Popehat is a
law-oriented
blog.[1] According to its tagline, Popehat is a "group complaint about law, liberty, and leisure". Its primary blogger, American attorney Ken White,[2] writes about law,
scams, and
freedom of expression on the
Internet[3] in a blunt, often crass
style. A
Twitter account under the same name was later established, and amassed hundreds of thousands of followers.
History
Popehat was established in 2005, "aborted because we have lives," and restarted in 2007.[1] After having a low profile for many years, the blog came to widespread attention in 2012 for its coverage of
The Oatmeal and FunnyJunk legal dispute involving
Charles Carreon, as well as the US Olympic Committee's cease and desist letters to knitters on Ravelry for scheduling a "Ravelypmics."[4] It has also covered
swatting,[5]IsAnybodyDown?,[6]Prenda Law,[7]scam letters,[8] and
SLAPP issues.[9] The blog sometimes helps arrange pro bono counsel for affected bloggers (the "Popehat Signal")[10] including
PZ Myers.[11]
The blog was originally anonymous[17] but White's identity was eventually uncovered.[18] White, a former assistant US attorney, was a partner at Brown, White and Osborn as of 2020.[19] White's fellow bloggers (anonymous or known to various degrees) have included Adam Steinbaugh,[20] Charles, David, Derrick, Grandy,
Marc Randazza, Patrick, and a bovine character named Via Angus.
In January 2009, the Popehat Twitter account was established. Known for updating his handle to reflect Twitter's trending topic of the day, primary tweeter Ken White continues to comment on legal issues in a humorous but substantive way. He is generally an advocate for broad free speech rights and reform of the criminal justice system.[21][22][23]
In August 2020, the original blog website announced that it was being discontinued and would be preserved only as a historical artifact, with new posts going to a replacement
Substack site instead.[24]
Popehat's Twitter account was cited in 2021 as helping spearhead sarcastic responses to Texas
RepresentativeDan Crenshaw's form for Internet users to submit stories of "
woke" impositions on the military.[25]