Breitbart Expansion in Europe Blocked by Domain-Gobbling Activists
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
As far-right leaders vie for power in France and Germany in the coming months, Breitbart was planning an expansion to those countries which might be fertile ground for its message.
But that’s run into a minor snag: the domain names that Breitbart might use have been gobbled up by those opposed to its mission.
“When I saw that they wanted to launch in France I was really afraid, because I thought it could work really well in France,” a man, identified only as Antonin, told the Verge, saying that he bought the domain names “breitbartnews.fr” and “breitbartnewsnetwork.fr.” “So I immediately went to [French web hosting provider] OVH and saw that the domain name was available.” While the online publication could not discover the owner of “breitbartnews.de,” it noted that the site currently hosted an anti-far-right extremist content.
Breitbart, which former head and current White House chief strategist Steve Bannon once bragged was the “platform for the alt-right,” currently has foreign bureaus in Rome and Jerusalem, though it is unclear what its future expansion plans are. France and Germany have both seen a marked rise in far-right political movements on the heels of the refugee crisis, with the National Front and the Alternative for Germany having a real shot at power in their respective countries.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
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