To the uninitiated, it may seem inconceivable that threats and urgings of violence could appear on the comment threads of any major American "news" and blog site --- let alone one that, like HuffingtonPost ("HuffPost"):
- Is supported by some of the world's biggest advertisers (See Section 7, here)
- Has been granted legitimacy as a "news" organization by top government officials, major institutions, and even traditional journalists
Aside from HuffPost's express prohibition of such material, what makes the contents of this section even more seemingly unbelievable are statements by Arianna Huffington, the site's co-founder and Editor-In-Chief, that while such "comments" may "occasionally slip through," the site works diligently around-the-clock to remove them as promptly as it becomes aware of them. This is, of course, premised on the assumption that HuffPost has no knowledge or control over what comments are published before-the-fact --- or of the users who are posting on the site.
Yet as the saying goes, facts are stubborn things.
And the facts contained in this section conclusively demonstrate that since late 2007, certain users of Huffington Post (“HuffPost”), and in at least one case, even one of its official bloggers, have:
- Posted explicit and implicit threats and urgings for violence against public figures --- up to and including protectees of the U.S. Secret Service (here, here)
- Posted threats and justifications for violent acts against corporate and military personnel (here, here, here, elsewhere on Huff-Watch; more to come)
- Posted explicit and implicit threats against other users and their children (here, here)
What makes all the above extra-remarkable is that to some extent since October 2007, and definitely since March 2008, every such "comment" only appeared on HuffPost because it reviewed, approved and made the decision to publish it.
Furthermore, as this section documents, in numerous instances, HuffPost:
- Has actively enabled these users --- including one user whom it allowed to repeatedly boast on its "news threads" that he'd been interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service, in his home, for what it claimed were threats he made against against President Bush on HuffPost (Summary here; detail here; more throughout this section).
- Failed/refused to permanently ban such users. Instead, it has (a) allowed them to continue posting comments under the same screen names; (b) "banned" them, then fully reinstated them (under the same screen names), hours or days later; or (c) "banned" them, then allowed them to establish similar screen names, under which they resumed their pathological violations of its policies.
- Permitted the most notorious of these users to post tens of thousands of comments over one to four years. In the case of the user who was interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service (above), HuffPost has allowed him to post at least 25,000 comments over two years --- 18 months of which were after it permitted him to begin bragging about this interview.
- Censored and/or banned other non-violating users who dared to challenge, denounce or mock them --- or submitted dissenting political opinions --- in some instances, after as few as six (non-violating) comments.
Does all this seem unbelievable? If so, let your own objective judgment be your guide, as you review the articles in this section. (Advisory: Due to the seriousness of our allegations, we provide an abundant amount of evidence, so some of these articles are quite lengthy)
Huff-Watch stands 100% behind the evidence we have obtained and chronicled, and that which has been provided to us since early 2008 (and before).
If you become convinced that the evidence supports our contentions, we urge you to act: to help bring "change" to the hate, threats and urgings of violence that has been allowed to fester at HuffPost for far too long... before a wholly-preventable tragedy ensues, as a direct or indirect result.
To make your voice known, please contact:
Eric Hippeau
Chief Executive Officer
HuffingtonPost.com
eric@huffingtonpost.com
Arianna Huffington
Editor in Chief
HuffingtonPost.com
arianna@huffingtonpost.com
Mario Ruiz
Vice President - Media Relations
HuffingtonPost.com
mario@huffingtonpost.com
HuffingtonPost.com
560 Broadway, Suite 308
New York, NY 10012
(212) 245-7845
Fax: (646) 557-0803
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Send tips, inquiries and (polite) feedback to huffwatcher1 (at) gmail.com.
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Posts
It is often difficult to have a nuanced or different opinion on the Huffington Post.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how respectful and polite you post, if it doesn’t meet what is expected in the echo chamber, you will be personally attacked in the most vicious way.
Glib, mean- spirited, demeaning ….. Name calling and labeling.
At times it feels as if there is a competition within the dog pack descending on you.
Fanning and congratulation each other for who is the hardest hitting.
Defending myself, I try to be polite and not give in to the impulse of returning the slurs and attacks and hoped that I would be able to calm the tone to a more civil and respectful discourse in the interest of substance and for the sake of more pleasant exchange.
It’s futile as there appears to be little reverence for civility.
IMHO it’s censorship in a roundabout way by intimidation.
Promoting intolerance and hate speech.
Most disturbing are the calls for violence and causing physical harm to others and how perfectly acceptable this is.
Personally I think this sets a dangerous precedent and tears the country further apart.
Thank you for providing a place where this can be brought up.
I have written many time on many websites about the lack of darts on the Huff Post website...this a disgrace and should be the number 1 issue on minds of all true lovers of democracy, minorities, ugly people and the people of Spain.
ReplyDelete