Free Republic
Free Republic is a moderated Internet forum and activist site for Republicans and Neoconservatives from the United States. Founded in 1996 by Jim Robinson, it bills itself as "the premier on-line gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web." According to Ivor Tossell of The Globe and Mail, "during the 2004 U.S. presidential election, it was central to the network of websites that uncovered the forged memos about Bush's Vietnam service that appeared on CBS News and ultimately cost Dan Rather his job."[3]
The website and its founder have generated controversy for their alleged post 9/11 shift away from their libertarian-leanings and opposition to George W. Bush, to what critics feel has become a rubber stamp for Bush Administration policy, and a purported increase in censorship and banning of numerous conservative members. [1] The site has also been controversial for what their critics consider inappropriate calls to action posted by some of its by members, [4] and what they view as political extremism. [5]
Founder's 2004 statement
As a conservative site, Free Republic is pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-Constitution, pro-Bill of Rights, pro-gun, pro-limited government, pro-private property rights, pro-limited taxes, pro-capitalism, pro-national defense, pro-freedom, and-pro America. We oppose all forms of liberalism, socialism, fascism, pacifism, totalitarianism, anarchism, government enforced atheism, abortionism, feminism, homosexualism, racism, wacko environmentalism, judicial activism, etc. We also oppose the United Nations or any other world government body that may attempt to impose its will or rule over our sovereign nation and sovereign people. We believe in defending our borders, our constitution and our national sovereignty.[2]
Origins
Free Republic was founded in 1996 by Jim Robinson of Fresno, California. The site gained popularity during the President Clinton impeachment controversy when protests and write-in campaigns were organized on it.[3]
Forums
Format and policy
Some posts on Free Republic are devoted to the ridicule of persons or groups perceived as anathema to conservatives. The site's officially stated policy is to remove blatantly racist or bigoted postings. [4]
It is common for users to be purged for expressing an opinion contrary to the aims of the site, making it seem as though there is no such opposing data or opinion. For example, in February 2005, in response to a difference of opinion about immigration policy, many posters who advocate tighter immigration controls over an "open borders" policy were removed. Many of these posters had a long history on the site. Banning from the site includes blocking the IP address of the poster.[5]
Influencing online polls
Media websites (including newspapers, television networks, and America Online) run occasional "polls" that do not use the sampling methods of formal opinion polls, but instead invite everyone to respond. Some Free Republic forum messages, usually captioned "FReep this poll!", urge FR members to vote en masse in these polls. The goal is to influence polls to reflect the aggregrate votes of FR members. In addition, some members find ways to avoid systems that only allow one vote and, instead, vote hundreds of times.[6]
Social organization and events
There are local chapters within Free Republic which are organized through ping lists, e-mail, and Free Republic mail.
The more active chapters organize live protests, which they call "Freeps." Often these are counter protests, as responses to protests by groups whom they oppose. "Freepers," will assemble at a predetermined location with signs and banners which are generally designed and hand-drawn by individual members.
One such Freep was described by reporter by Kerry Lauerman for Salon.com [6] in 2001. A number of Freepers paid $20 each to attend the conference at which conservative politicians and thinkers of varying pedigrees spoke to the issues that most interested the audience; the rights of man, the problems with the news media, and striper lakes. The climax of the evening was the presentation of a large Confederate Flag, to "Bob Johnson, from Los Angeles, for spearheading the Free Republic Network."
in 2005, Free Republic helped organize and stage a 'Freep' in Washington D.C. intended to show support for the troops and in opposition to the September 24 2005 anti war protest which drew an estimated 100,000. Free Republic's D.C. chapter leader and frequent spokesperson for the group Kristinn Taylor was quoted as saying that they "were prepared for 20,000 people to attend the pro-military rally, billed as a time to honor the troops fighting, the war on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world." Instead of the 20,000 expected, an estimated 100 reportedly did attend. [7]
Free Republic's counter-protest activities at Walter Reed Army Hospital are also notable. In 2005 the Antiwar group Code Pink initiated recurring protests outside the hospital, home to many soldiers severely injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The protests reportedly included mock caskets and signs which said "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton." sentiments offensive to many members of Free Republic. The D. C. Chapter, along with other groups, organized successful counter-protests, which allegedly resulted in Code Pink severely curtailing their Walter Reed protests. [8]
Free Republic Inaugural Ball
In January 2005, Free Republic hosted an Inaugural Ball at the Washington Plaza Hotel with the intention to celebrate the reelection of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, as well as honor our men and women serving in the Armed Forces. The event featured Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and his rock and roll band, Capitol Offense.[9][10]
Political influence
Free Republic posters, notably "TankerKC" (later identified as active Air Force officer Paul Boley)[11] and "Buckhead" (later identified as Atlanta GOP lawyer Harry W. MacDougald)[7] contributed, along with members of the blogs Powerline and Little Green Footballs, to breaking "Memogate," the controversy surrounding CBS News' use of questionable documents during the 2004 US presidential campaign. [12] The discussion quickly spread across the Internet via blogs, and the Drudge Report [13] (attributing Powerline) and the Associated Press later picked it up [14]. This eventually resulted in the early retirement of Dan Rather, and the forced resignations of Mary Mapes and three other news division executives at CBS.
Controversial aspects
Ivor Tossell of the Globe and Mail called Free Republic "the worst site on the Internet, political-rhetoric division" and " an exercise in political extremism that, despite being something of an anthropological train wreck, keeps popping up square in the mainstream." [15]
Free Republic has been criticized for the frequent actions of some members consisting of threats against former President Clinton, and against the owners of a restaurant who notified authorities when an underage Jenna Bush attempted to illegally purchase liquor at the establishment. These posts were removed by the site's sysop, Jim Robinson, when they were brought to his attention. He insists that the site has had to "delete relatively few posts" over time for violations of its "no violence" policy despite Free Republic's popularity and ease of registration.[8][9] However, TJ Walker (writing in the American Politics Journal) alleges that the site acted negligently by leaving user-posted death threats visible for months at a time, including threats against former President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Dan Rather.[10]
Copyright lawsuit
Because it has been a practice of Free Republic to allow and even encourage its users to copy and paste copyrighted news stories in their entirety to its discussion boards, Free Republic was sued by The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times (who ultimately prevailed in the lawsuit) for federal Copyright infringement. [16] The case, often cited when arguing Cyberlaw, is referred to as L.A. Times v. Free Republic. Free Republic members denounced the lawsuit as a conspiracy by the "liberal media" to "stifle" the organization; founder Robinson referred to the suit as "a life and death struggle with elements of the socialist propaganda machine."[17]
References
- ^ Scalon, Sean Chronicles Magazine on Free Republic December 2002 Issue
- ^ Freerepublic.com - Founder's 2004 statement
- ^ "About Free Republic", Fetched 12/30/2006
- ^ Freerepublic.com - Guidelines
- ^ [1]
- ^ "FReep This"
- ^ Wallsten, Peter, Blogger alleging CBS memos as frauds is GOP lawyer, Saturday, September 18, 2004, Los Angeles Times
- ^ "A poster crosses the line on Free Republic forum". Salon.com. Feb. 9, 2001.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The jihad against Chuy's". Salon.com. June 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
- ^ [2]
External links
- Official website
- Stein, Jeff. "Free-for-all at Free Republic: Lucianne Goldberg, Matt Drudge and other friends abandon the Clinton-bashing Web site over its attacks on George W. Bush" Salon, 13 July 1999.
- Lauerman, Kerry. "They're here, they're mad, get used to it." Salon, 24 June 2001.
- York, Anthony. "Free Republic defends Salon." Salon, 18 July 2001.