CounterPunch: Difference between revisions

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''CounterPunch'' began as a newsletter, established in 1994 by the [[Washington, D.C.]]–based investigative reporter [[Ken Silverstein]].<ref>"Counterpunch is the brainchild of Ken Silverstein, a former AP reporter in Rio de Janeiro." ''[[Lies of Our Times]]'', vols 4–5 (1993), p. 26.</ref>  
''CounterPunch'' began as a newsletter, established in 1994 by the [[Washington, D.C.]]–based investigative reporter [[Ken Silverstein]].<ref>"Counterpunch is the brainchild of Ken Silverstein, a former AP reporter in Rio de Janeiro." ''[[Lies of Our Times]]'', vols 4–5 (1993), p. 26.</ref>  


Silverstein was soon joined by [[Alexander Cockburn]] (b. 1941 – d. 2012) and then [[Jeffrey St. Clair]], who became the publication's editors in 1996 when Silverstein left.<ref>Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, ''Five Days that Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond'' (London and New York: Verso, 2000), p. 151; Alexander Cockburn, Ken Silverstein, ''Washington Babylon'' (London and New York: Verso, 1996), p. 302.</ref><ref>Cockburn, Alexander, and Jeffrey St. Clair, ''End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate'' (Petrolia, California, and Oakland, California: CounterPunch and AK Press, 2007), pp. 2, 44.</ref>  
Silverstein was soon joined by [[Alexander Cockburn]] and then [[Jeffrey St. Clair]], who became the publication's editors in 1996 when Silverstein left.<ref>Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, ''Five Days that Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond'' (London and New York: Verso, 2000), p. 151; Alexander Cockburn, Ken Silverstein, ''Washington Babylon'' (London and New York: Verso, 1996), p. 302.</ref><ref>Cockburn, Alexander, and Jeffrey St. Clair, ''End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate'' (Petrolia, California, and Oakland, California: CounterPunch and AK Press, 2007), pp. 2, 44.</ref>  


In 2007, Cockburn and St. Clair wrote that in founding ''CounterPunch'' they had "wanted it to be the best muckraking newsletter in the country", and cited as inspiration such pamphleteers as [[Edward Abbey]], [[Peter Maurin]], and [[Ammon Hennacy]], as well as the socialist/populist newspaper ''[[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'' (1895–1922).<ref>Cockburn and St. Clair (2007), ''End Times'', p. 383.</ref> When Alexander Cockburn died in 2012 at the age of 71, environmental journalist [[Joshua Frank]] became managing editor and Jeffrey St. Clair became editor-in-chief of ''CounterPunch''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nichols|first= John|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/168996/alexander-cockburn-and-radical-power-word |title=Alexander Cockburn and the Radical Power of the Word |website=thenation.com|date= July 21, 2012| access-date= July 22, 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1645/an_award-winning_year/ An Award-Winning Year, The Investigative Fund]. Retrieved July 24, 2016 {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20161130183717/http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1645/an_award%2Dwinning_year/ |date=November 30, 2016 }}</ref>
In 2007, Cockburn and St. Clair wrote that in founding ''CounterPunch'' they had "wanted it to be the best muckraking newsletter in the country", and cited as inspiration such pamphleteers as [[Edward Abbey]], [[Peter Maurin]], and [[Ammon Hennacy]], as well as the socialist/populist newspaper ''[[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'' (1895–1922).<ref>Cockburn and St. Clair (2007), ''End Times'', p. 383.</ref> When Alexander Cockburn died in 2012 at the age of 71, environmental journalist [[Joshua Frank]] became managing editor and Jeffrey St. Clair became editor-in-chief of ''CounterPunch''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nichols|first= John|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/168996/alexander-cockburn-and-radical-power-word |title=Alexander Cockburn and the Radical Power of the Word |website=thenation.com|date= July 21, 2012| access-date= July 22, 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1645/an_award-winning_year/ An Award-Winning Year, The Investigative Fund]. Retrieved July 24, 2016 {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20161130183717/http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/blog/1645/an_award%2Dwinning_year/ |date=November 30, 2016 }}</ref>
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==Controversies==
==Controversies==
===The “Alice Donovan affair”===
===The "Alice Donovan affair"===
{{redirect|Alice Donovan|the American actress|Alice Dougan Donovan}}
{{redirect|Alice Donovan|the American actress|Alice Dougan Donovan}}
During the 2016 presidential election, ''CounterPunch'' published a piece attributed to Alice Donovan,<ref name="GoAskAlice"/> who purported to be a freelance writer but US intelligence officials alleged to be a pseudonymous employee of the Russian government.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kremlin-trolls-burned-across-the-internet-as-washington-debated-options/2017/12/23/e7b9dc92-e403-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340_story.html|title=Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated options|last1=Entous|first1=Adam|date=December 25, 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=December 25, 2017|last2=Nakashima|first2=Ellen|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|last3=Jaffe|first3=Greg}}</ref> Donovan was tracked by the [[FBI]] for nine months, as a suspected fictitious persona created by the [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="DiResta 2020">{{cite web | last=DiResta | first=Renée | title=The Supply of Disinformation Will Soon Be Infinite | website=The Atlantic | date=September 20, 2020 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/future-propaganda-will-be-computer-generated/616400/ | access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>  In late November 2017, after ''CounterPunch'' had published several more pieces by Donovan, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' contacted Jeffrey St. Clair about her. The co-editor said that Donovan's pitches did not stand out among the pitches that ''CounterPunch'' received daily<ref name=":0" /> and began making inquiries. St. Clair asked Donovan to substantiate her identity by sending a photo of her driver’s license but she did not.<ref name=":0" />  
During the 2016 presidential election, ''CounterPunch'' published a piece attributed to Alice Donovan,<ref name="GoAskAlice"/> who purported to be a freelance writer but US intelligence officials alleged to be a pseudonymous employee of the Russian government.<ref name="Entous-2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kremlin-trolls-burned-across-the-internet-as-washington-debated-options/2017/12/23/e7b9dc92-e403-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340_story.html|title=Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated options|last1=Entous|first1=Adam|date=December 25, 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=December 25, 2017|last2=Nakashima|first2=Ellen|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|last3=Jaffe|first3=Greg}}</ref> Donovan was tracked by the [[FBI]] for nine months, as a suspected fictitious persona created by the [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]].<ref name="Entous-2017" /><ref name="DiResta 2020">{{cite web | last=DiResta | first=Renée | title=The Supply of Disinformation Will Soon Be Infinite | website=The Atlantic | date=September 20, 2020 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/future-propaganda-will-be-computer-generated/616400/ | access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>  In late November 2017, after ''CounterPunch'' had published several more pieces by Donovan, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' contacted Jeffrey St. Clair about her. The co-editor said that Donovan's pitches did not stand out among the pitches that ''CounterPunch'' received daily<ref name="Entous-2017" /> and began making inquiries. St. Clair asked Donovan to substantiate her identity by sending a photo of her driver’s license but she did not.<ref name="Entous-2017" />  


On the same day ''The Washington Post'' article about Donovan was published, St. Clair and Frank published a piece stating that ''CounterPunch'' only ran one article by Alice Donovan during the 2016 election, which was on cyber-breaches of medical databases. Donovan was also exposed by the newsletter as a serial plagiarizer.<ref name="GoAskAlice">{{cite web|url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/25/go-ask-alice-the-curious-case-of-alice-donovan-2/|title=Go Ask Alice: the Curious Case of 'Alice Donovan'|first=Jeffrey |last=St. Clair |author2= Joshua Frank|date=December 25, 2017|publisher=CounterPunch|access-date=January 6, 2018|quote=In sum, we published five stories by Donovan. One was apolitical. Four could be considered critiques of US foreign policy during the Trump administration. None mentioned Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin, the 2016 elections, Wikileaks or Julian Assange.}}</ref> ''CounterPunch'' removed all of the articles from their site.<ref name="OSullivan 2018">{{cite web | last=O'Sullivan | first=Donie | title=Facebook removes Syrian war page it believes is linked to Russian intel, Twitter keeps it online | website=CNNMoney | date=August 23, 2018 | url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/23/technology/facebook-twitter-syria-media-center/index.html | access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>  
On the same day ''The Washington Post'' article about Donovan was published, St. Clair and Frank published a piece stating that ''CounterPunch'' only ran one article by Alice Donovan during the 2016 election, which was on cyber-breaches of medical databases. Donovan was also exposed by the newsletter as a serial plagiarizer.<ref name="GoAskAlice">{{cite web|url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/25/go-ask-alice-the-curious-case-of-alice-donovan-2/|title=Go Ask Alice: the Curious Case of 'Alice Donovan'|first=Jeffrey |last=St. Clair |author2= Joshua Frank|date=December 25, 2017|publisher=CounterPunch|access-date=January 6, 2018|quote=In sum, we published five stories by Donovan. One was apolitical. Four could be considered critiques of US foreign policy during the Trump administration. None mentioned Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin, the 2016 elections, Wikileaks or Julian Assange.}}</ref> ''CounterPunch'' removed all of the articles from their site.<ref name="OSullivan 2018">{{cite web | last=O'Sullivan | first=Donie | title=Facebook removes Syrian war page it believes is linked to Russian intel, Twitter keeps it online | website=CNNMoney | date=August 23, 2018 | url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/23/technology/facebook-twitter-syria-media-center/index.html | access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>  
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===''PropOrNot'' accusations===
===''PropOrNot'' accusations===
In 2016, ''CounterPunch'' appeared in a [[PropOrNot]] list of websites in which it was described as a Russian propaganda outlet. Writing in the ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'', [[Adrian Chen]] described the list as a mess and ''CounterPunch'' as a "respected left-leaning" publication.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-propaganda-about-russian-propaganda |title=The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda |first=Adrian |last=Chen |date=December 1, 2016 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>
In 2016, ''CounterPunch'' appeared in a [[PropOrNot]] list of websites in which it was described as a Russian propaganda outlet. Writing in the ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'', [[Adrian Chen]] described the list as a mess and ''CounterPunch'' as a "respected left-leaning" publication.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-propaganda-about-russian-propaganda |title=The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda |first=Adrian |last=Chen |date=December 1, 2016 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>
=== Antisemitism ===
In reports covering examples of [[New antisemitism|left-wing antisemitism]], Counterpunch has been criticized for publishing articles written by [[White nationalism|white nationalists]] and [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust deniers]] such as [[Israel Shamir]], [[Paul Craig Roberts]], and [[Gilad Atzmon]] in its criticism of Israel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sunshine |first=Spencer |date=2019 |title=Looking Left at Antisemitism |url=https://transformativestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Spencer-Sunshine.pdf |journal=Journal of Social Justice |volume=9 |pages=12 |issn=2164-7100}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arnold |first=Sina |last2=Taylor |first2=Blair |date=2019 |title=Antisemitism and the Left: Confronting an Invisible Racism |url=https://transformativestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Blair-Taylor-and-Sina_Arnold.pdf |journal=Journal of Social Justice |volume=9 |issn=2164-7100}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Byford |first=J. |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e0ilsF4VcTQC&pg=PT237&lpg=PT237&dq=counterpunch+antisemitic+%22conspiracy+theory%22&source=bl&ots=4O5VPEd1Hg&sig=ACfU3U1YTS2mfjSYBgGbzK4uOgFV3AhJcg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHl-On4YDzAhXZg_0HHf69CaE4KBDoAXoECBAQAw#v=onepage&q=counterpunch%20&f=false |title=Conspiracy Theories: A Critical Introduction |date=2011-10-12 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-34921-6 |language=en}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 07:58, 3 December 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "check for unknown parameters". CounterPunch is a left-wing[1][2] online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly.[3] CounterPunch is based in the United States and covers politics in a manner its editors describe as "muckraking with a radical attitude".[4]

From 1993 to 2020, CounterPunch published a newsletter, and a magazine.[5]

History

CounterPunch began as a newsletter, established in 1994 by the Washington, D.C.–based investigative reporter Ken Silverstein.[6]

Silverstein was soon joined by Alexander Cockburn and then Jeffrey St. Clair, who became the publication's editors in 1996 when Silverstein left.[7][8]

In 2007, Cockburn and St. Clair wrote that in founding CounterPunch they had "wanted it to be the best muckraking newsletter in the country", and cited as inspiration such pamphleteers as Edward Abbey, Peter Maurin, and Ammon Hennacy, as well as the socialist/populist newspaper Appeal to Reason (1895–1922).[9] When Alexander Cockburn died in 2012 at the age of 71, environmental journalist Joshua Frank became managing editor and Jeffrey St. Clair became editor-in-chief of CounterPunch.[10][11]

Reception

In 2003, The Observer described the CounterPunch website as "one of the most popular political sources in America, with a keen following in Washington".[12] Other sources have variously described CounterPunch as "left-wing",[1][2] "far-left",[13] "extreme",[14] a "political newsletter",[15] and a "muckraking newsletter".[16]

Controversies

The "Alice Donovan affair"

Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". During the 2016 presidential election, CounterPunch published a piece attributed to Alice Donovan,[17] who purported to be a freelance writer but US intelligence officials alleged to be a pseudonymous employee of the Russian government.[18] Donovan was tracked by the FBI for nine months, as a suspected fictitious persona created by the GRU.[18][19] In late November 2017, after CounterPunch had published several more pieces by Donovan, The Washington Post contacted Jeffrey St. Clair about her. The co-editor said that Donovan's pitches did not stand out among the pitches that CounterPunch received daily[18] and began making inquiries. St. Clair asked Donovan to substantiate her identity by sending a photo of her driver’s license but she did not.[18]

On the same day The Washington Post article about Donovan was published, St. Clair and Frank published a piece stating that CounterPunch only ran one article by Alice Donovan during the 2016 election, which was on cyber-breaches of medical databases. Donovan was also exposed by the newsletter as a serial plagiarizer.[17] CounterPunch removed all of the articles from their site.[20]

In a January 2018 follow-up article, St. Clair and Frank exposed a network of alleged trolls that operated a site called Inside Syria Media Center, promoting a pro-Bashar al-Assad and pro-Russian view of the Syrian Civil War. St. Clair and Frank speculated that the website was connected to the same network of trolls as Alice Donovan, which was later confirmed by the Atlantic Council and other researchers.[19][20][21]

On 8 June 2016, "Alice Donovan",[22] and other Russian-controlled fake American personas began promoting the DCLeaks website on Facebook.[23][24]

PropOrNot accusations

In 2016, CounterPunch appeared in a PropOrNot list of websites in which it was described as a Russian propaganda outlet. Writing in the New Yorker, Adrian Chen described the list as a mess and CounterPunch as a "respected left-leaning" publication.[25]

Antisemitism

In reports covering examples of left-wing antisemitism, Counterpunch has been criticized for publishing articles written by white nationalists and Holocaust deniers such as Israel Shamir, Paul Craig Roberts, and Gilad Atzmon in its criticism of Israel.[26][27][28]

References

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  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ "Counterpunch is the brainchild of Ken Silverstein, a former AP reporter in Rio de Janeiro." Lies of Our Times, vols 4–5 (1993), p. 26.
  7. ↑ Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, Five Days that Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond (London and New York: Verso, 2000), p. 151; Alexander Cockburn, Ken Silverstein, Washington Babylon (London and New York: Verso, 1996), p. 302.
  8. ↑ Cockburn, Alexander, and Jeffrey St. Clair, End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate (Petrolia, California, and Oakland, California: CounterPunch and AK Press, 2007), pp. 2, 44.
  9. ↑ Cockburn and St. Clair (2007), End Times, p. 383.
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ An Award-Winning Year, The Investigative Fund. Retrieved July 24, 2016 Template:Webarchive
  12. ↑ Reed, Christopher (March 2, 2003). "Battle of the bottle divides columnists". The Observer.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑
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  23. ↑
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  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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