Topline
The website loser.com is redirecting to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Wikipedia page, making the strongman the latest boldface name to be roasted by the owner of the website, who has used it to ridicule a stream of celebrities and politicians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives at Belfast International Airport on June 17, 2013, in … [+] Northern Ireland for a two-day G8 summit. (Photo by Peter Muhly – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
The website’s owner Brian Connelly rerouted the URL to former President Donald Trump’s Wikipedia page after Trump came in second at the Iowa Caucus in 2016, and once again in 2020 after he refused to concede the presidential election he lost to then-President-elect Joe Biden.
It’s unclear when the website started redirecting to Putin’s Wikipedia page.
The website has previously targeted artist Kanye West in 2015 after he slammed musician Beck at the Grammy Awards, former Vice President Al Gore, Reddit in 2012 and Google.com.
Surprising Fact
Connelly said in a 2015 interview with the Daily Beast that he had at times used the URL to shore up support for websites he wanted to give more traffic to, including former President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 and Wikileaks in 2010.
Key Background
Connelly has told reporters he’s owned the website since 1995, and that his spouse registered the domain for $35. The website came about after he told his spouse about an online “loser wall” he made of unpleasant clients he met while running an internet service provider in South Carolina, according to the Daily Beast.
Further Reading
A short history of Loser.com, the Internet’s best troll (Washington Post)
Loser.com Now Redirects to Donald Trump’s Wikipedia Page (Time)
