Popehat

For the Pope's hat, see mitre.

Established in 2004, Popehat is an eclectic, law-oriented blog.[1] According to its tagline, Popehat is a "group complaint about law, liberty, and leisure". The primary blogger, Ken White, writes about law, scams, and freedom of expression on the internet.[2]

After enjoying a low profile for many years, the blog came to widespread attention when it documented The Oatmeal and FunnyJunk legal dispute involving Charles Carreon.[3] It has also covered Swatting,[4] IsAnybodyDown?,[5] Prenda Law,[6] Scam letters[7] and SLAPP issues.[8] The blog sometimes helps arrange pro bono counsel for affected bloggers (the "Popehat Signal"[9]) including PZ Myers.[10]

It has been repeatedly linked by Boing Boing, Reddit, Instapundit, John Scalzi, Techdirt, and others and was included in the ABA Journal "Blawg 100" in 2011,[11] 2012,[12] 2013,[13] and 2014.[14] In 2015, Popehat was inducted into the ABA Journal Blawg Hall of Fame.[15]

The blog was originally anonymous[16] but White's identity was eventually uncovered.[17] White's fellow (active) bloggers (anonymous or known to various degrees) include Adam, Charles, David, Derrick, Grandy, Marc, Patrick, and a bovine character named Via Angus. Among other Popehat-perpetrated satirical hoaxes, Patrick and Derrick run a Twitter feed purporting to be the voice of North Korea.[18] Greta van Susteren, Slate,[19] the Washington Post, Newsweek,[20] CNN,[21] Reuters Australia, and the Daily Mail (UK)[22] have fallen for the hoax, citing Popehat's feed as an authoritative source of information from North Korea.[23] On the MSNBC television program Morning Joe, journalist Mark Halperin cited the hoax feed as evidence that the government of North Korea was expressing support for Donald Trump, a blunder that was covered by motherboard.vice.com[24] and by the Washington Post.[25] In 2014, Newsweek interviewed Patrick and Derrick about their antics.[26] In 2016, The Washington Post followed suit.[27]

Ken White was a federal prosecutor before moving into private practice.[28] [29]

References

  1. ↑ "About Popehat". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  2. ↑ "Posts by author Ken White". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  3. ↑ "The Oatmeal v. FunnyJunk". Popehat. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  4. ↑ "The Kimberlin Saga". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Is Anybody Down?". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  6. ↑ "Prenda Law". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  7. ↑ "Anatomy of a Scam". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  8. ↑ "Anti-SLAPP". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  9. ↑ "The Popehat Signal". Popehat. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  10. ↑ Last word for now
  11. ↑ "The 5th Annual Blawg 100". ABA Journal. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  12. ↑ "The 6th Annual Blawg 100". ABA Journal. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  13. ↑ "The 7th Annual Blawg 100". ABA Journal. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  14. ↑ "The 2014 ABA Journal Blawg 100". ABA Journal. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  15. ↑ "The 2015 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Hall of Fame". ABA Journal. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  16. ↑ "Why I Blog Anonymously, And Why It's OK: Ed Whelan of NRO Outs Blogger Publius of Obsidian Wings". Popehat. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  17. ↑ O'Keefe, Kevin (2011-12-30). "Popehat unmasked : For a good cause". Kevin.lexblog.com. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  18. ↑ "DPRK News Service". Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  19. ↑ "Slate article, including correction/retraction.". Slate.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  20. ↑ "Newsweek article, including correction/retraction.". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  21. ↑ "CNN article, including correction/retraction.". CNN.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  22. ↑ "Daily Mail (UK) article, including correction/retraction.". DailyMail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  23. ↑ "Popehat overview of hoax picked up by mainstream media.". Popehat.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  24. ↑ "Why Do Media Outlets Still Fall Victim to Twitter Parody.". motherboard.vice.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  25. ↑ "No, North Korea Did Not Offer Support for Noted Scholar Donald Trump.". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  26. ↑ "Interview With the Authors of the Fake North Korean Twitter Account That Fooled Newsweek.". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  27. ↑ "North Korea's News Service Barely Needs to be Spoofed but This Duo Nails It.". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  28. ↑ "IAmA Federal Criminal Defense Attorney And Former Federal Prosecutor - Ask Me (Almost) Anything! : IAmA". Reddit.com. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  29. ↑ "Kenneth White". Brownwhitelaw.com. Retrieved 2013-11-03.

External links

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