Loser.com

Loser.com is a domain name which existed as a URL redirect to several different webpages during most of its existence. As of 23 May 2020, it redirects to a Twitter post showing Senator Lindsey Graham's swap from opposition to support of Donald Trump.[1]

History

The loser.com domain name was registered in 1995 by Brian Connelly.[2]

It redirected to the website of the 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore; a website opposing former Governor of South Carolina Jim Hodges in much of 2002; the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in 2008;[upper-alpha 1] WikiLeaks in 2010; an article about American politician Sean Duffy in 2011; and the Reddit website in 2012.[2][4] According to Connelly, the website sometimes redirects to topics he considers positive to increase their traffic.[2]

The domain name gained mainstream coverage in March 2015, when it redirected to the English Wikipedia entry for American rapper Kanye West; Marlow Stern of The Daily Beast suggested that the redirect was done in response to West's reactions to American singer Beck's album Morning Phase winning Album of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[5] Ryan Gajewski of The Hollywood Reporter and Christopher Hooton of The Independent both suggested that the domain name was a Beck reference because "Loser" is one of Beck's most notable songs.[6][7] In an interview with Stern on 5 March, Connelly admitted that he had a negative impression of West, and intended the redirection as a troll attempt on the rapper.[2]

In February 2016, the website redirected to the English Wikipedia entry for then-U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump after he placed second in the Iowa caucus.[8] Defending the move, Connelly described Trump as "a man who attacks Muslims, who attacks Muslim Americans, who pushes fear and doubt" and "the definition of a loser".[9] In 2017, loser.com became a news website that published articles opposing President Trump.[10]

As of 20 April 2020, it redirected to a FactCheck.org page about Donald Trump's statements concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked about his motives with his redirects, Connelly said the year 2000 redirect to losing Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Bill Daley's website was because “I think he was anti-gay”. He had "no comment" about the 2002 redirect to an opposition site targeting South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges.[3]

Notes
  1. “That wasn’t against Obama’s election!” Connelly said. “That was just getting people to register."[3]

References
  1. "Loser.com". Archived from the original on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  2. Stern, Marlow (5 March 2015). "Meet Kanye West's No. 1 Online Troll: Loser.com Owner Brian Connelly on Shaming Kanye". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  3. Mikkelson, David (May 4, 2016). "Loser.com Redirects to Wikipedia Page for Donald Trump: Online nose-thumbing takes place after Trump's second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses". Snopes.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  4. Dewey, Caitlin (3 March 2015). "A short history of Loser.com, the Internet's best troll". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  5. Stern, Marlow (1 March 2015). "The Internet Is Trolling Kanye West: Loser.com Redirects to Kanye's Wikipedia Page". The Daily Beast.
  6. Gajewski, Ryan (2 March 2015). "Loser.com Redirects to Kanye West's Wikipedia Page". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  7. Hooton, Christopher (2 March 2015). "Someone made Loser.com redirect to Kanye West's Wikipedia page". The Independent. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  8. White, Daniel (2 February 2016). "Loser.com Now Redirects to Donald Trump's Wikipedia Page". Time. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  9. Dewey, Caitlin (2 February 2016). "Man behind the updated Loser.com: Donald Trump 'is the definition of a loser'". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  10. "Loser - The Donald Trump News Site". Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
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