WASHINGTON — The website that broke the story about Gov. Northam, and now the unconfirmed sex assault allegations against the lieutenant governor, is backed by Republican operatives and has a long history of trafficking in wild conspiracy theories.
For more than a year now, "Big League Politics," has been blasting out the most conspiratorial headlines. "Alleged Sex Trafficking Bunker Discovered on Clinton-Connected Land;" "Las Vegas Massacre Possibly Joint Antifa/ISIS Operation;" "Rothschilds and NXIVM Sex Cult Tied to Alleged Human-Trafficking Land;" "Neocon Nikki Haley Betrays Trump, Backs Robert Mueller."
The co-CEO of NewsGuard, a media watchdog, said "Big League Politics" earns a red warning from his organization when it comes trust, transparency and accountability.
"They came up very low," said Steven Brill. "They repeatedly cover false content. They don't gather and present news responsibly. They don't reveal they have an agenda. As you know, the site is run by GOP political consultants who don't reveal that on the site."
The site's name is a nod to the President's verbal tick about things happening "big league," or "bigly."
"Big League Politics" editor-in-chief, Patrick Howley, used to work at two other right-leaning publications, the "Daily Caller," where he had to apologize for sexist had to apologize for sexist tweets, and "Breitbart," where he was suspended after accusing a co-worker of lying.
That said, "Big League Politics" dead right when it came to the photo in Gov. Northam's yearbook.
"I have a daughter who likes to remind me, even a stopped clock is right twice a day," said Brill.
What about the allegation against Lt. Gov. Fairfax?
"We're telling everyone to read that and everything else on the site with at least a grain of salt," said Brill.
Unlike Big League Politics WUSA9, and many other sites, earn a green shields from Newsguard for credibility and transparency.