FreakingNews
 | |
| Company type | Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Web Based |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Vladislav Golunov |
| Products | Visual Media |
| Website | www.freakingnews.com |
Freaking News is a news oriented Photoshop contest site, that came online August 2, 2002 and officially opened on October 23, 2003 as a sister site of Worth1000. According to Alexa Internet, Freaking News is one of the top 10,000 sites in the world.[1] This virtual community of 17,000+ digital artists and members features free daily Photoshop contests that are fueled by global news and events. Since its inception, Freaking News has been featured on television shows, magazines and newspapers, including Comedy Central, MTV, Weekly World News, Glenn Beck Show, Stern Magazine, The Guardian, The Daily News, The Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Mail, and The Sun.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
History
Vladislav Golunov and Rich Taylor became online friends in 2001 when Golunov contacted Taylor after he had seen a photo-manipulated image[13] that Taylor had created under the pseudonym Internet screenname "Registered". Golunov had an existing website that posted humorous images with the visitor being able to leave comments or share the images via email. Taylor's news based parody[14] and satire images[15] have been circulated and often thought to be real[16] by Internet users that had received them, primarily via email or posted in online forums. During one subsequent conversation, Taylor mentioned to Golunov that he wished there existed a community of Photoshoppers that would create, or "chop" images based on current news stories. Following this discussion, Golunov registered the domain and called the site "Freaking News", as a mockery of "breaking news". Golunov bought the edited code for Photoshop contests from Worth1000 - by then an already established Photoshop contest site. Apart from the custom code, Worth1000 played a major role in launching FreakingNews by promoting it to its member artists. Golunov and Taylor remain close friends today, and Golunov is the owner and active administrator of the website, using the moniker, "Newsmaster" while Taylor also is an administrator under the screenname, "Registered".
Google Jet Hoax
On December 6, 2007, Fox News showed the picture of the Google Jet Boeing 767 - Page and Brin's personal plane,[17] without realizing that the picture was a photo hoax created by a Freaking News member for one of the Photoshop contests.[18] Three months earlier, aviation news site Plane Nation, featured the same hoax image as a real photo in their article about the Google Jet Boeing 767.[19] The Business Insider website also published this image on June 4, 2008.[20]
Dora the Explorer Mugshot Controversy
In May 2010 Dora the Explorer mugshot image,[21] created by FreakingNews member AndWhat (Debbie Groben) for a FreakingNews Photoshop contest, was featured in the newspapers, magazines, and TV programs[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] in light of the Arizona's Immigration Law debate. This mugshot image was used in the public rallies and was met with a lot of controversy, revealing some Americans' attitudes about race, immigrants and where some of immigration reform debate may be headed.
See also
References
- ^ "Alexa Rank". Alexa Internet, Inc. 2009-10-23.
- ^ "Celebs with Ears Instead of Eyes". Comedy Central. 2009-07-08.
- ^ "Is Britney The New Courtney?". MTV. 2007-09-20.
- ^ "Bat Boy Contest". Weekly World News. 2009-02-06.
- ^ "Picture of the Day - September 16, 2009". Glenn Beck Show. 2009-09-16.
- ^ "Willkommen in der Horrorshow". Stern. 2007-09-20.
- ^ Williams, Ian (2008-05-30). "Antiviral medicine". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Spitzer Photoshop contest". New York: The Daily News. 2008-03-13.
- ^ "What we like: Photoshop contest sites". The Dallas Morning News. 2006-06-15.
- ^ Garrison, Jessica (2004-06-26). "Wigging Out Over Governor's 'Girlie Men' Remark". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "The two-faced celebrities". London: The Daily Mail. 2009-09-06.
- ^ Masters, Dave (2009-07-19). "Celeb heads in a spin". London: The Sun.
- ^ "Tom Daschle Pledge of Allegiance". Snopes.com. 2001.
- ^ "Does a photograph show Senator John Kerry and Jane Fonda sharing a speaker's platform at an anti-war rally?". Snopes.com. 2004-03-01.
- ^ "Tom Daschle Pledge of Allegiance". Snopes.com. 2001.
- ^ "Soldier Wears "Doing The Work Of..." Patch on His Uniform?". BreakTheChain.org. 2004-05-10.
- ^ "The Greenest Hypocrites of 2007". Fox News. 2007-12-06.
- ^ "Google Plane - Photoshop Contest Entry". Freaking News. 2005-11-05.
- ^ "Sneek peek at the Google Jet Boeing 767". Plane Nation. 2007-09-07.
- ^ "Google Bribes NASA, Gets Use of Land and 767 Runway For 40 Years". The Business Insider. 2008-06-04.
- ^ "Dora the Explorer Mugshot - Photoshop Contest Entry". Freaking News. 2010-05-15.
- ^ "Dora The Illegal Immigrant?". News 5, WLWT-TV. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Dora the Explorer illegal immigrant?". Fox News. 2010-05-24.
- ^ "Dora the Explorer Arrested for Being Illegal Immigrant in Mug Shot". Fox News. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "An atypical adventure for Dora". Herald Tribune. 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Immigration Reform Debate". Yahoo News. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Dora the Explorer Gets Dragged Into Immigration Debate". Tima Magazine. 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Is Dora the Explorer an illegal immigrant?". BBC News. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Is Dora The Explorer an Illegal Immigrant?". ABC News. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Dora the Explorer Caught Up in Immigration Debate". AOL News. 2010-05-21.
- ^ "Dora The Explorer Immigration Debate". Fox News. 2010-05-23.