting the Mueller investigation.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/russian-woman-indicted-alleged-meddling-upcoming-u-s-midterms-n922206 |title=Russian woman charged with attempted meddling in upcoming U.S. midterms: Elena Khusyaynova works for a company owned by a Putin pal who has already been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller's team. |first=Pete |last=Williams |author2=Tom Winter |date=October 19, 2018 |website=NBCNews.com |access-date=October 29, 2018 |archive-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028191731/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/russian-woman-indicted-alleged-meddling-upcoming-u-s-midterms-n922206 |url-status=live }}

{{Further|COVID-19 misinformation}}

In April 2020, the SPLC reported that WND "has boosted a number of articles featuring antisemitic dog whistles, fake cures and other disinformation" about COVID-19, with headlines such as "Coronavirus is being weaponized by Soros, others behind anti-Trump ads", "Clyburn: Democrats must use Chinese virus to restructure America 'to fit our vision'" and "Newt Gingrich's question for Biden exposes Obama's undeniable role in N95 mask shortage". Another headline proclaimed that a three-drug cocktail promoted by Vladimir Zelenko{{Cite news |last1=Roose |first1=Kevin |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |date=2020-04-02 |title=Touting Virus Cure, 'Simple Country Doctor' Becomes a Right-Wing Star |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/technology/doctor-zelenko-coronavirus-drugs.html |access-date=2022-10-02 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited |archive-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101103950/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/technology/doctor-zelenko-coronavirus-drugs.html |url-status=live }} had a "100% success" rate in treating 350 COVID-19 patients.{{Cite web |last=Gais |first=Hannah |date=April 17, 2020 |title=Hate Groups and Racist Pundits Spew COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media Despite Companies' Pledges to Combat It |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/04/17/hate-groups-and-racist-pundits-spew-covid-19-misinformation-social-media-despite-companies |access-date=2022-10-02 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004212419/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/04/17/hate-groups-and-racist-pundits-spew-covid-19-misinformation-social-media-despite-companies |url-status=live }}

A 2020 study by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern and Rutgers universities found that WND was among the top 5 most shared fake news domains in tweets related to COVID-19, the others being The Gateway Pundit, InfoWars, Judicial Watch and Natural News.{{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Laura Hazard |date=October 26, 2020 |title=Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Nieman Lab |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030040313/https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/older-people-and-republicans-are-most-likely-to-share-covid-19-stories-from-fake-news-sites-on-twitter/ |url-status=live }}

WND publishes books under the imprint WND Books. The imprint was launched in 2002. WND{{'}}s imprint publishing partner was Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson Publishers (2002–2004).{{cite web |url=http://www.writenews.com/2004/110504_thomas_nelson_politics.htm |work=The Write News |title=Thomas Nelson Launches Political Imprint |access-date=November 18, 2006 |archive-date=November 9, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109121040/http://www.writenews.com/2004/110504_thomas_nelson_politics.htm |url-status=live }} Cumberland House Publishing (2004–2007), and conservative publisher World Ahead Publishing (2007). In 2008, WND acquired World Ahead Media.

WND Books has published books written by right-wing politicians and pundits such as Katherine Harris, former Secretary of State of Florida in office in 2000 during the presidential election under Governor Jeb Bush; commentator Michael Savage; conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi; ex-congressman Tom Tancredo; and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. In October 2009, WND Books published Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America by Paul David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry.{{cite book |last1=Gaubatz |first1=P. David |last2=Sperry |first2=Paul E. |title=Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America |date=2009 |publisher=WND Books |isbn=9781935071105 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781935071105 |url-access=registration |language=en}} In April 2011, Paul Harris, writing for The Guardian, described WND Books as "a niche producer of rightwing conspiracy theories, religious books and 'family values' tracts".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/21/barack-obama-us-elections-2012 |title=The born-again birther debate |first=Paul |last=Harris |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |date=April 21, 2011 |access-date=May 2, 2011}}

WND also publishes a printed magazine, Whistleblower. It operates other companies such as the G2 Bulletin, a subscription-only website described as an "intelligence resource" for "insights into geo-political and geo-strategic developments".

The WND website also sells survivalist gear.

The SPLC has accused WND of "peddling white nationalism", due to its publication of a series of articles on "black mob violence" by writer Colin Flaherty. It accused the website of being a source of "anti-government conspiracy theories, gay-bashing, anti-Muslim propaganda, and End Times prophecy".{{cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/10/23/worldnetdaily-now-peddling-white-nationalism |title=WorldNetDaily Now Peddling White Nationalism |first=Leah |last=Nelson |date=October 23, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2015 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002062118/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/10/23/worldnetdaily-now-peddling-white-nationalism |url-status=live }}

On September 20, 2000, WND published an article saying that Clark Jones, a Savannah, Tennessee car dealer, a fund-raiser for then-Vice President Al Gore in his presidential campaign, had interfered with a criminal investigation, had been a "subject" of a criminal investigation, and was listed on law enforcement computers as a "dope dealer". It implied that he had ties to others involved in alleged criminal activity. The authors later put forward the theory that the publication of this article, as well as other WND articles that were critical of Gore, contributed significantly to Gore losing his home state of Tennessee that November.

In 2001, Clark Jones filed a lawsuit against WND; the reporters, Charles C. Thompson II and Tony Hays; the Center for Public Integrity, which had underwritten Thompson and Hays' reporting on the article and related ones; and various Tennessee publications and broadcasters whom he accused of repeating the claim, arguing these entities had committed libel and defamation.{{cite web |author1=Gordon, J. Houston |author2=Hopper, Curtis F. |url=http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/graphics/wndlawsuitdocs/jonessuit.pdf |title=Second Amended Complaint |date=December 20, 2004 |access-date=November 18, 2013 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318223104/http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/graphics/wndlawsuitdocs/jonessuit.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite court |litigants=Jones v. WorldNetDaily |url=http://www.dmlp.org/threats/jones-v-worldnetdaily |date=April 2001 |court=Tenn. Cir. (Hardin); Tenn. App.; Tenn. |quote=The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2008. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601105447/http://www.dmlp.org/threats/jones-v-worldnetdaily |url-status=live }} The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in March 2008; but, on February 13, 2008, WND announced that a confidential out-of-court settlement had been reached with Jones. A settlement statement jointly drafted by all parties in the lawsuit stated that a Freedom of Information Act request showed that the allegations had been false, and that WND had misquoted sources.

Notable staff members include Jerusalem Bureau Chief Aaron Klein, former White House correspondent Lester Kinsolving, Ohio State Senate Senior Press Secretary Garth Kant,{{cite news |last1=Bischoff |first1=Laura A. |title=Ohio Senate Republicans start website to push back on perceived liberal bias |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/09/29/ohio-senate-republicans-launched-a-website-and-podcast-to-push-back-against-what-they-view-as-a-libe/70980376007/ |access-date=16 January 2024 |work=The Columbus Dispatch |date=29 September 2023}} and staff writer Jerome Corsi. Its commentary pages feature editorials by the site's founder Joseph Farah, as well as by commentators including 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, David Limbaugh, Chuck Norris, Walter E. Williams, Ilana Mercer, Bill Press, and Nat Hentoff.

In February 2020, Right Wing Watch reported that Michael J. Thompson, who worked in WND's marketing department, had also worked at white nationalist publications such as VDARE and American Renaissance under the pseudonym of "Paul Kersey". It found that his position at WND allowed him to move in professional circles that included white nationalists, writers at Breitbart News and The Daily Caller, and prominent Trump supporters such as Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec.{{cite news |date=2020-02-03 |first=Jason |last=Wilson |title=White nationalist has long worked at conservative outlets under real name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/paul-kersey-michael-j-thompson-white-nationalist-report |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2022-06-28 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222180650/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/03/paul-kersey-michael-j-thompson-white-nationalist-report |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=2020-02-03 |first=Jared |last=Holt |title=Hiding in Plain Sight: The White Nationalist Who Toiled Inside a Right-Wing Media Powerhouse |url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/hiding-in-plain-sight-the-white-nationalist-who-toiled-inside-a-right-wing-media-powerhouse/ |website=Right Wing Watch |access-date=2022-06-28 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222180053/https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/hiding-in-plain-sight-the-white-nationalist-who-toiled-inside-a-right-wing-media-powerhouse/ |url-status=live }}

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