Charles C. Johnson

Charles "Chuck" C. Johnson (born 1988)^[1] is an independent American journalist and owner of the websites GotNews.com and WeSearchr.com. He has written for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, and has written two books.^[2]

Johnson has been a controversial figure throughout his career. He is frequently described as an internet troll^[3][4][5] and accused of unethical and false journalism. Johnson denies these claims, and describes himself as a "Champion of Truth".^[6]

Education

Johnson attended Milton Academy for high school, graduating in 2007. Johnson attended Claremont McKenna College, graduating in 2011.^[7] During his college years he was awarded the Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award and the Publius Fellowship at the Claremont Institute.^[2]

Elizabeth O'Bagy

Johnson is credited with ending the career of foreign policy analyst Elizabeth O'Bagy. Johnson revealed that O'Bagy did not have a Ph.D. from Georgetown University as she had claimed on her application to the Institute for the Study of War.^[8] O'Bagy was fired shortly after Johnson's story broke.^[8]

Controversies

Bob Menendez

Johnson was involved in the creation of a Daily Caller story that accused U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) of soliciting underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.^[9] A criminal investigation of the case found no evidence, and the women making the allegations later admitted they had been paid by a local lawyer to make the claims.^[10][11]

In August 2015, a judge declined requests from Menendez' lawyers to dismiss the charges, and the investigation was ongoing.^[12]

Cory Booker

On October 14, 2013, Johnson published an article on The Daily Caller claiming that Newark mayor and senatorial candidate Cory Booker never lived in Newark, citing neighbors of Booker's alleged address as evidence.^[13] Booker's campaign provided a reporter from Buzzfeed with rental checks and other documents for the address going back several years, and Booker's communication director dismissed Johnson's allegations as "laughable". According to Booker's campaign he lived there from late 2006 to shortly before he was elected Senator in 2013. Johnson stands by his reporting, claiming that Booker may well have paid rent but did not live in Newark.^[14][15]

David D. Kirkpatrick

In January 2014, Johnson published an article reporting that New York Times reporter David D. Kirkpatrick was arrested for exhibitionism and posing for Playgirl.^[16] Johnson's source for the Playgirl claim was a January 22, 1990, article in The Daily Princetonian, which was later revealed to be satirical.^[17] Johnson apologized to Kirkpatrick.

2014 Mississippi Republican primary election

On June 30, 2014, Johnson published a story on GotNews accusing Mississippi senator Thad Cochran of bribing African-Americans to vote for him in the Mississippi Senate Republican primary.^[18] The story came days after Cochran had defeated Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel in a run-off election. Johnson claimed that a Black pastor named Stevie Fielder had told him he was paid by Cochran's campaign to bribe Black Democrats into voting for Cochran. Johnson paid the pastor for his statements, a controversial practice sometimes known as "checkbook journalism".^[18] Fielder later partially recanted his story, saying that he had been speaking hypothetically, that he had turned down the offer, and that Johnson's recording of his interview had been selectively edited, a claim Johnson denies.^[19]

During the election, Johnson also accused the Cochran campaign of being responsible for Mississippi Tea Party leader Mark Mayfield's suicide and encouraged his Twitter followers to flood a Cochran campaign conference call.^[18][20]

Ferguson

During the Ferguson unrest, Johnson published the Instagram account of shooting victim Michael Brown and stated that the account "shows a violent streak that may help explain what led to a violent confrontation with Police officer Darren Wilson".^[21] Johnson also filed a lawsuit to have Brown's juvenile records released. In Brown's home state of Missouri, the records of minors are private, but Johnson argued that the matter was of pressing public interest under the state's sunshine law. The county court disagreed.^[22] Further appeal attempts by Johnson to unseal the records went as far as the State Supreme Court of Missouri, which denied his request.

In a separate incident during the unrest, Johnson published the addresses of two New York Times reporters, claiming that they published the known addresses of Darren Wilson.^[23] The New York Times has said the reporters only revealed the street on which Wilson once lived.^[23]

University of Virginia rape article

In December 2014, Rolling Stone columnist Sabrina Erdely published an article entitled "A Rape on Campus" about the alleged gang rape of a University of Virginia (UVA) student named "Jackie" in 2012 at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house at UVA. The article was later found to be fabricated.^[23] Johnson publicly identified Jackie. ^[24]

Banning from Twitter

On May 24, 2015, Johnson sent a tweet asking his followers for donations to help him "take out" Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson. McKesson shared the tweet and took the tweet as a threat. Johnson was permanently banned from Twitter after several users reported him for harassment.^[3]

Gawker lawsuit

In June 2015, Johnson sued Gawker for defamation in Missouri for $66 million, and filed a similar suit in California in December.^[25] In January 2016, the Missouri suit was dismissed.^[26]

Bibliography and awards

Books

• Why Coolidge Matters: Leadership Lessons from America’s Most Underrated President, published by Encounter Books^[2]
• The Truth About the IRS Scandals, published by Encounter Books

Awards

• Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award^[2]

References

External links

• His Personal Website
• GotNews
• GotNews Facebook
• GotNews YouTube