Jeff Danziger lives in New York City and Vermont. He is a long time cartoonist for The Rutland Herald and is represented by Counterpoint Syndicate. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons, a novel and a memoir. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.
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Peter Thiel
The Right Stuff, a conservative dating app funded by gay billionaire Peter Thiel, is showing signs of failure barely three months after its launch.
In October, the app had 40,000 downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower, an analytics firm cited by The Daily Beast. But between November 1 and December 20, the app had just 11,000 downloads.
“The Right Stuff is all about getting into the right dating pool with people who share the same values and beliefs as you,” an early promotional ad for the app proclaimed. The ad featured only white people, including Ryann McEnany, the younger sister of Donald Trump’s former White House secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
“Other dating apps have gone woke,” the app’s website says. “Quit swiping, scrolling, and trolling the wrong people. Connect with people who aren’t offended by everything.”
However, the app is only available on Apple iPhones (not Google Android phones), it doesn’t allow same-sex matches, it doesn’t allow transgender and non-binary users, and its current users are complaining about its invite-only verification process.
On December 19 review says, “I downloaded this app more than two months ago, even got sent a package from them to become an ambassador, and STILL have not been accepted onto the app. That’s ridiculous and unacceptable.”
“How can someone in a heavily liberal area get an invite… Most people around this area wouldn’t download this app, much less send an invite,” another reviewer wrote. “Rather dumb.”
The profile creation process also asks users to list their “favorite liberal lie” and thoughts about the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots. Two reviewers claimed that FBI and police officers visited their homes after filling out their profiles.
One reviewer, Bradenwh wrote, “I answered the question about January 6th honestly and the next day I have two police officers at my door telling me that they got a call alleging that I was involved in domestic terrorism??? This app was clearly created by Democrats as a way to subvert our constitutional rights as conservative Americans. Do not use this app unless you want to be harassed by left-wing fascists.”
A Right Stuff spokesperson told Gizmodo, “The claims that users were contacted by the FBI or that we forwarded information to law enforcement are completely false.”
The app will likely follow a long line of little-known and failed right-wing dating apps like Righter, Donald Dater, TrumpSingles, Patrio, MAGA Mingle, and Conservatives Only.
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.
