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{{short description|American conservative online political magazine}}
{{short description|American conservative online political magazine}}
{{primary sources|date=January 2018}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''American Thinker''}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''American Thinker''}}
{{Infobox dot-com company
{{Infobox dot-com company
| name = ''American Thinker''
| name = ''American Thinker''
| logo = American Thinker logo.jpg
| logo = American Thinker logo.jpg
| company_type = Private
| company_type =
| type = [[News]], [[Political criticism|commentary]]
| type = [[News]], [[Political criticism|commentary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|2005|03}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|2003|03}}
| founder = Ed Lasky, Richard Baehr, Thomas Lifson
| founder = Ed Lasky, Richard Baehr, Thomas Lifson
| location = [[El Cerrito, California]], United States
| location = [[El Cerrito, California]], United States
| area_served =
| area_served =
| key_people = Thomas Lifson, [[Editor-in-Chief]]<br>Ed Lasky, News Editor
| key_people = Thomas Lifson, editor-in-chief<br />Ed Lasky, news editor
| owner =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| num_employees =
| url = {{url|http://americanthinker.com}}
| url = {{URL|http://americanthinker.com}}
| language = [[English language|English]]
| language = English
| advertising =
| advertising =
| registration =
| registration =
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}}
}}


'''''American Thinker''''' is a daily [[online magazine]] dealing with [[Politics of the United States|American politics]] from a [[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 Ed Lasky, a Northbrook lawyer, Richard Baehr, a Chicago health-care consultant, and Thomas Lifson, a Berkeley, California [[sociologist]] and business adviser.<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>
'''''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. 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|access-date=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'' published a variety of articles that had claims of election fraud.<ref>{{cite news | work= [[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 | newspaper = The 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>
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>

== Contributors ==
{{Expand section|date=January 2021}}
One of the ''American Thinker's'' most prolific contributors, Raymond Ibrahim, has written over 100 articles extremely critical of Islam.<ref>https://www.americanthinker.com/author/raymond_ibrahim/</ref> Another, David Solway, in the months following the 2020 presidential election, contributed seven articles perpetuating the [[2020_United_States_presidential_election#Claims of fraud|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."<ref>https://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_solway/</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/11/donald_trump_is_the_only_legitimate_presidentelect.html|title=Donald Trump is the only legitimate ‘President-Elect’|work=American Thinker|first=David|last=Solway|date=November 15, 2020|accessdate=March 19, 2021}}</ref>


== Coverage ==
== 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 American Civil War|second Civil War]]. They forecast the possibility of "several regional republics" emerging following the "overbearing, oppressive leviathan" of Obama's presidency.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Avlon |first1=John P. |author-link1=John Avlon |title=Wingnuts : extremism in the age of Obama |date=2014 |location=New York |isbn=9780991247608 |pages=224–227 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Avlon |first1=John P. |author-link1=John Avlon |title=Wingnuts: extremism in the age of Obama |date=2014 |location=New York |isbn=9780991247608 |pages=224–227 |edition=2nd}}</ref>


A 2008 column in the ''American Thinker'' drew attention to a [[California]] plan to require [[programmable thermostat]]s 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".<ref>{{cite news |last=Barringer |first=Felicity |date=2008-01-11 |title=California Seeks Thermostat Control |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html |url-status=live |access-date=2008-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513220740/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html |archive-date=May 13, 2012<!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>
A 2008 column in the ''American Thinker'' drew attention to a [[California]] plan to require [[programmable thermostat]]s 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".<ref>{{cite news |last=Barringer |first=Felicity |date=2008-01-11 |title=California Seeks Thermostat Control |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html |url-status=live |access-date=2008-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513220740/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html |archive-date=May 13, 2012<!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>


''[[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".<ref>{{cite news |title=All Posts About American Thinker |url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/american-thinker/|work=Right Wing Watch}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web
''[[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".<ref>{{cite news |title=All Posts About American Thinker |url=https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/american-thinker/|work=Right Wing Watch}}</ref> The site has also been described as sympathetic to the [[counter-jihad]] movement, having published writers such as [[Pamela Geller]], [[Robert B. Spencer|Robert Spencer]] and [[Paul Weston (politician)|Paul Weston]].<ref>{{cite book|title='Green Crescent, Crimson Cross': The Transatlantic 'Counterjihad' and the New Political Theology|url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3780/1/Pertwee__green-crescent-crimson-cross.pdf|page=135|last=Pertwee|first=Ed|date=October 2017|publisher=London School of Economics}}</ref>
|url=https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/03/new_study_shows_sea_level_rise_has_been_slow_and_a_constant_predating_industrialization.html
|date=March 7, 2020
|title=New study shows sea level rise has been slow and a constant, pre-dating industrialization
|first=Thomas|last=Lifson
|website=American Thinker}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2021}} This claim went viral over social media in March 2020.<ref name=ClimateFeedback>{{Cite web |url=https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/sea-levels-rose-faster-in-the-past-century-than-in-previous-time-periods/ |title=Sea levels rose faster in the past century than in previous time periods |date=March 12, 2020 |website=Climate Feedback |language=en-US |access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref> The author of the paper describes this interpretation as factually incorrect, constituting climate misinformation.<ref name=ClimateFeedback />


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 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] against President Donald Trump, acknowledging, "These statements are completely false and have no basis in fact."<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Corasaniti|first=Nick|date=January 25, 2021|title=Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html|url-status=live|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125122130/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html|archive-date=January 25, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/01/statement.html|title=Statement|date=January 15, 2021|first=Thomas|last=Lifson|access-date=2021-01-15|work=American Thinker}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Evon |first1=Dan |title=Did a Conservative News Site Admit Its Voter-Fraud Claims Were False? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/american-thinker-vote-fraud/ |website=Snopes |publisher=Snopes Media Group Inc. |access-date=January 20, 2021 |date=January 15, 2021}}</ref>
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. This claim went viral over social media in March 2020.<ref name=ClimateFeedback>{{Cite web |url=https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/sea-levels-rose-faster-in-the-past-century-than-in-previous-time-periods/ |title=Sea levels rose faster in the past century than in previous time periods |date=March 12, 2020 |website=Climate Feedback |language=en-US |access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref> The author of the paper describes this interpretation as factually incorrect, constituting climate misinformation.<ref name=ClimateFeedback />
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 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] against President Donald Trump, acknowledging, "These statements are completely false and have no basis in fact."<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Corasaniti|first=Nick|date=January 25, 2021|title=Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html|url-status=live|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125122130/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-dominion-trump.html|archive-date=January 25, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/01/statement.html|title=Statement|date=January 15, 2021|first=Thomas|last=Lifson|access-date=2021-01-15|work=American Thinker}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Evon |first1=Dan |title=Did a Conservative News Site Admit Its Voter-Fraud Claims Were False? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/american-thinker-vote-fraud/ |website=Snopes |access-date=January 20, 2021 |date=January 15, 2021}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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* {{official website|http://www.americanthinker.com}}
* {{official website|http://www.americanthinker.com}}


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[[Category:Online magazines published in the United States]]

[[Category:Conservative magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Conservative magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 2005]]
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[[Category:Magazines published in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
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[[Category:Online magazines published in the United States]]

Latest revision as of 02:01, 28 April 2024

American Thinker
Type of site
News, commentary
Available inEnglish
FoundedMarch 2003; 21 years ago (2003-03)
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. 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.[1] The magazine has been described as a conservative blog.[2][3] The Southern Poverty Law Center has called the site "a not so thoughtful far-right online publication".[4]

In the aftermath of Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the American Thinker published a variety of articles that had claims of election fraud.[5] Faced with a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, Lifson acknowledged that the site had relied upon "discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories".[6] 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."[7]

Coverage[edit]

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.[8]

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".[9]

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".[10] The site has also been described as sympathetic to the counter-jihad movement, having published writers such as Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer and Paul Weston.[11]

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. This claim went viral over social media in March 2020.[12] The author of the paper describes this interpretation as factually incorrect, constituting climate misinformation.[12]

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."[13][14][15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Libit, Daniel (February 18, 2010). "For the Tea Party Movement, Sturdy Roots in the Chicago Area". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  2. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (March 29, 2011). "Still Crusading, but Now on the Inside". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "American Thinker Needs to Start Thinking". splcenter.org. April 24, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Conservative website apologizes to Dominion voting system after defamation letter from attorneys". WKBN-TV. January 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Wang, Amy (May 1, 2021). "Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for falsely alleging he manipulated votes against Trump". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Corasaniti, Nick (January 25, 2021). "Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims". The New York Times.
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "All Posts About American Thinker". Right Wing Watch.
  11. ^ Pertwee, Ed (October 2017). 'Green Crescent, Crimson Cross': The Transatlantic 'Counterjihad' and the New Political Theology (PDF). London School of Economics. p. 135.
  12. ^ a b "Sea levels rose faster in the past century than in previous time periods". Climate Feedback. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Lifson, Thomas (January 15, 2021). "Statement". American Thinker. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  15. ^ Evon, Dan (January 15, 2021). "Did a Conservative News Site Admit Its Voter-Fraud Claims Were False?". Snopes. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Thinker&oldid=1221130294"