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		⚫	]'''Free Republic''' is a moderated ] and activist site for ] and ] from the ]. Founded in 1996 by Jim Robinson, it bills itself as "the premier on-line gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web."
	{{ Inuseuntil\|a period ending December 24}}
⚫	]'''Free Republic''' is a moderated ] and activist site for ] from the ]. Founded in 1996 by Jim Robinson, it bills itself as "the premier on-line gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web."

	The website ~~has~~ ~~attracted~~ controversy for what their critics consider inappropriate calls to action posted by some of its by members, and what they view as political extremism.		The website and its founder have generated controversy for their alleged post 9/11 shift from their libertarian-leaning 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. The site is also notable what their critics consider inappropriate calls to action posted by some of its by members, and what they view as political extremism.

			== Origins and funding ==
			Free Republic was founded in ] <ref></ref> by Jim Robinson<ref>http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/07/13/free/</ref> of ]<ref></ref>. The site gained prominence during the President ] controversy when protests<ref></ref> and write-in campaigns were organized on it.

			The site is funded by donations requested through "Freepathons." These fundraising events occur each quarter, and are intended to raise funds to support Free Republic operations and compensate Robinson and others for their time.

			== Jargon, ''modus operandi'' and user terminology ==

			The site's officially stated policy is to remove blatantly racist or bigoted postings.

			=== Terminology ===

			The Free Republic ] has developed its own neologisms and terminology:
			; Freeper : An active member of the Free Republic site.
			; Freep : An event organized by a local Free Republic chapter. Freeps are often presented as responses to protests by various politically ] groups.See ]. Also used to describe coordinated voting in an online poll. See ]
			; Freeping : The participation in a Freep
			; Freepathon : A quarterly fundraising event, aimed to collect donations for running the site.
			; Freeploader : A pejorative term to address those who may not have donated to the site.
			; ] : An expression for an individual who has been banned.
			; IBTZ : Means "in before the zot."
			; DUmmie : A pejorative term for members of ].

			== Political influence ==

			=== "Rathergate" ===

			=== Organization of protests (''Freeps'')===

			=== Influencing on-line polls ===

			==Controversial aspects==



			===Media Criticism===

			Ivor Tossell of the ] 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." He goes on to say :

			:''But what's interesting about Free Republic is that, despite having attracted a crowd of the most paranoid, xenophobic and reactionary characters the political landscape has to offer, it continues to find itself in the news. For instance, 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.''

			===Bahrain Centre for Human Rights===

			In August 2006, after what were considered offensive comments were posted on Free Republic about a Bahraini Guantanamo detainee, there was a call by the ] for the US authorities to act "to end the misuse of the net." The Center said, "These comments are sickening - and are an incitement to racial or religious hatred. What they are saying goes against human rights by spreading hatred and we should urge the government to work for an end to the misuse of the Internet to spread hatred against certain races or religions." .

			==Controversial Actions by Members==

			===Death threats===

			In 2001, a member of Free Republic posted what was considered a death threat against former President Clinton and the First Lady, writing: "There is only one solution to the Klintons, two 45 rounds and a nice little spot in Marcy Park." (Fort Marcy Park is where Vince Foster was found dead in 1993 after an apparent suicide) His actions were condemned by many other posters and by Jim Robinson, who removed the post and banned the person who posted it.

			===Cyber stalking===

			Some members of Free Republic have been accused of ].

			The owners of a restaurant who notified authorities when an underage ] attempted to illegally purchase liquor at the establishment had their name, residential address, maps and directions, date of birth, drivers license and registration information, physical description, and information about their infant child posted on the Free Republic forums. The member who posted this information -- which was public domain information from bankruptcy filings that had been posted on the Internet -- was promptly banned by Robinson. A few of the posters advocated violence toward the restaurant's patrons, as well as destroying it physically; these posters were banned as well. <ref> {{cite web \|url=http://archive.salon.com/politics/red/2001/06/06/blue/index.html \|title=The jihad against Chuy's \|accessdate=2006-12-11 \| date=June 6, 2006 \|publisher=Salon.com}}</ref>.

			==Lawsuit regarding copyright and fair use==

			Because it has been a practice of Free Republic to allow its users to copy and paste copyrighted news stories in their entirety to its discussion boards, Free Republic was sued by '']'' and the '']''. (] and '']'' were part of the original consortium threatening legal action, but they dropped out before the lawsuit was filed.) The tort complaint of $1,000,000 was filed in the US Court of the Southern District of California. Many members view the lawsuit as an unsuccessful conspiracy by a "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." The federal trial court judge awarded summary judgment for $1,000,000 in damages to the two newspapers, plus over $1,000,000 in attorney's fees. Free Republic appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

			In a negotiated settlement, Free Republic agreed to remove the posted articles from the sites listed in the complaint, and paid these two newspapers $5,000 each -- a reduction of over 99.5% of the original summary judgment. Neither party was awarded any damages, legal fees or costs. Today, other publishers, such as ], have joined ''The Washington Post'' and the ''Los Angeles Times'' in objecting to the posting of entire copyrighted articles. Users now post excerpts from such publishers (as allowed by ]), and the site filters submissions against a ] of "banned" sources, by request of their ] or as a result of the lawsuit, as a precaution against future lawsuits.

			== References ==
			<references />

	==See also==		==See also==
	*]		*]
	*]		*]
			*]

	==External links==		==External links==
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	*		*
	* York, Anthony. Salon, ] ].		* York, Anthony. Salon, ] ].
	* ~~Pitt~~, ~~William Rivers~~. "." ~~Editorial.~~ ~~: ] ].~~		* Lauerman, Kerry. Salon, ] ].
			* Stein, Jeff. Salon, ] ].

Revision as of 19:25, 23 December 2006

Free Republic logo

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."

The website and its founder have generated controversy for their alleged post 9/11 shift from their libertarian-leaning 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. The site is also notable what their critics consider inappropriate calls to action posted by some of its by members, and what they view as political extremism.

Origins and funding

Free Republic was founded in 1996 by Jim Robinson of Fresno, California. The site gained prominence during the President Clinton impeachment controversy when protests and write-in campaigns were organized on it.

The site is funded by donations requested through "Freepathons." These fundraising events occur each quarter, and are intended to raise funds to support Free Republic operations and compensate Robinson and others for their time.

Jargon, modus operandi and user terminology

The site's officially stated policy is to remove blatantly racist or bigoted postings.

Terminology

The Free Republic subculture has developed its own neologisms and terminology:

Freeper: An active member of the Free Republic site.
Freep: An event organized by a local Free Republic chapter. Freeps are often presented as responses to protests by various politically left-wing groups.See Social Organization and Events. Also used to describe coordinated voting in an online poll. See Influencing polls
Freeping: The participation in a Freep
Freepathon: A quarterly fundraising event, aimed to collect donations for running the site.
Freeploader: A pejorative term to address those who may not have donated to the site.
Zot!: An expression for an individual who has been banned.
IBTZ: Means "in before the zot."
DUmmie: A pejorative term for members of Democratic Underground.

Political influence

"Rathergate"

Organization of protests (Freeps)

Influencing on-line polls

Controversial aspects

Media Criticism

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." He goes on to say :

But what's interesting about Free Republic is that, despite having attracted a crowd of the most paranoid, xenophobic and reactionary characters the political landscape has to offer, it continues to find itself in the news. For instance, 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.

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

In August 2006, after what were considered offensive comments were posted on Free Republic about a Bahraini Guantanamo detainee, there was a call by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights for the US authorities to act "to end the misuse of the net." The Center said, "These comments are sickening - and are an incitement to racial or religious hatred. What they are saying goes against human rights by spreading hatred and we should urge the government to work for an end to the misuse of the Internet to spread hatred against certain races or religions." .

Controversial Actions by Members

Death threats

In 2001, a member of Free Republic posted what was considered a death threat against former President Clinton and the First Lady, writing: "There is only one solution to the Klintons, two 45 rounds and a nice little spot in Marcy Park." (Fort Marcy Park is where Vince Foster was found dead in 1993 after an apparent suicide) His actions were condemned by many other posters and by Jim Robinson, who removed the post and banned the person who posted it.

Cyber stalking

Some members of Free Republic have been accused of cyberstalking.

The owners of a restaurant who notified authorities when an underage Jenna Bush attempted to illegally purchase liquor at the establishment had their name, residential address, maps and directions, date of birth, drivers license and registration information, physical description, and information about their infant child posted on the Free Republic forums. The member who posted this information -- which was public domain information from bankruptcy filings that had been posted on the Internet -- was promptly banned by Robinson. A few of the posters advocated violence toward the restaurant's patrons, as well as destroying it physically; these posters were banned as well. .

Lawsuit regarding copyright and fair use

Because it has been a practice of Free Republic to allow 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. (Reuters and The Wall Street Journal were part of the original consortium threatening legal action, but they dropped out before the lawsuit was filed.) The tort complaint of $1,000,000 was filed in the US Court of the Southern District of California. Many members view the lawsuit as an unsuccessful conspiracy by a "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." The federal trial court judge awarded summary judgment for $1,000,000 in damages to the two newspapers, plus over $1,000,000 in attorney's fees. Free Republic appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In a negotiated settlement, Free Republic agreed to remove the posted articles from the sites listed in the complaint, and paid these two newspapers $5,000 each -- a reduction of over 99.5% of the original summary judgment. Neither party was awarded any damages, legal fees or costs. Today, other publishers, such as Condé Nast Publications, have joined The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times in objecting to the posting of entire copyrighted articles. Users now post excerpts from such publishers (as allowed by fair use), and the site filters submissions against a watchlist of "banned" sources, by request of their webmaster or as a result of the lawsuit, as a precaution against future lawsuits.

References

External links

Official website
Statement by the founder of Free Republic
York, Anthony. "Free Republic defends Salon." Salon, 18 July 2001.
Lauerman, Kerry. "They're here, they're mad, get used to it." Salon, 24 June 2001.
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.