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 was not there 20 seconds before a pop up ad appeared.
I know the sites have to advertise but I hate pop ups with the heat of a million suns (and yes I have pop up blocker turned on, all this does is blocked the ad but not the pop up so all I see is a black square.)
So I will not be going back. May be a good site but I will never know.
Liberty Daily is 50% ads. I tried it, if they took the ads out it would be worth a return visit. Whatfinger blows them away newswise with few distractions.
Triumvirate of WhatFinger, Rantingly, and Liberty.
<>Drudge is so yesterday and, besides, Matt had a “magical moment” in the U.K.
There isn't a decent or good Conservative news site, now, on the Net, except for FR, it's all garbage/crap/trash/junk/filth/sh•t.
“Sorry, not going to a site which features those disgusting clickbait photos.”
It is puzzling how these sites with those vile pictures think that kind of thing enhances their credibility.
The interaction is priceless. It never ceases to amaze me why there are so many very good organizations that could really do some good in making a change out there and they are just simple blogs. No community forum... Just a boring blog tooting their own horn with very little interaction.
“We can’t get this ball rolling!” No... Not without a community and forum you won’t...
Yep, for news & knowledgeable commentary, stay here with Free Republic.
I have an ad blocker. Don't see anything but story links.
“WhatFinger News” has an Android app, which is nice. I just installed it on my mobile device. I like it so far...
Even the Fox News breaking site has those ads. I wouldn’t mind clicking on them if they got to the point on the first click. Clickbait ads are technically stupid. If they had any brains the people putting them up would make them so people would want to read them instead of ignoring 3/4 of the whole site. Make that 7/8ths.
Just tooki a look, can’t say I like it. Don’t like the way it’s laid out, too much clutter. I’m just not patient enough to deal with that. Besides, why is anyone looking for another site - THIS is the only site you need.
Thanks for the link to BIG LEAGUE POLITICS. Excellent site!
Sorry, not going to a site which features those disgusting clickbait photos.
Crips I go their wondering if I’m gonna see porn or something. I see Oscar bacon and Walgreen ads tucked into the side. You must live a very sheltered life.
That’s comforting. The way the article was heading, I was beginning to think what do I need FR for. It’s easy to forget the many advantages.
What are you talking about? Drudge?
Joined in 2017 and telling us where to read news. No thanks Newbie.
I haven’t been to whatfinger in a long time. It has improved quite a bit. I’ll be stopping in more often. Stopped going to drudge some time back.
For all those complaining of popup ads; why aren’t you running an adblocker addon? Simple to do and makes net surfing so much cleaner.
You must have a very sheltered intellect.
Yep, and I want to see all the news, not just the stuff I approve or that is supposed to rile me up.
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