Our goal was to find websites that fit the populist niche of the conservative movement. We scoured the internet and measured them both for content and usability.
What is a conservative populist?
Conservative populism is anti-establishment, socially traditional, and economically pragmatic. They recognize problems with the current ruling class – both in the Democratic Party and Republican Party. Conservative populism considers the “elite” to be the enemy of the American people – though they recognize the need for a good ruling elite. They want safe cities, healthy communities, and ordered lifestyles. This is often considered the “Trump wing” of the Republican Party. It can also mean ‘New Right’ or ‘American nationalist’.
How do we measure the best conservative populist news websites?
There are four metrics with which the following websites were judged. Each was metric was given a score out of 10 points:
- Point of View: how well do the website authors curate and write content focused on the needs of American conservative populists?
- Ease of Use: how easy is it to read an article? Navigate the website? Take in the most important content?
- Mobile Functionality: Is the website easy to use on mobile devices?
- Depth of Content: Do they have original editorials? Do they have on-the-ground reporting? Do they publish frequently?
Best Populist Conservative News Websites
12) National File
POV: 9/10
Ease of Use: 4/10
Mobile: 4/10
Depth of Content: 7/10
Total Score: 24
National File is a right-wing media publication focusing on culture, politics, and tech stories related to the ‘New Right’. Many of the team members have experience at Breitbart and the Daily Caller. The website design utilizes a traditional masonry-style block layout with interlaced ads supporting the site.
11) Gateway Pundit
POV: 7/10
Ease of use: 6/10
Mobile: 6/10
Depth of content: 5/10
Total Score: 24
Gateway Pundit covers news stories that “Heartland Americans” care about. Founded by Jim Hoft in 2004, Gateway Pundit publishes editorial-style articles online and through a newsletter. They are disdained by other news organizations like Forbes and the Washington Post.
Their website is a masonry-style feed, with inlaid advertising. This advertising results in a small amount of page shift – which is understandable. Overall, a good site with good content.
10) Daily Caller
POV: 7/10
Ease of Use: 7/10
Mobile: 6/10
Depth of Content: 5/10
Total Score: 25
Daily Caller is a classic news website publication with full-time reporters and editors providing investigations, entertainment, and commentary. Founded by Fox TV legend Tucker Carlson and co-founded/published by Neil Patel. Daily Caller focuses on primarily political news and cultural issues.
The website is supported by advertising. A simple, clean layout with straightforward, unpretentious fonts.
9) The National Pulse
POV: 7/10
Ease of Use: 7/10
Mobile: 6/10
Depth of Content: 6/10
Total Score: 26
The National Pulse is run by former Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam. Kassam is a good friend of Steve Bannon and has co-hosted the “Warroom” podcast with Bannon in the past. National Pulse provides news and investigations from a populist perspective. The editorial staff focuses heavily on anti-Chinese Communist Party content angles.
Originally launched as a political campaign blog in 2016, the website transitioned to a news site and podcast in 2020. According to their website, Natalie Winters leads research for the news and reporting content. The website has a classy font with an upscale feel. Supported by ads and memberships.
8) American Moment
POV: 10/10
Ease of use: 7/10
Mobile: 6/10
Depth of Content: 4/10
Total Score: 26
Less of a news site, more of an organizational landing page. American Moment is an organization dedicated to preparing the next generation of bureaucrats to staff the next right-wing populist conservative to become president. These folks made the list due to producing podcast content in the populist conservative niche.
A good site with a selection of blog content, podcasts and policy papers. The featured content is from 3 to 6 months ago as of this writing – meaning the aspects of the website are not updated as often as content is produced on other platforms. American Moment has an excellent podcast with a wide variety of guests.
7) Populist Press
POV: 9/10
Ease of Use: 5/10
Mobile: 5/10
Depth of Content: 8/10
Total Score: 27
Populist Press is a news aggregation site with an in-house publishing section. It feels similar to Drudge Report in style and function, with a single page of red and black underlined links. Publishing a wide variety of news and opinion, the energy comes from a populist perspective on American and international politics.
It’s unclear who publishes the website, though it likely has ties to populist and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. It is ad-supported.
6) ZeroHedge
POV: 9/10
Ease of Use: 6/10
Mobile: 6/10
Depth of Content 8/10
Total Score: 29
ZeroHedge’s primary focus is finance, cryptocurrency, and economic news. Launched in 2009 by Daniel Ivandjiiski, ZeroHedge offers written opinions and aggregated news catered toward economic populism.
The style of ZeroHedge feels simple and retro. A simple color pallet of black, gray, white, and yellow are used to present plain text articles. Loads of advertising exists on each webpage, supporting the website. Very great content niche, with a good website.
5) Breitbart
POV: 7/10
Ease of Use: 6/10
Mobile: 9/10
Depth of Content: 8/10
Total score: 30
Breitbart has been around since 2005. It was founded by the late Andrew Breitbart, a pioneer in the new media landscape of the early 2000s. Notable right-wing populist Steve Bannon was one of the original co-founders and executive chairman of the news site.
The website uses aggressive, large fonts to generate attention. Each section of the website has its own editorial staff. Very easy to use and catchy. Excellent mobile experience – each of the headlines is readable and the home page is easily browsed even on a small iPhone.
4) American Greatness
POV: 9/10
Ease of Use: 7/10
Mobile: 7/10
Depth of Content: 7/10
Total Score: 30
An online publication with top-notch editorial content. American Greatness approaches the issues of immigration, elections, and culture through the lens of American nationalism. Pedro Gonzalas and Michael Anton are notable contributors to the project, with Anton being a senior contributing editor.
The site is easy to use and presented in a clear fashion. Traditional fonts with blue and red accents. The site is ad-supported.
3) Chronicles Magazine
POV: 10/10
Ease of Use: 7/10
Mobile: 7/10
Depth of Content: 7/10
Total Score: 31
Chronicles Magazine is a website with opinion content and a portal for membership/subscription to their monthly magazine. One of the best publications in the populist/nationalist wing of the conservative movement, Chronicles offers in-depth content from the likes of Patrick Buchannon and Pedro Gonzalas.
Most of the free online content is in the form of blog posts or reviews. Very intellectual and high-brow, this is the type of content you could gift your pipe-smoking, pontificating uncle. The site is fast and responsive. No ads appear on the site due to Chronicles subscription support. Good site, a great magazine, and an excellent point of view.
Notable staff includes Devin Foley, publisher, Paul Gottfried, editor-in-chief, and Edward Welsch, executive editor.
2) Human Events
POV: 7/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Mobile: 9/10
Depth of Content: 7/10
Total Score: 32
Human Events is a conservative magazine publication dating back to 1944. The old publication was even popular with Ronald Reagan, who was a subscriber of the magazine. The brand was purchased and relaunched by lawyer Will Chamberlain and industry veteran Raheem Kassam to include original online content. The focus of the site is editorial content according to Chamberlain. Contributors include Jack Posobiec and Charlie Kirk (who are both editors as of recent).
The website is easy to use and initiative. Of all the candidates on this list, Human Events has the best overall design. Fonts are done in Romanesque style. Large hero images splatter across each page, with custom design and graphics. The site is supported by ads, monthly subscriptions, and donations.
1) Revolver.News
POV: 10/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Mobile: 5/10
Depth of Content: 10/10
Total Score: 32
Revolver.News is the pinnacle of the conservative populist ideasphere. Founded by former White House speechwriter Darren J. Beattie, the website is a cross between news aggregator and high-profile editorial content. Beattie’s team curates articles, videos, memes, and news stories from a nationalist/populist perspective – often incorporating niche online humor.
The editorial and investigative pieces in the “Revolver Exclusive” are some of the hardest-hitting, most researched, most thought-out pieces of writing to date. Beattie was instrumental in the collapse of the January 6th narrative and a point man on recognizing color revolutions as they happen.
The site is fun to use and semi-addictive due to the news aggregation style. Ad-supported, but with the option to remove ads by purchasing a subscription.
Revolver.News is the best conservative populist website on the internet.