 | |
Type of site | Conspiracy theory website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2004 |
| URL | www |
| Registration | Optional |
Veterans Today is an Americanantisemitic andconspiracy theory website. It describes itself as a "militaryveterans andforeign affairs journal", while multiple sources describe it as a pro-Kremlin propaganda outlet.[1][2]
Veterans Today was founded in 2004 "in opposition to theinvasion of Iraq." According toPolitico, the site "soon began publishing wild conspiracy theories" and "has consistently published articles that push the Kremlinparty line".[1] It has ties with the Iranian state media outletPress TV, and has had ties with Russia'sNew Eastern Outlook website since 2013, though according toThe Daily Beast, the latter connection ended in 2018. The website is formally partnered with several other Russian institutions.[1][3] TheNew Hampshire Union Leader says that the website mixes "advice for veterans on how to find jobs and pay medical bills" with conspiracy theories andRussian propaganda.[2] Its editorial board includes a former head ofPakistan's intelligence services.[1]
It has published false headlines such as, "Pravda: Ukraine indignant at 80% of Jews in power" and "Water Terrorism by India to Overawe Pakistan."[1] A joint article with Press TV, written byJim Fetzer, was entitled: "DidMossaddeath squads slaughter American children atSandy Hook?"[4] According toVeterans Today, Israel was behind the9/11 attacks in collaboration with the United States andJulian Assange ofWikiLeaks is controlled by the Israeli government.[5] Duff wrote in an August 2021 article for the website: "The biggest story of the last 20 years is one of the brazen uses of nuclear weapons by Israel against its perceived enemies. Israel nuked the US on 9/11 and [Veterans Today] has proven it beyond a doubt."[6]
In 2012, the website's chairman, Gordon Duff, told an interviewer that "about 30% of what's written onVeterans Today, is patently false. About 40% of what I write, is at least purposely, partially false, because if I didn't write false information I wouldn't be alive".[1]
Duff spoke at a conference organized by theSyrian governmentCounterterrorism and Religious Extremism Conference held in Syria on November 30 and December 1, 2014. The four-manVeterans Today delegation (eight Americans in all were present) also included managing editor Jim Dean.[7] During his speech, he indicated his delegation fromVeterans Today wanted:
to try to establish a method of communication that will allow Syria and other nations in the area to understand Israel's control of the U.S., the control of the U.S. by organized crime, and how the U.S. government is subservient to a worldwide criminal organization.[8]
In February 2022, a piece by Thomas Ertl largely justifiesRussia's invasion of Ukraine and says it is a lie that Ukraine is a sovereign country.[9]
According to British journalistOliver Kamm,Veterans Today "promotes conspiracy theories, includingHolocaust denial".[4]James Kirchick, writing inTime magazine, callsVeterans Today a "virulently anti-Semitic website".[10]
The Times of Israel describes it as "a clearinghouse of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories".[11] According toThe Jerusalem Post, the website has published "articles defendingHitler, and promotesKu Klux Klan leaderDavid Duke and the anti-semitic musicianGilad Atzmon".[12]Michael C. Moynihan, writing forThe Daily Beast, has described it as a "Holocaust denial outfit".[13]Veterans Today has saidthe Holocaust either did not occur or has been greatly inflated alleging it has been invented by the Jews to manipulate non-Jews.[5]The Forward describesVeterans Today as "a hub for anti-Israel conspiracy theories."[14]Vice magazine called it "conspiracy-oriented".[15]
TheSouthern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is highly critical of the website, stating that "theanti-Israel bent on VT can slide pretty quickly into overt anti-Semitism."[5]
