ScrappleFace was a U.S. website run by Scott Ott that satirized the news from a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

perspective.

History

The name ScrappleFace was coined by Ott's grandmother, Jessica McMaster (1915–2006), who cared for Ott and his brothers from the age of five, for their dog. Ott chose the name knowing that the domain name would be available because no one else would know the word. Ott, a former journalist, started Scrappleface in July 2002. Ott oversees "the vast editorial staff" at ScrappleFace, an unnamed group of non-existent journalists who "cover the globe like a patina of dental plaque" according to earlier items on the site. In reality, all the ScrappleFace stories (more than 2,500 as of 15 March 2007) on politics, the war on terror, business, science, theology and even sports were written by Ott. The website reported over 10,000,000 visitors as of May 2007. As of December 2024, the website redirects to an unrelated sales page.

Axis of weasels

ScrappleFace is probably best known for originating the phrase "Axis of weasels" (parody of "

Axis of evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the ...

"), in an item Ott wrote in January 2003 title
"Rumsfeld Sorry for Axis of Weasels Remark"

Glenn Reynolds Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born August 27, 1960) is an American legal scholar who is the Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. He is known for his American politics blog, ''Instapundit''. Ins ...

linked to it at his widely read blog,

Instapundit Instapundit is a conservative blog maintained by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. History and characteristics InstaPundit was launched in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law ...

, noting that it was being circulated at the White House and Pentagon. Two days later, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' carried the front-page headline "AXIS OF WEASEL - GERMANY AND FRANCE WIMP OUT ON IRAQ; COLIN RAPS FRENCH, GERMAN WIMPS". Ott later published a collection of ScrappleFace stories under the title "Axis of Weasels" (; now out of print).

Media coverage

Ott's work has been quoted in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'', ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'', OpinionJournal.com and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

website. ScrappleFace stories have also been quoted on radio by

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

Roger Hedgecock Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host, who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Early life and education He ...

Michael Medved Michael S. Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is available via Cable ...

, Bill Bennett, and dozens of regional radio hosts as well as on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

. At least two ScrappleFace stories have been passed around via email enough to become an urban myth and be debunked by

Snopes.com ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...

. ScrappleFace was popular amongst conservative political bloggers, who frequently linked to its items.

SNN: ScrappleFace Network News

Scott Ott began producing a video faux newscast on January 14, 2009 with the launch of SNN (ScrappleFace Network News). The first story was about the tax filing troubles of President Barack Obama's Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner.

References

{{reflist

External links

ScrappleFace website
American political satire American political websites

History

Axis of weasels

Media coverage

SNN: ScrappleFace Network News

See also

References

External links