Little Green Footballs

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Little Green Footballs (often abbreviated as LGF) is a political weblog run by California web designer Charles Johnson. Much like neo-conservative icon Irving Kristol, Johnson was "a liberal until he got mugged" — in this case, by September 11.

Before September 11, Johnson's blog had been geared towards the discussion of bicycle racing, programming, web design, and the occasional humorous news item. After September 11, it became a very active warblog, focusing on the American War on Terror and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Fans and Critics

Little Green Footballs is known for its irreverent spin on hot-button issues, featuring Photoshopped treatments of Rachel Corrie as "Saint Pancake," Yasser Arafat as "Arafish" and jailed Palestinian miltants as Elvis. A vocal admirer of controversial pundits Daniel Pipes and Oriana Fallaci, Johnson is also responsible for coining the word "idiotarian."

Fans see the website as an alternative media outlet which provides a counterweight to the alleged anti-American, anti-Zionist, anti-Conservative bias of mainstream media outlets like Reuters (or "al-Reuters" in LGF slang). LGF also features extensive coverage of under-reported news stories, particularly those featuring examples of European anti-Semitism or Islamist terrorism.

Critics point to the hyperbolic language and dehumanizing slurs employed by some posters (e.g., "Palesimians," "oil ticks," "koranimals") and charge the webmaster with encouraging groupthink, jingoism, and Islamophobic hate speech.

LGF regulars (the self-proclaimed "Lizardoids") counter negative evaluations of the website by appealing to the clash of civilizations metanarrative. In their view, the war between the Western world and global Islamism is so revolutionary in scope and significance that the neutral point of view can only be understood as a defeatist anachronism. SEE ALSO: Michael Savage, Free Republic.

Changes and Controversies

In an August 2002 blog entry, technology blogger Anil Dash lamented LGF's shift in focus, urging Johnson to return to the discussion of website design issues. The resulting war of words spilled into the comment boards of both sites, flaring up again in October 2002 when MSNBC's Will Femia described LGF as "hateful or even racist" in that site's weblog reviews.

In October 2003, LGF was the victim of a denial-of-service attack carried out by the members of various jihadist internet forums. This attack, although directed against another pro-Israel website (Internet Haganah), also affected Little Green Footballs, as it shares the same web hosting provider.

In April 2004, an anonymous critic constructed a satirical quiz comparing comments left by LGF users advocating the "sterilization" of "subhumans" and "vermin" to quotations from the writings of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. LGF supporters objected, arguing that LGF users had been quoted out of context on a largely unmoderated (and very popular) blog.

Johnson's "Lizardoids" have engaged in a number of high-profile flame wars, pitting LGF readers against such perceived hotbeds of liberalism as:

As each such confrontation brought a stampede of unfamiliar vistors, Johnson began redirecting traffic from rival sites to the Israel Defense Forces homepage instead.

Posting Protocols

Like other highly partisan internet forums (e.g., Free Republic, Democratic Underground), LGF attracts users who rail against the perceived mindset of its virtual community. These users are branded as "trolls" (or "Morlocks" in LGF slang) and banned by Johnson if they are deemed to have become disruptive. As the volume of comments from "morlocks" rose with the site's increasing profile, many regular users requested a simple registration system; Johnson obliged them in June 2004.

Accomplishments of Note

LGF was one of four blogs (including Free Republic, Power Line, and AllahPundit) responsible for the initial stages of the Killian memos investigation.

LGF also helped break the short-lived Pocketgate scandal less than a month later.

LGF was voted "Best International Blog" in an online poll by the Washington Post in November 2004.

Little Green Footballs supporters have helped raise thousands of dollar for such military public relations and charity organizations as Spirit of America, Pizza for the IDF and Adopt a Sniper.

See also

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