PJ Media, originally known as Pajamas Media, is an American subscription-based commentary website of right-wing politics.
In August 2018, PJ Media published an article by then supervising editor Paula Bolyard,[18] claiming that Google was manipulating its algorithm to prioritize left-leaning news outlets in their coverage of President Trump.[19] Bolyard acknowledged that her study was "not scientific", although she did conclude that "the results suggest a pattern of bias against right-leaning content." Fact checkers at PolitiFact rated this claim false.[20]
In January 2019, PJ Media published a column by their senior editor Tyler O'Neil[21] in which he insinuated in his article that a Muslim community patrol in New York City might be enforcing Sharia Law and might be linked to the NYPD.[22] This group, the Muslim Community Patrol Service (MCPS)[23] was a certified volunteer Neighborhood watch in Brooklyn, a NYC CERT[24] along with other community patrols such as the Brooklyn Asian Safety Patrol[25] and the Guardian Angels. PJ Media offered nothing that demonstrated the MCPS could, or planned to, "enforce Sharia law", beyond engaging in the speculative hypothetical that the MCPS might somehow "apply [...] Sharia in its community monitoring." Fact-checkers at Snopes rated this claim false.[26]
In February 2019, PJ Media published a column by one of their writers John Hawkins,[27] also creator of Rightwingnews, in which he stated in an article titled "The Six Most Bizarre Proposals from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal",[28] making five out of six claims such as "getting rid of airplanes" or "getting rid of cows", aim to "get rid of gas-powered cars in a decade", call for eliminating carbon emissions in ten years "without the use of nuclear power", or "promise 'economic security' for those 'unwilling to work'". Fact checkers at NewsGuard rated these five claims false,[29] which can be further verified by the official government resolution H.Res.109 Green New Deal proposed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[30]
In January 2020, PJ Media published a column by one of their writers,[31] Robert B. Spencer, also founder and director of the anti-Muslim conspiracy blog Jihad Watch, in which he stated that congresswoman Ilhan Omar had given Iran military advice by suggesting it could target Trump hotels, and thus committed treason.[32] Fact-checkers at Snopes rated this claim false.[33]
In February 2020, PJ Media published a column by Victoria Taft, one of their writers[34] and a conservative talk show host,[35] in which she stated that President Barack Obama waited until millions were infected and 1000 dead in the U.S. before he declared the Pandemic H1N1/09 virus an emergency.[36] Fact-checkers at Snopes rated this claim false.[37]
According to NewsGuard,[38] articles on PJMedia.com have frequently included distorted or misleading claims,[39] including about the COVID-19 pandemic. A now deleted July 2020 article written by Matt Margolis headlined "COVID-19 May Soon Lose Status as an 'Epidemic' Under CDC Guidelines",[40] promoted a misleading claim originally published by JustTheNews.com. Many other websites reported this story by PJ Media.[41][42] After the fact, PJ Media never issued a correction to their original story, but only an update with changes and a new headline "COVID-19 Will Not Soon Lose Status as an 'Epidemic' Under the CDC".[43]
