Editing Forbes (section)

==Forbes.com==
[[David Churbuck]] founded ''Forbes''{{'}}s web site in 1996. The site uncovered [[Stephen Glass]]'s [[journalistic fraud]] in ''[[The New Republic]]'' in 1998, an article that drew attention to [[internet journalism]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I'm Sorry |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/120145/stephen-glass-new-republic-scandal-still-haunts-his-law-career |access-date=2024-05-16 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583}}</ref> At the peak of media coverage of alleged [[Toyota]] sudden unintended acceleration in 2010, it exposed the California "runaway Prius" as a hoax, as well as running five other articles by Michael Fumento challenging the entire media premise of Toyota's cars gone bad. The website (like the magazine) publishes lists focusing on billionaires and their possessions, especially real estate.<ref name=gawker162725>{{cite web |url=http://www.gawker.com/news/jobs/motley-to-leave-time-inc-plus-more-jobhopping-fun-162725.php |title=Jobs: Motley to Leave Time Inc., Plus More Job-Hopping Fun |work=Gawker |access-date=January 5, 2008 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218092904/http://gawker.com/news/jobs/motley-to-leave-time-inc-plus-more-jobhopping-fun-162725.php |archive-date=February 18, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tognini |first=Giacomo |title=The Richest Real Estate Billionaires In America 2023 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2023/10/04/the-richest-real-estate-billionaires-in-america-2023/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref name="StartupTalky" />

Forbes.com is part of Forbes Digital, a division of Forbes Media LLC. Forbes's holdings include a portion of [[RealClearPolitics]]. Together these sites reach more than 27&nbsp;million unique visitors each month. Forbes.com employs the slogan "Home Page for the World's Business Leaders" and claimed, in 2006, to be the world's most widely visited business web site.<ref name=20060828nytimes>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/technology/28forbes.html |url-access=subscription |title=At Forbes.com, Lots of Glitter but Maybe Not So Many Visitors|first=Peter|last=Edmonston|date=August 28, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 2, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116105748/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/technology/28forbes.html |archive-date= Nov 16, 2012 }}</ref> The 2009 ''Times'' report said that, while "one of the top five financial sites by traffic [throwing] off an estimated $70&nbsp;million to $80&nbsp;million a year in revenue, [it] never yielded the hoped-for [[public offering]]".<ref name="NYT01" />

Forbes.com uses a [[contributor network]] in which a wide network of freelancers ("contributors") writes and publishes articles directly on the website.<ref name="contributorstory" /> Contributors are paid based on traffic to their respective Forbes.com pages; the site has received contributions from over 2,500 individuals, and some contributors have earned over US$100,000, according to the company.<ref name=contributorstory>{{cite web |last=Bartlett |first=Rachel |title=The Forbes contributor model: Technology, feedback and incentives |url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/the-forbes-contributor-model-technology-feedback-and-incentives/s2/a554255/ |publisher=journalism.co.uk |access-date=October 13, 2013|date=September 26, 2013 }}</ref> The contributor system has been criticized for enabling "pay-to-play journalism" and the repackaging of [[public relations]] material as news.<ref name="niemenlab"/> ''Forbes'' currently allows advertisers to publish blog posts on its website alongside regular editorial content through a program called BrandVoice, which accounts for more than 10 percent of its digital revenue.<ref>{{cite news|title=Forbes gives advertisers an editorial voice |publisher=emedia |url=http://www.emediavitals.com/content/forbes-gives-advertisers-editorial-voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109153816/http://www.emediavitals.com/content/forbes-gives-advertisers-editorial-voice |archive-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref> In July 2018, Forbes deleted an article by a contributor who argued that libraries should be closed, and Amazon should open bookstores in their place.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.fastcompany.com/90206661/forbes-seems-to-have-deleted-its-controversial-article-about-amazon-replacing-libraries|title=Forbes deleted its controversial article about Amazon replacing libraries|first=Cale |last=Weissman |date=July 23, 2018|work=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]}}</ref>

As of 2019, the company published 100 articles each day, produced by 3,000 outside contributors who were paid little or nothing.<ref name="hsu">{{cite web |title=Jeffrey Epstein pushed a new narrative; these sites published it |first=Tiffany |last=Hsu |date=July 19, 2019 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/business/media/jeffrey-epstein-media.html |access-date=August 22, 2023 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907032420/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/business/media/jeffrey-epstein-media.html |archive-date= Sep 7, 2023 }}</ref> This business model, in place since 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2012/what-the-forbes-model-of-contributed-content-means-for-journalism/ |title=What the Forbes model of contributed content means for journalism |work=Poynter |last=Sonderman |first=Jeff |date=May 29, 2012 |access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref> "changed their reputation from being a respectable business publication to a [[content farm]]", according to Damon Kiesow, the Knight Chair in digital editing and producing at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.<ref name="hsu"/> Similarly, Harvard University's Nieman Lab deemed Forbes "a platform for scams, grift, and bad journalism" as of 2022.<ref name="niemenlab">{{cite web |title=An incomplete history of Forbes.com as a platform for scams, grift, and bad journalism |author-link=Joshua Benton |last=Benton |first=Joshua |date=February 9, 2022 |work=[[Nieman Foundation for Journalism|Nieman Lab]]|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/02/an-incomplete-history-of-forbes-com-as-a-platform-for-scams-grift-and-bad-journalism/ |access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref>

In 2017, the website blocked internet users using [[ad blocking]] software from accessing articles, demanding that the website be put on the ad blocking software's [[whitelist]] before access was granted.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Bloomberg |title=Ad Blocking Battle Drives Disruptive Innovation |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2017/02/18/ad-blocking-battle-drives-disruptive-innovation/ |work=Forbes |access-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref> Forbes argued that this is done because customers using ad blocking [[software]] do not contribute to the site's revenue. Malware attacks have been noted to occur from the Forbes site.<ref name=extremetech220696>{{cite web |last1=Hruska |first1=Joel |title=Forbes forces readers to turn off ad blockers, promptly serves malware |url=https://www.extremetech.com/internet/220696-forbes-forces-readers-to-turn-off-ad-blockers-promptly-serves-malware |publisher=Extreme Tech |access-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref>

Forbes won the [[2020 Webby Award|2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Business Blog/Website]].<ref name="Kastrenakes">{{cite web |last1=Kastrenakes |first1=Jacob |title=Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/20/21263445/2020-webby-awards-winners-lil-nas-x-nasa-jon-krasinski |website=The Verge |access-date=May 22, 2020 |language=en |date=May 20, 2020}}</ref>