This is a continuation of HuffPost's false statement re shutting down its comment threads. Summary: In response to an ongoing feud between them, on March 20, 2008, Ms. Huffington lashed out at Bill O'Reilly in a blog article, in which she said, in part:
"[W]e refuse to let the vile actions of a miniscule number of anonymous, trouble-making trolls force us to shut down our comments section."The fact is that as is documented below, HuffPost had been in the practice of shutting down the comments sections of its news threads (often on a pre-emptive basis), long before, and well after the above statement by Ms. Huffington. In some instances, the evidence shows that HuffPost ended up manipulating threads after-the-fact (see #10, below).
Why? Only HuffPost can answer that. Perhaps one day someone in a position of influence will ask it to.
==================
Examples of HuffPost shutting down its
comment threads before March 20, 2008:
(PDFs available upon request for confirmation)
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(1) "Bush Almost Blows Himself Up" (April 8, 2007)
This was another example of one of HuffPost's false/misleading headlines, originating from this source, which played the story "straight." HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread.
Note that the first and second screen captures, below, show that HuffPost published this story on its main page; the third shows that when one attempted to post a comment to it, they received a notice that read, "Comments are not allowed on this entry." And if you click on the link above, you'll see there are "0 Comments," and "0 Comments Pending."
(2) "Six Charged With Plot To Attack NJ Base To 'Kill As Many Soldiers As Possible'" (May 8, 2007)
If you follow the above link, you will note that there are no comments on the thread, and it says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
That's the way it reads now. On May 8, 2007, however, the following are some of the hate comments that inundated the thread, many claiming this was all an anti-Muslim conspiracy* by the U.S. government (*note here that all six, all radical Islamists, were later convicted of conspiracy to harm U.S. military personnel). Note that one even offered a suggestion for an "ideal" way to kill the maximum number of soldiers; another claimed these terrorists were "smart" and "courageous."
HuffPost then "scrubbed" (removed) all comments and shut the thread down to new ones.
Obviously, those who made these arrests are NOT Bushie-loyalists and will be asked to resign, shortly.(3) "Former GOP Rep Henry Hyde Dies At 83" (November 29, 2007)
By: getoffmedz on May 08, 2007 at 09:18am
Wait, soldiers are supposed to be killed in Iraq not the USA.
By: PissedoffVietVet on May 08, 2007 at 09:29am
They could be Orthodox Christians, for all we know now, you bigot.
By: DocSarvis on May 08, 2007 at 09:31am
Sounds like pure Bull$hit Pentagon propaganda to me. Why would any terriorist go to all the trouble to attack US troops at Fort Dix, New Jersey when they can kill all the US Troops they want in Iraq, today, even as we speak? Very, very suspicious.Sounds like a feeble attempt by the Bu$h administration to recreate the 911 hysteria all over again.(The six were arrested trying to buy automatic weapons in a sale set-up by law enforcement authorities, the official said.)...
By: CaptEdwardGraham on May 08, 2007 at 09:48am
Six people were going to attack an Army base? Right, uh-huh. Seems odd that this "plot" is exposed a day after the announcement of Bush's lowest approval ratings per the Newsweek poll. Also, why didn't the arrest announcement come from Homeland Security instead of from U.S. Justice? Trying to take some heat from Gonzales the week he goes before the House of Representatives? How transparent this administration is getting. Of course, the MSM is falling all over it, with no one questioning it. Pathetic.
By: mich929 on May 08, 2007 at 09:59am
These guys aint to bright. The ideal way to kill a lot of US troops all at once is to drive a van loaded with explosives onto the base and blow it up near the mess hall at chowtime or the church on sunday.Using automatic weapons will get a few surprised soldiers, then the rest are gonna scatter in every direction of the compass, then the party will be over. Six radicals simply cant chase down dozens of US Troops, even unarmed ones.Isnt it strange that the US Attorneys office dont seem to know much about these guys but they are perfectly sure about their plans to "kill as many as possible"?This will scare the crap out of the Republiwackos and Reich Wing Christiwackos, but any thoughtful person will see through this as poorly thought out Pentagon Propaganda of the simplist sort.
By: CaptEdwardGraham on May 08, 2007 at 10:15am
Only Republicans can know this. It's in their super-tough terrorist fighting genes. You see if your a liberal you want terrorists to attack and kill Americans. How do I know this? Because you are against the invasion and occupation of entire countries in order to kill, kill, kill, every fucking muslim you can. Also you can rape a few too because after all their fellow muslim jihadists hate America so that gives us the right to kill:A) Their Granpas & GrammiesB) Their childrenc)their DogsD) any insects they may have traveling with them (Tip: use a flame thrower for this...it's cool)....
By: andyboy on May 08, 2007 at 10:19am
When it's all over, you'll discover that it was some undercover government spy who cooked up the plot, convinced some dopes to go along, and then had them arrested...
By: liberalveteran on May 08, 2007 at 10:21am
Seems fishy. Can't imagine that they were not able to buy their weapons without being "set up" by law enforcement. Haven't they heard of e-bay?THis story sounds manufactured to push all the jingoist buttons:"Islamic terrorists planning to attack the troops that defend our freedom"....oh brother.
By: brooklyncitizen on May 08, 2007 at 10:38am
The bad guys are the people that attack a country that never was a threat and kill, abuse and maim their population.The bad guys are Nazi trash who think they have some fucking divine mandate to rule the world and then wail like babies when they are attacked and a lousy 3000 people are killed.The bad guys are so STUPID that they don't realize the whole world is fast becoming fed up with their FAT ass dipshit mentality.
By: RepublicuntAsswipeCoward on May 08, 2007 at 10:54am
I KNOW it was a deep disappointment to a portion of the trolls when they read the first line of the article;"Six nationals of the former Yugoslavia...".How big a letdown it must have been to find out that they couldn't use this incident to further justify their racism towards Muslims and people of Arab descent.False alarm. Back to the Mexicans you guys.
By: ChiGuy on May 08, 2007 at 11:00am
Too bad we have to be a bit discerning about this news coming just as the Bushies are losing ground. What better than catching a few islamic terrorists lodged in theis country to give our corrupt administration a boast...
By: mmeflutterbye on May 08, 2007 at 11:02am
At least they were going after military targets, which was smart of them, and yes, courageous of them. It would have been too easy for them to shoot up a high school or a tech school; they were smart enough to leave it to drugged-up middle class American kids.I'm sorry, but when you use your military against others don't expect me to shed any tears for you.
By: PatrickWalker on May 08, 2007 at 11:22am
So Pres. Bush's approval rating drops to an all time low of 28% and within a few days some alleged terroists are arrested for plotting to attack Fort Dix...just a coincidence of course
By: infinity on May 08, 2007 at 11:23am
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was near the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 10:16am on November 29, 2007. The screen captures below were obtained at 6:04pm. HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note the image that says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
(4) "Giuliani Spends Night In Hospital" (December 20, 2007)
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was near the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 8:37am on December 20, 2007. The following screen captures were obtained at 9:25am the same day. HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note the image that says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
Note also in the above screen the picture of Giuliani that HuffPost chose to match with this headline --- on a day when he was in the hospital. Touching, isn't it? This certainly wouldn't help to foment any hate-based comments among HuffPost's resident gang of raging leftists, would it? We'll never know, because as shown below, HuffPost closed down the thread to comments before they had a chance.
(5) "Happy New Year 2008 From HuffPost" (December 31, 2007)
As show below, HuffPost apparently couldn't even trust its users to comment on this seemingly-benevolent thread.
The following screen captures were obtained at 1:24am on January 1, 2008. As noted below, even HuffPost's long-term users were complaining (on other threads) about the fact that it pre-emptively shut down comments on this thread, and denounced it for this decision. Note in images below, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
GrouchoMarxist (See profile | I'm a fan of GrouchoMarxist)
Is there some compelling reason that comments aren't allowed on the Happy New Year thread?
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:48 am on 01/01/2008
gravelsilenced (See profile | I'm a fan of gravelsilenced)
Yep. Huff is an asshole
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:50 am on 01/01/2008
KewlHand (See profile | I'm a fan of KewlHand)
They're afraid we might wish them an un-happy New Year. And they're right - I would.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 12:52 am on 01/01/2008
JohnCT (See profile | I'm a fan of JohnCT)
Huffington is just messing with the minds of drunks by not allowing comments on the main thread.
I can just picture Neo trying over, and over, and over to get a comment to post.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 01:15 am on 01/01/2008
Wendigo2 (See profile | I'm a fan of Wendigo2)
Are You f**king nuts? Have you not noticed that the New Years post was closed at 10:30 and that most Huffposters were shut out at midnight?
Freedom of the press indeed, ass.
Reply | Parent | Favorite| Flag as abusive | posted 01:27 am on 01/01/2008
(6) “7 Die in Shooting at Jerusalem Seminary” (March 6, 2008)
As noted on page 1 in the PDF below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was near the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 4:42pm on March 6, 2008. The following PDF was captured at 9:16pm on March 6, 2008 (see bottom right of pages for time-stamp). HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note on page 3 that it says, "Comments are closed for this entry," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
More: Little Green Footballs covered this pre-emptive thread shutdown here --- and another one on the same day. Excerpt (emphasis added):
"Arianna Huffington’s hate site has turned off comments for their post on the mass murder in Jerusalem: 7 Die in Shooting at Jerusalem Seminary - The Huffington Post.
"Why would they do this? Because their site is infested with virulent antisemites who will party and celebrate this atrocity just like the Palestinians have been doing. The people who run Huffington Post know this—and encourage it—and then they turn off comments on posts like this one to avoid embarrassment.
"UPDATE at 3/6/08 6:03:06 pm:
"Huffington Post has also turned off comments for their post on the Times Square bombing: Police Release Footage of NYC Blast - The Huffington Post.
"Man. They’re really scared of their own readers."
(7) “Former British PM Thatcher in Hospital” (March 7, 2008)
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was near the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 10:44pm on March 7, 2008. The following screen captures were obtained nearly 24 hours later --- at 9:02pm on March 8, 2008 (see time-stamps on lower right corner of pages). HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note that pages 2-3 say, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
(8) “Female Suicide Bomber Kills 43 in Iraq” (March 17, 2008)
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was the splash headine at the time) at 4:30pm on March 17, 2008. The following PDF was captured 29 minutes later, at 4:59pm (see time-stamps on lower right corner of pages). Note that page 4 says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
Note also that the thread featured a picture of Vice President Cheney right at the top, who was visiting Iraq at the time. Some speculate that HuffPost pre-emptively closed off comments on this thread to prevent a repeat of the "Cheney thread" fiasco that is detailed in Section 1, here.
==================
Examples of HuffPost shutting down its
comment threads after March 20, 2008:
(PDFs available upon request for confirmation)
==================
(9) "Charlton Heston Dead At 83" (April 6, 2008)
As noted on the thread above, and in the PDF excerpts below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was near the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 1:49am on April 6, 2008. The following PDF excerpts were obtained 23 minutes later, at 2:12am (see time-stamps on lower right corner of pages). HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note that on pages 3 & 4, it says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
(10) "Israel Celebrates Its 60th With Pride, But Also Uncertainty" (May 8, 2008)
This incident demonstrates multiple aspects of HuffPost's deceptions concerning its news threads.
First, as seen below in the screen capture obtained on May 8, 2008, HuffPost published the story at 9:25am. It shut down comments as soon as it went up. The PDF of this thread, taken at 7:08pm that night (available upon request) --- 10 hours later --- show that it had "0 Comments."
Yet the July 21, 2009 screen capture shows things have changed: First, as shown below, the story has changed, and HuffPost claims it published the thread at 5:10pm.
Yet if you follow the link to the thread now (here), it shows 15 (total) comments were published on it --- the first one of which (at top) was posted at 1:15pm - 4 hours before the thread supposedly was published:
As indicated by the other PDFs of Israel-focused threads at the time demonstrate, this topic typically generates thousands of comments on HuffPost --- many to most of which are hate-filled, containing numerous anti-Israel, anti-Semitic libels. This is a clear instance in which HuffPost pre-emptively shut down the thread, then reposted the story, opened it up for a brief time, then shut it down again, before it could be flooded with hate.
(11) "Court Spares Exxon $2 Billion In Damages From Valdez Spill" (June 25, 2008)
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 10:55pm on June 25, 2008. The following screen captures were obtained almost 24 hours later, at 9:21am on June 26, 2008. HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread. Note the third image that says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
(12) "Robert Novak Diagnosed With Brain Tumor" (July 28, 2008)
As noted on the thread above, and in the screen captures below, HuffPost published this news thread (it was next to the splash headine at the top of the main page) at 12:45pm on July 28, 2008. HuffPost pre-emptively shut down comments on the thread; if you click on the above link today, it says, "Comments for this post are now closed," and "0 Comments" and "0 Comments Pending."
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