Posted on 12/28/2018 5:19:30 AM PST by Liberty7732
Last year at this time, we determined, and suggested to our readers, that Whatfinger.com was rapidly becoming the go-to conservative aggregator site, replacing the Drudge Report and its increasing use of the mainstream media, celebrities and salaciousness to drive hits.
A year later, we can safely conclude that Whatfinger is no longer “rapidly becoming the go-to conservative aggregator site” — it simply is, hands down. There are other conservative aggregators out there, but none that so consistently put out news links, not celebrity gossip, tabloid nonsense.
Did I say links? This is where Whatfinger shines — kind of obvious for an aggregator, and yet where it totally dominates Drudge or others.
Whatfinger puts up a minimum of 150 new links daily — in it’s middle column alone. That is at least three times the amount of new links from Drudge. Plus Whatfinger has another 100 to 150 in sections. So Whatfinger has probably seven times the news on a daily basis as Drudge, and none of it wasted on nonsense links about Jay-Z or 50-pound babies.
Whatfinger grew from being nearly the top 13,000 in the U.S. last year at this time to being near the top 7,000 this year, according to Alexa rankings. That is a huge jump in that high range, but all the more so considering it creates a new page for reader ease when you click a link — unlike Drudge, which does not and requires you to click back to Drudge, thus artificially inflating hits and making it look bigger.
Whatfinger is becoming so ubiquitous and trusted on the right, that our readers even suggest Whatfinger in comments to other commenters.
With that, here’s our story from last year on why Whatfinger is so superior to Drudge for conservative, traditional Americans:
The Drudge Report is the undisputed champion of news aggregate sites, and has been since the Clinton years. It’s iconic and people are comfortable with it. But it’s also filled with a lot of the cultural garbage that is irrelevant to many right-leaning readers, uses sensationalized headlines and includes just too much of the weird alien nonsense for those who are simply looking to stay on top of current events.
Staying on top of events as a conservative without some type of aggregator is almost impossible because of the innate and well-deserved distrust conservatives have for the mainstream media. Fortunately, there is an emerging treasure trove of conservative sites. But most people don’t have the time to wade through them all.
That’s where Whatfinger.com comes in. The relatively young conservative aggregator site is already nearing the 13,000 rank in Alexa among all web sites in the United States, quickly making it a player in the space. And there is a reason. It is chock full of links to mostly conservative sites with news and commentary, but organized into top stories, hot tweets, Trump news, political commentary, U.S. news, world news and more. The headlines and linking site are clearly delineated so you don’t click a link and get assaulted by a surprise site. There is even a section with a slate of stories and links to liberal/mainstream media sites under “Fake News Quarantine Section.”
The editors say they purposely include those “opposing views for specific issues (such as MSNBC vs FOX). This is how you get to the truth, by digesting all points of view and then coming to your own opinion and conclusion. In other words…freedom to think and feel and learn without censorship.”
The Whatfinger name comes from the simple concept of thumbs up, thumbs down or, of course, the middle finger. The site is founded and run by former members of the military who are unapologetic lovers of America but keep their personal identities under wraps for understandable reasons.
They have one, basic goal with the site, found on their “about” page: “You could say, we are in a relentless pursuit of creating the greatest go-to link news site ever.”
That’s a tough hill that means dethroning the Drudge Report from the current position. Not easy. Drudge still takes a good pulse on the news, but it includes so many ancillary click-baity stuff that it is not great for serious news consumers. In conversations with the editors, they say that once people find Whatfinger, they generally continue to use it instead of returning to Drudge or lesser aggregators.
The editors seem to have a good instinct for what right-leaning Americans want to read, leading to their rapid growth that has been entirely fueled by word of mouth — quite amazing in this age where political space is crowded with endless options. But in part, that crowded field is leading to Whatfinger’s usefulness: The editors cull the best stories from the Web for easy use with headlines typically taken from the stories — not over sensationalized.
We took a look at Whatfinger when we saw a bump in traffic from the site. We had not heard of it. But it’s quickly become a new favorite. Consider this digital word of mouth.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Revolutionary Act has no financial relationship with Whatfinger and does not accept payment for articles ever. We do provide a link to them at our site and they link to our stories — because both parties believe in the other’s work.)
I go to The Liberty Daily a lot now.
https://thelibertydaily.com/
Yes. thelibertydaily.com often writes sensational stuff that is just plain silly. Citizenfreepress is too busy with too much packed in and so adds a lot of meaningless stuff as well.
Liberty daily for me.
We?
That would be your whole blog staff, huh?
Or maybe just you and some itchy fleas.
What the heck... JayZ had a 50 pound baby???
I’ll be right back, I gotta go to Drudge.
I really wish change the name to trash central. At least warn people.
I suggest two: www.thelibertydaily.com (which, unfortunately, has too many “articles” that are little more than “Wow, did you see what so-and-so said about so-and-so” or www.bigleaguepolitics.com which has some very good original reporting.
Sorry, not going to a site which features those disgusting clickbait photos.
#7000 isn’t beginning to challenge Drudge.
Which is unfortunate, because he’s clearly been compromised the last three years.
And I proudly say I go to Whatfinger everyday, multiple times and have not once gone on Drudge.
And I proudly say I go to Whatfinger everyday, multiple times and have not once gone on Drudge.
Just went to whatfinger to see what the fuss was about.
May be some good stories, but, it’s covered in clickbait ads.
Actually... As a morning news junky, I have been checking Whatfinger for about a month now. And hands down the folks on this website are on top of things much better...
http://freerepublic.com/home.htm
Can’t remember the last year I went to Drudge. Maybe the 2016 election.
Exactly.
thanks for the headsup
What I hate about Drudge is that you don,t know where the links will take you and it auto-reloads which simply is too annoying. I intentionally avoid it.
I had forgotten about Whatfinger.
just another clickbait depot ... i thought advertizing was a nono on FR
I was gonna say; I’m on the best drudge alternative when I click Free Republic.
The comments are half the fun and a treasure of info.
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