WND's Book Bargain

WorldNetDaily remains alive for the time being, but now it wants you to give it even more money to publish editor Joseph Farah's new book (though you can already buy it in digital form).

By Terry Krepel
Posted 6/28/2018

Joseph Farah

Editor Joseph Farah's March 1 letter to readers declared that WND met its $200,000 crowdfunding goal by that day's deadline -- in a not-terribly-transparent two-month campaign that didn't really explain why that deadline was so hard and fast or why he needed that exact amount of money -- adding, "You have provided the cushion we needed to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps so we could fight another day."

Farah also shared "some exciting plans for the future – even if I can’t provide the details today":

We are working with a non-profit foundation through which we can more efficiently produce the kind of content that makes WND unique as an independent media pioneer and a Christian one at that. Once we’ve got everything set up – and we hope that is soon – we’ll have a way for future contributions to supplement WND’s content to be tax-deductible.

We are developing a new revenue stream that is very exciting – even revolutionary, I would say. And that’s what it takes for independent media to survive and flourish when they are playing on an uneven playing field designed that way purposely by the Internet Cartel to make our work next to impossible. More on that to come shortly.

Going nonprofit would bring WND back to its roots; it was founded in 1997 as a division of the Farah-founded nonprofit Western Journalism Center before being spun off a couple years later as a for-profit operation. The WJC, by the way, still exists, run by Farah buddy Floyd Brown and presenting itself as a training center and laughably insisting that its goal is to "nurture, develop and deploy top notch classically educated journalists of integrity who will report the news in an unbiased fashion," despite being staffed with right-wing operatives like, uh, Joseph Farah.

Farah could also be doing something like the Daily Caller does in having its reporters actually employed by a nonprofit while the ostensibly for-profit WND benefits from all their work.

As far as the "a new revenue stream that is very exciting" goes, well, who knows? An organization that is partly nonprofit and partly for-profit is tricky to manage, since a nonprofit is generally not allowed to be as explicitly political as WND has been over the years.

And, once again, Farah refused to address the problematic, conspiracy-mongering, fake news-laden content that helped bring WND to this state. Further, if WND is going to become part of a nonprofit, is Farah really the best person to continue running it, given that it was under his watch that WND was mismanaged to its apparent loss of independence? He can't blame everything on Google and Facebook, after all (not that he isn't trying to do exactly that).

Book crowdfunding

Chuck Norris devoted his March 25 WND column to "a review of an excellent, inspiring and insightful book by Joseph Farah, CEO and editor-in-chief of WND, titled, 'The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament,' to be released in fall 2018," in which Farah "literally goes through all 39 books of the Old Testament Scriptures (the same combined 24 books of the Tanakh), and reveals Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom in each one." Norris concluded his column by gushing of the book: "I wholeheartedly recommend it to every person who either venerates the Bible as the Word of God or is simply curious to expound its original intent and often lost meanings."

Farah returned the favor in a column the next day about the column "my buddy Chuck Norris" wrote about his book. And he engaged in some self-promotional gushing of his own:

There’s just one problem: The book will not be out for nearly six months.

But it is, without doubt, of all the many books I have written and collaborated on, the most exciting to me. It’s all I want to talk about, yet, I dare not. Why? Because it’s not for release until September.

[...]

Anyone who actually knows me, speaks to me for more than five minutes or even anyone who has run into me in the last six or eight months knows that this book is my obsession.

I’m not going to tell you any more about than that, except to say, “The title explains it all.”

Have you ever heard anyone make that claim before? Is it really possible that the Gospel can be found in every book of the Old Testament – all 39? That’s what I wanted to know when I set out to research it. While researching “Restitution,” I was overwhelmed with how much Gospel I found in the Hebrew Scriptures. I wondered out loud to people if it could be true that it was in every book. So I started searching the difficult books, the ones that seemed most unlikely to contain the Gospel message. And when I found it in those, I knew I had something.

Farah then added this:

In fact, to add even more confusion to my literary repertoire, if that is possible, I’m also currently working on a new, updated and expanded edition of “Restitution.” And here’s more information you don’t need or want. I am simultaneously working on a book to follow-up “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament.”

So, let me simplify all this for you: There’s only one book I am still currently promoting, “The Restitution of All Things.” It’s got a lot of life in it. It’s unique in the marketplace. And look what it led to! All I want to write about now is the Word, the Holy Scriptures, what the Holy Spirit is showing me as I study them.

Could it be that one reason WND has been skirting the edge of extinction is because its editor and majority owner was too busy writing books instead of devoting the necessary time to keep his business afloat and reputable and keeping it from circling the financial drain amid a morass of fake news?

Farah closed out his column with a final gush: "And, did I forget to say a hearty thank you to my buddy Chuck Norris for the glowing praise? Many, many thanks and blessings to you, to Gena and to your great pastor, Todd." That's presumably a reference to Todd DuBord, the pastor who reportedly ghostwrites Norris' column (and has a bad habit of plagiarism).

A few weeks later, though, WND revealed that Norris' column was part of a very calculated campaign led by Farah to promote his book -- and to raise money to publish it. An April 20 WND article proclaimed:

In announcing a fundraising project for what is described as a “breakthrough Bible book,” WND and WND Books has enlisted a who’s who of Christian leaders who are enthusiastically endorsing “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament.”

Researched and written by Joseph Farah over the last three years, the unique book officially releases in September following a grass-roots funding effort designed to provide the companies with the financial resources to print a first run of at least 100,000 copies to meet what is already projected to be massive demand from the public.

Among those endorsing the book are Franklin Graham, Mike Huckabee, Chuck Norris, Greg Laurie, Jack Van Impe, David Barton, Dinesh D’Souza, Jonathan Bernis, Michael Brown, Sid Roth and Ray Comfort.

[...]

The campaign to support the book permits both free-will, non-deductible donations as well as tax-deductible contributions through an allied non-profit.

The article is illustrated with the cover of the "Special VIP Advance Reader Copy" Farah has sending to those Christian leaders to create buzz and, presumably, troll for blurbs.

The BreakthroughBibleBook.com URL redirects to the WND online store page for the book, while the OldTestamentGospel.com URL redirects to a WND page with the hard sell for the money pitch:

While ministries around the country are eagerly awaiting the release of the book, which has already been approved for sale by Franklin Graham for the Billy Graham Library and being considered now for sale in the Museum of the Bible, WND and WND Books does not have the financial resources to print the first 100,000 books, which will cost over $200,000.

There’s also a long delay in actually receiving the money in book sales. Bookstores make big orders – essentially on consignment. It’s not unusual to be receiving revenues from actual sales six to 12 months later. Since this book is what is called an “evergreen” in the industry, the book is sure to sell for many, many years – because there is no competition in the marketplace and because the substance of the book never changes or becomes outdated. But WND also currently has no advertising budget to support this book – something that would result in the word getting out for faster sales.

So, the need is great – beyond $200,000. That’s just a start.

Can you help WND raise at least $200,000 right now with your tax-deductible contributions or your free-will non-deductible gifts directly to WND so we can help spread this vital Gospel message?

WND didn't explain why the first printing needs to be 100,000 copies, nor did it explain why it doesn't do a slow rollout of the book instead, using profits from the initial printing to pay for more copies.

The page also detailed the tax-deductible component:

We invite you, your organization or church to become a patron for “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament” by making a tax-deductible grant or donation of $10,000 or more to the “The Gospel Book Project” direct to Gospel for All Nations by special arrangement with author Joseph Farah who wants to hear from you directly. Donors will also shortly receive a pre-publication collector edition Special Advance Reader Copy signed by the author as well as an autographed first edition copy that will include the list of patrons, if they so choose to be listed. If you are in a position to arrange such a grant or donation, please email the author at jfarah@wnd.com to set up a personal briefing, thanks and instructions.

Gospel for All Nations is a ministry -- seemingly consisting of just a man, his wife and their daughter -- that, according to its website, "exists to take The Gospel of Jesus to the nations of the world, focusing in particular on the least reached nations." It's unclear what, exactly, the connection is between Gospel for All Nations and Farah and WND.

It seems that begging WND readers for money to keep his operation afloat agrees so well with Farah that he's doing it again -- but with the added twist of tax-deductible contributions through a nonprofit ministry through a relationship that has not been publicly defined.

WND later shed a little more light on that nonprofit donation deal:

Gospel for All Nations, a ministry focused on bringing the “Good News” to the least reached peoples of the world, has “adopted” Joseph Farah’s upcoming book release, “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament,” providing a non-profit, tax-exempt opportunity for churches, corporations, foundations and individuals to support what is being called a “breakthrough Bible book,” WND and WND Books have announced.

Farah says voluntary financial support is desperately needed to meet the overwhelming public demand for the book, which systematically finds the Gospel in all 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Like dozens of other Christian leaders who have endorsed the book – including Franklin Graham, Mike Huckabee, Ben Kinchlow, Ray Comfort, Jack Van Impe and Greg Laurie – Gospel for All Nations sees the book as a breakthrough because of its focus on a forgotten component of the Gospel which Jesus and His disciples emphasized.

“This project fits squarely within our own objectives as an organization: to disseminate the gospel message,” said Richmond Douglas, ministerial and worldwide missions director of Gospel for All Nations.

Farah urges those seeking a tax-exemption to send their contributions directly to Gospel for All Nations to help defray the costs of printing and promotion of “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament” for its September release.

“We literally need hundreds of thousands of dollars to get this book into churches for educational and evangelism purposes as well as to the retail stores across the country, which are expressing high demand for it and its focus on what Jesus called ‘the Gospel of the Kingdom,'” said Farah.

The way WND puts scare quotes around "adopted" tells us there's something more going on -- which neither WND nor Gospel for All Nations (which simply reprinted the WND article) apparently want to talk about. It appears that it's a business deal of some sort in which Gospel for All Nations agrees to lend its tax-deductible status to WND for unspecified things in return. Shouldn't they publicly disclose the nature of this relationship before anyone donates money to it?

As before, Farah and WND never demonstrate that there is "overwhelming public demand" for Farah's book (beyond the blurbs they solicited through those "special VIP advance reader copies" it sent out) or why they need $200,000 for a massive first printing of it, instead of doing what many small publishers do by starting small and using the profits from those sales to publish more books. They also don't explain why, if the book is such a sure thing, why WND can't get a bank loan for the initial printing. Is it because WND's credit is so ruined that no bank will lend to them?

There's still a whiff of shadiness to this entire venture -- something that could be dispelled if WND would be more forthcoming about its financial situation and its arrangement with Gospel for All Nations.

Going digital

For all this fund-raising hype, though, WND decided to undercut that case by going digital. A June 4 WND article tried to spin things as best it could:

While the hardcover edition of the highly acclaimed “The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament” won’t release to bookstores nationwide until September, due to high demand and anticipation for Joseph Farah’s “breakthrough Bible book,” WND Books is making the digital e-book version available immediately in the WND Superstore and at Amazon.

[...]

The one-of-a-kind book has already attracted large advance orders from both Christian ministries and bookstore chains has been “adopted” by missions organization Gospel for All Nations, which is accepting tax-deductible contributions and grants to support the large first printing of an expected 100,000 copies.

The decision to release the e-book months before the hardcover is also an effort to generate the funds necessary for the large first printing necessary to meet unprecedented demand – the largest in WND Books’ 20-year history.

The claim that the digital release is intended to help fund the physical release -- and coming months before the planned physical release as well -- tells us that the fundraising campaign isn't going well.

Again, what WND doesn't say is more important than what it does. Where's the proof of these massive "advance orders" for the book? If those orders are so solid, why can't WND simply get a bank loan to finance the publishing? And why the scare quotes around "adopted"? Why not just tell readers the nature of the deal with Gospel for All Nations that lets WND take tax-deductible donations?

Meanwhile, the digital campaign doesn't seem to be going well. As of this writing, Farah's book is ranked No. 182,120 at Amazon's Kindle Store for e-books, and No. 52,132 in the "Religion & Spirituality" section. Even in one highly specialized category, it's ranked only 164th. That seems to contradict the idea of "unprecedented demand" for the book that Farah and WND claim exists.

Most of the article, meanwhile, is taken up with blurbs from Farah's fellow right-wing Christians touting the book -- which are little more than logrolling and not indicative of the book's quality or value.

Logrolling in our time

Speaking of logrolling, Farah and WND leaned heavily into that for the next phase of trying to raise money for that unusually huge first printing that Farah and WND have yet to justify.

Farah's June 10 column focused on WND's partner of sorts, Gospel for All Nations:

I treasure a group that offered itself as a “partner” on the immense publishing challenge such a big book presents – my new friends at the missions organization Gospel for All Nations.

In the case of GFAN, I didn’t ask for their help in taking in tax-deductible contributions in support of the project, they offered it. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about their work.

I want to share what I learned with you, because even if GFAN was not helping me and WND with this immense and overwhelming project, it’s a group worthy of your support. In fact, I would say if you’re like me and you can’t wait for Jesus to come back, you need to get to know the missions organization Gospel for All Nations.

Farah went on to tout the group's humble origins" as "a study group and Facebook ministry." He didn't, however, explain exactly what the deal between GFAN and WND entails regarding those tax-deductible contributions.

The same day, an anonymous WND staffer wrote a fawning article about evangelist Jack Van Impe:

Almost everyone with a television channel changer has seen his TV show that aired across America from the 1970s through 2017. It would be nearly impossible to have missed him and his wife, Rexella, on “Jack Van Impe Presents” for any channel surfer. The man known as “The Walking Bible,” for his complete memorization of the entire New Testament and most of the Old, was seemingly everywhere on TV for more than 40 years, especially late at night on independent channels and Christian networks. It was a fixture, a mix of Bible prophecy, news analysis and the good old-fashioned Gospel.

But beginning in 2005, he was hit with what would become a series of life-threatening health problems – cancer, sepsis, heart disease that led to open-heart surgery, a fall leading to a broken hip. He experienced nearly complete memory loss and his ability to speak for months. On May 27, 2017, the Van Impes decided to air their final show after several seemingly miraculous recoveries.

However, they’re back once again – this time with a burgeoning new international radio ministry – a kind of “resurrection” for the 87-year-old who insists God is not finished with him yet. And he’s not even completely finished with TV, still doing special segments on YouTube, an outreach they began in 2014.

“Until the Lord takes me,” he told WND, “I’m going to keep doing what He commanded us to do – take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth so that we can fulfill the Great Commission and see His return.”

Unmentioned in the article: Van Impe supplied a blurb promoting Farah's book:

Van Impe, the legendary television and radio Bible teacher who is known for memorizing the entire New Testament, wrote: “Never before has anyone offered a more complete and comprehensive, book-by-book exploration of the Gospel in the Hebrew Scriptures. Joseph Farah’s ‘The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament’ is a triumph and an amazing resource for every pastor and every Bible study leader who understands the importance of the Gospel of the Kingdom Jesus preached. It’s even more important for those pastors and Bible study teachers who don’t understand it. Revolutionary!”

Sucking up to someone as an apparent reward for penning a blurb is not terribly becoming./ But then, WND and Farah are nothing if not shameless.

Farah plays the Satan card

For all of this hype and spin, however, fundraising is not going well to get Farah's book published. So Farah has decided to blame Satan himself for it.

In a June 15 email to the WND mailing list carrying the headline "Satan evidently doesn't want you to read this email," Farah wrote:

I'm not joking when I say Satan doesn't want you to read this email.

I’ve been sending emails to our hundreds of thousands of subscribers for more than 20 years, but I’ve never had such a tough time getting one delivered as I have with this one.

It must be as important as I believe it is.

So, here’s my third try ...

Two days later, Farah sent out the same letter with the same headline.

On June 21, Farah dropped the ambiguity, affirmatively declaring in the headline that "Satan doesn't want you to read this email." He went on to write: "I don’t make this claim lightly: Satan is pulling out all the stops in subverting plans for the release of the most important book I have ever written. ... But the opposition comes in all forms – health challenges, financial crises, technology issues, you name it!"

Farah is so invested in this particular bit of victimhood that he rehashed in his June 21 WND column -- headlined "Satan doesn't want you to read this column" -- in which he sorta likens himself to Jesus in the process of shilling for money:

But, of course, who was it that opposed Jesus – who tempted Him in the wilderness? Who is it that hates the Gospel more than anyone?

And that’s the kind of opposition I am experiencing. It’s palpable. It’s not like anything I have ever before witnessed in my own life.

Why am I baring my soul like this publicly? Because I know I am talking to the widest audience of friends I can reach. I desperately covet your prayers to strengthen me for this challenge.

After all, that is the greatest weapon Jesus has given us. It is what He Himself relied upon during His earthly ministry.

[...]

What I will not do is go into many specifics about the opposition I am experiencing – the kind that affects everyone around me. It comes in many forms – from financial crisis to health challenges to technology breakdowns to a multitude of distractions.

Well, you know, Joe, if you're claiming that Satan is at the root of your troubles -- particularly those that require other people to give you money to get out of -- perhaps you should provide some details so readers can judge if that "opposition" is satanically inspired or self-inflicted.

Farah concluded: "Thank you. And please act quickly! I am besieged." He didn't mention that he brought no small part of this besiegement upon himself by publishing fake news and bogus conspiracy theories.