National Review Offers Free Porn

A special surprise was waiting this morning for those who subscribe to Jim Geraghty's Jolt newsletter.

A special surprise was waiting this morning for those who subscribe to Jim Geraghty‘s Jolt newsletter.

Well, here’s an awful start to Monday morning: apparently the links in today’s Jolt are sending people to porn sites. The version I sent along to the editors seems fine (you can see a portion in the preview post here) so there must be some issue with the link-shortener used in the editing process. (Without the link-shortener, in some e-mail programs every link URL is listed within the text and makes the Jolt hard to read with an iPhone or Blackberry or other mobile device.) While I’m not a tech guy, I suspect somebody messed with the URL shortener so that it redirects to the bad sites.

Alternatively, someone at NRO is trying to replicate HuffPo’s business model but doing it badly. Hint: while sex can drive up pageviews, the content in question has to actually be on your site to derive benefit.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. michael reynolds says:

    Was it all transvestite porn like the above picture?

  2. Brett says:

    You don’t even need the po*rn content, James. Just put it in your post label somewhere.

    I suspect you could probably drive first-time traffic here at OTB sky-high if you labeled every other post “hot juicy sl*uts”.

    I didn’t want to trigger your spam filter, so I put “*” in key words.

  3. James Joyner says:

    @Brett: Yes, I discovered that a few years back. I spun off the Gone Hollywood site instead.

  4. Brett #2 says:

    I spun off the Gone Hollywood site instead.

    I like that website. There’s nothing wrong with integrating sensational/pop/scandalous stuff in the same area as your more serious content. Newspapers have been doing that for centuries.

  5. James Joyner says:

    @Brett #2

    Yeah, but they do it in separate sections. Except the Brits. Gone Hollywood was originally “OTB Gone Hollywood” and a subdomain of this site. The main advertising network insisted that I give it its own domain, as it’s apparently easier to market that way.

  6. actor212 says:

    Wouldn’t a photo of an actual girl make this article more appealing?