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'''''American Thinker''''' is a daily [[online magazine]] dealing with [[Politics of the United States|American politics]] from a [[conservatism in the United States|politically conservative]] viewpoint.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html |title = American Thinker: About Us |publisher = American Thinker |access-date = 2010-06-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100623194930/http://www.americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html |archive-date= 23 June 2010 <!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Politics of Mayor Bloomberg's Snow Removal Response |date=December 30, 2010 |first=Danny |last=Groner |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-groner/the-politics-of-mayor-blo_b_802720.html |work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> It was founded in 2003 by attorney Ed Lasky, health-care consultant Richard Baehr, and sociologist Thomas Lifson, and initially became prominent in the lead-up to the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 U.S. Presidential election]] for its attacks on then-candidate [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Libit |first1=Daniel |title=For the Tea Party Movement, Sturdy Roots in the Chicago Area |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19cncodom.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 20, 2017 |date=February 18, 2010}}</ref> The magazine has been described as a [[conservative]] blog.<ref>{{cite news |title=Still Crusading, but Now on the Inside |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/30power.html|work=The New York Times|first=Sheryl Gay|last=Stolberg|date=March 29, 2011 |access-date=24 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/education/13trees.html |title=University Fences In a Berkeley Protest, and a New One Arises |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=2007-09-13 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-06-24 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] has called the site "a not so thoughtful far-right online publication."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2014/04/23/american-thinker-needs-start-thinking|title=American Thinker Needs to Start Thinking|website=splcenter.org|date=April 24, 2014|accessdate=March 19, 2021}}</ref>
'''''American Thinker''''' is a daily [[online magazine]] dealing with [[Politics of the United States|American politics]] from a [[conservatism in the United States|politically conservative]] viewpoint.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html |title = American Thinker: About Us |publisher = American Thinker |access-date = 2010-06-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100623194930/http://www.americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html |archive-date= 23 June 2010 <!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Politics of Mayor Bloomberg's Snow Removal Response |date=December 30, 2010 |first=Danny |last=Groner |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-groner/the-politics-of-mayor-blo_b_802720.html |work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> It was founded in 2003 by attorney Ed Lasky, health-care consultant Richard Baehr, and sociologist Thomas Lifson, and initially became prominent in the lead-up to the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 U.S. Presidential election]] for its attacks on then-candidate [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Libit |first1=Daniel |title=For the Tea Party Movement, Sturdy Roots in the Chicago Area |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19cncodom.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 20, 2017 |date=February 18, 2010}}</ref> The magazine has been described as a [[conservative]] blog.<ref>{{cite news |title=Still Crusading, but Now on the Inside |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/30power.html|work=The New York Times|first=Sheryl Gay|last=Stolberg|date=March 29, 2011 |access-date=24 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/education/13trees.html |title=University Fences In a Berkeley Protest, and a New One Arises |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=2007-09-13 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-06-24 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], a left-leaning organization, has called the site "a not so thoughtful far-right online publication."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2014/04/23/american-thinker-needs-start-thinking|title=American Thinker Needs to Start Thinking|website=splcenter.org|date=April 24, 2014|accessdate=March 19, 2021}}</ref>


In the aftermath of [[Donald Trump|Donald Trump's]] loss in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. Presidential election]], the ''American Thinker'' promoted a variety of false conspiracy theories and claims of election fraud as part of the Republican Party's [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|attempt to overturn the election result]].<ref>{{cite news | publisher = [[WKBN-TV]] | date = January 15, 2021 | url = https://www.wkbn.com/news/national-world/conservative-website-apologizes-to-dominion-voting-system-after-defamation-letter-from-attorneys/ | title = Conservative website apologizes to Dominion voting system after defamation letter from attorneys}}</ref> Faced with a lawsuit from [[Dominion Voting Systems]], Lifson acknowledged that the site had relied upon "discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories".<ref name="wapo-discredited">{{cite news | work = Washington Post | first = Amy | last = Wang | title = Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for falsely alleging he manipulated votes against Trump | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/01/newsmax-apologizes-dominion-employee-falsely-alleging-he-manipulated-vote-against-trump/ | date = May 1, 2021}}</ref> The ''American Thinker'' likewise admitted that its election claims were "completely false and have no basis in fact" and that "it was wrong for us to publish these false statements."<ref name="nyt-apology">{{cite news | work = [[The New York Times]] | title = Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html | date = January 25, 2021 | first = Nick | last = Corasaniti}}</ref>
In the aftermath of [[Donald Trump|Donald Trump's]] loss in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 U.S. Presidential election]], the ''American Thinker'' promoted a variety of false conspiracy theories and claims of election fraud as part of the Republican Party's [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|attempt to overturn the election result]].<ref>{{cite news | publisher = [[WKBN-TV]] | date = January 15, 2021 | url = https://www.wkbn.com/news/national-world/conservative-website-apologizes-to-dominion-voting-system-after-defamation-letter-from-attorneys/ | title = Conservative website apologizes to Dominion voting system after defamation letter from attorneys}}</ref> Faced with a lawsuit from [[Dominion Voting Systems]], Lifson acknowledged that the site had relied upon "discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories".<ref name="wapo-discredited">{{cite news | work = Washington Post | first = Amy | last = Wang | title = Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for falsely alleging he manipulated votes against Trump | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/01/newsmax-apologizes-dominion-employee-falsely-alleging-he-manipulated-vote-against-trump/ | date = May 1, 2021}}</ref> The ''American Thinker'' likewise admitted that its election claims were "completely false and have no basis in fact" and that "it was wrong for us to publish these false statements."<ref name="nyt-apology">{{cite news | work = [[The New York Times]] | title = Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html | date = January 25, 2021 | first = Nick | last = Corasaniti}}</ref>

Revision as of 01:29, 6 November 2021

American Thinker
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
News, commentary
Available inEnglish
FoundedMarch 2005; 19 years ago (2005-03)
HeadquartersEl Cerrito, California, United States
Founder(s)Ed Lasky, Richard Baehr, Thomas Lifson
Key peopleThomas Lifson, Editor-in-Chief
Ed Lasky, News Editor
URLamericanthinker.com
LaunchedNovember 2003
Current statusActive

American Thinker is a daily online magazine dealing with American politics from a politically conservative viewpoint.[1][2] It was founded in 2003 by attorney Ed Lasky, health-care consultant Richard Baehr, and sociologist Thomas Lifson, and initially became prominent in the lead-up to the 2008 U.S. Presidential election for its attacks on then-candidate Barack Obama.[3] The magazine has been described as a conservative blog.[4][5] The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning organization, has called the site "a not so thoughtful far-right online publication."[6]

In the aftermath of Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, the American Thinker promoted a variety of false conspiracy theories and claims of election fraud as part of the Republican Party's attempt to overturn the election result.[7] Faced with a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, Lifson acknowledged that the site had relied upon "discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories".[8] The American Thinker likewise admitted that its election claims were "completely false and have no basis in fact" and that "it was wrong for us to publish these false statements."[9]

Contributors

One of the American Thinker's most prolific contributors, Raymond Ibrahim, has written over 100 articles extremely critical of Islam.[10] Another, David Solway, in the months following the 2020 presidential election, contributed seven articles perpetuating the myth of a stolen election based on evidence such as "Biden's rallies routinely featured twenty or so vehicles in a car park. That alone tells us that Biden was never in the game."[11][12]

Coverage

In 2009, in the wake of the election of Barack Obama, the American Thinker joined a wave of conservative media publications discussing the possibility of a second Civil War. They forecast the possibility of "several regional republics" emerging following the "overbearing, oppressive leviathan" of Obama's presidency.[13]

A 2008 column in the American Thinker drew attention to a California plan to require programmable thermostats that could be controlled by officials in the event of power-supply difficulties. According to The New York Times, the column was "by turns populist..., free-market..., and civil libertarian".[14]

Right Wing Watch has written about American Thinker, including that the site had in 2014 published a complimentary piece on white nationalist Jared Taylor and in 2015 asserted that rainbow-colored Doritos are a "gateway snack to introduce children to the joys of homosexuality".[15] In a 2020 blog post on the site, Thomas Lifson referenced a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters to claim that sea level rise has been slow and constant, and that this rise pre-dated industrialization.[16][non-primary source needed] This claim went viral over social media in March 2020.[17] The author of the paper describes this interpretation as factually incorrect, constituting climate misinformation.[17]

Under threat of litigation, in January 2021 American Thinker published a retraction of unsupported stories it published asserting that Dominion Voting Systems engaged in a conspiracy to rig the 2020 presidential election against President Donald Trump, acknowledging, "These statements are completely false and have no basis in fact."[18][19][20]

References

  1. ^ "American Thinker: About Us". American Thinker. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  2. ^ Groner, Danny (December 30, 2010). "The Politics of Mayor Bloomberg's Snow Removal Response". The Huffington Post.
  3. ^ Libit, Daniel (February 18, 2010). "For the Tea Party Movement, Sturdy Roots in the Chicago Area". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (March 29, 2011). "Still Crusading, but Now on the Inside". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  5. ^ McKinley, Jesse (2007-09-13). "University Fences In a Berkeley Protest, and a New One Arises". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  6. ^ "American Thinker Needs to Start Thinking". splcenter.org. April 24, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "Conservative website apologizes to Dominion voting system after defamation letter from attorneys". WKBN-TV. January 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Wang, Amy (May 1, 2021). "Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for falsely alleging he manipulated votes against Trump". Washington Post.
  9. ^ Corasaniti, Nick (January 25, 2021). "Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Articles: Raymond Ibrahim Archives - American Thinker". American Thinker.
  11. ^ "Articles: David Solway Archives - American Thinker". American Thinker.
  12. ^ Solway, David (November 15, 2020). "Donald Trump is the only legitimate 'President-Elect'". American Thinker. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  13. ^ Avlon, John P. (2014). Wingnuts : extremism in the age of Obama (2nd ed.). New York. pp. 224–227. ISBN 9780991247608.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Barringer, Felicity (2008-01-11). "California Seeks Thermostat Control". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  15. ^ "All Posts About American Thinker". Right Wing Watch.
  16. ^ Lifson, Thomas (March 7, 2020). "New study shows sea level rise has been slow and a constant, pre-dating industrialization". American Thinker.
  17. ^ a b "Sea levels rose faster in the past century than in previous time periods". Climate Feedback. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  18. ^ Corasaniti, Nick (January 25, 2021). "Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  19. ^ Lifson, Thomas (January 15, 2021). "Statement". American Thinker. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  20. ^ Evon, Dan (January 15, 2021). "Did a Conservative News Site Admit Its Voter-Fraud Claims Were False?". Snopes. Snopes Media Group Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2021.