World Socialist Web Site

The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is an international Trotskyist news site that is the online news and information publication of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI).[2] The WSWS publishes articles and analysis of news and events from around the world, updated daily. The site also includes coverage of the history of working class political and organized labor movements.

"WSWS" redirects here. For the radio station, see WSWS (FM).
World Socialist Web Site
Type of site
News and analysis
HeadquartersOak Park, Michigan
OwnerInternational Committee of the Fourth International
EditorDavid North (editorial board chairman)
URLwww.wsws.org
CommercialNo (supported by donations)
RegistrationNo (Disqus account is required for commenting on articles)
Launched14 February 1998 (1998-02-14)[1]
Current statusOnline

About

The WSWS was established on February 14, 1998. The site was redesigned on October 22, 2008.[3]

The WSWS supports and helps campaign for the Socialist Equality Parties in elections. The site has no advertisements, except for material from Mehring Books, the ICFI's publishing arm. Instead, it sustains itself through the donations of readers and supporters. David North serves as Chairman of the site's International Editorial Board.

Content

The WSWS publishes articles on politics, finance and economics, culture, police violence, and labor issues.

The WSWS periodically undertakes focused political campaigns, during which numerous articles, videos, interviews, and perspectives are published on the topic. Campaigns undertaken include defending Julian Assange,[4][5] Chelsea Manning,[6] and Edward Snowden,[7] civil rights and free speech,[8][9][10] and the opposition to utility shutoffs and bankruptcy in Detroit.[11][12][13][14] The WSWS has criticized the New York Times' 1619 Project.[15]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the WSWS has been critical of government responses, denouncing "the discredited policy of 'herd immunity' that has been pursued by the ruling class in its response to the pandemic."[16] Additionally, it opposes reopening of schools, calling such policies “homicidal” despite inconclusive studies showing schools and child-care facilities are no less safe than other professions.[17][18]

Sections
  • The daily 'Perspective' article presents the position of the WSWS on a range of political, theoretical, and historical issues.
  • News articles which cover the day's significant international political and economic developments
  • Arts Review – under the editorship of Marxist arts critics David Walsh and Joanne Laurier
  • Science
  • Workers' Struggles
  • Philosophy lectures which defend philosophical materialism and oppose idealism
  • "This Week in History", providing brief synopses of important historical events occurring 25, 50, 75, and 100 years ago
  • ICFI/Marxist Library – the Historical and International Foundations of the Socialist Equality Party is archived, along with original translations of classic Marxist literature, with works by James P. Cannon, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, and Karl Marx

Demotion in Google searches

In July 2017, the WSWS began to oppose new Google search algorithms, which it believes is a form of Google censorship, and claims that the changes are intended to remove "fake news".[19][20] The WSWS has used evidence from SEMrush, an analytics suite for search engine optimization, that showed that several socialist and anti-war news sites had received reduced traffic from Google due to changes in its search algorithm; according to the WSWS, between late April 2017 and the beginning of August 2017, wsws.org Google search traffic fell by 67%.[21][22][23] Google said that it had not deliberately targeted any particular website;[23] Google VP Ben Gomes wrote that Google had "adjusted [its] signals to help surface more authoritative pages and demote low-quality content."[24] The documentary film-maker John Pilger has offered his support for the website in its response to Google.[25]

References
  1. "This Year in Review: 1998". World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth International. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  2. "Keith Jones and the Socialist Alternative – Kingstonist". Kingstonist. April 10, 2010. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  3. "Welcome the redesigned World Socialist Web Site". World Socialist Web Site. ICFI. Archived from the original on 2008-11-30. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  4. Mazhar, Fatimah, "World's Most Widely Accessed Socialist Website Defends Edward Snowden", Carbonated.TV, archived from the original on 2016-03-05, retrieved February 20, 2016
  5. "Glenn Beck: The Revolution Is Now". Fox News. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  6. Reporter, Ben Rosenfeld Daily Staff. "IYSSE members discuss Manning imprisonment following rally". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange rape allegations: What's behind them?". Hot Topics. September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  8. Elliott, Tim (May 5, 2010). "Hunt was up against civil rights arguments". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  9. ""Fake news" or free speech: Is Google cracking down on left media?". Salon. October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  10. "A reply to redbaiting by the general counsel of the Detroit AFL-CIO – Recovery Team UAW 933". recoveryteam.tv. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  11. "IYSSE facilitates campus discussion about socialism". The South End. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  12. "Video: SEP holds press conference to announce Workers Inquiry". World Socialist Web Site. ICFI. December 6, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-27. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  13. "Socialists to protest in defense of Detroit's DIA Friday, day after EM Orr tells business leaders he was once 'somewhat of a Socialist' himself". MLive.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  14. Kishore, Joseph. "The unions and the Detroit bankruptcy". World Socialist Web Site. ICFI. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  15. "The '1619 Project' Gets Schooled". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  16. "Global surge in COVID-19 cases as governments abandon efforts to contain the pandemic". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  17. "Alabama teacher speaks out against unsafe conditions and schools reopening". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  18. Mandavilli, Apoorva (2020-10-22). "Schoolchildren Seem Unlikely to Fuel Coronavirus Surges, Scientists Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  19. "Google Censors Block Access to CounterPunch and Other Progressive Sites". www.counterpunch.org. 2017-08-09. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  20. "Is "Fake News" Scare Being Used to Stifle Dissent? | Accuracy.Org". Institute for Public Accuracy. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  21. "The Dawn of an Orwellian Future". Consortiumnews. July 28, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  22. Damon, Andre (August 2, 2017). "Google's new search protocol is restricting access to 13 leading socialist, progressive and anti-war web sites". World Socialist Web Site. ICFI. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  23. Wakabayashi, Daisuke (September 26, 2017). "As Google Fights Fake News, Voices on the Margins Raise Alarm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-01-13. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  24. Sheffield, Matthew (October 18, 2017). "'Fake news' or free speech: Is Google cracking down on left media?". Salon. Archived from the original on 2018-01-13. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  25. "Documentarian John Pilger issues statement of support for January 16 webinar, 'Organizing resistance to Internet censorship'website=World Socialist Web Site". ICFI. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
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