AMERICA MISSION
Jason Fyk, A Free Speech Advocate & Section 230 Reformer
His story is a modern-day David vs. Goliath.
In this bonus edition of Faces of Intrepidity, a series where America Mission™ explores the brave and dauntless figures that the culture war has to offer, we’re profiling Jason Fyk. He’s an American entrepreneur known for his role in digital media and a free speech activist.
The Early Days
Jason Fyke attended Penn State University in the 90s to pursue a degree in Business Administration. Fyk started his entrepreneurship journey in his 20s by selling Jeep parts on eBay in 2002. He then transitioned into real estate. His real estate business flourished and he managed multiple properties.
Money Woes
Fyk’s financial troubles began around 2005. As time went on, the real estate market turned on him. Eventually, Fyk went into a financial tailspin. With a wife and a young child to support, he raced to find a new way to generate income.
WTF!
At his friends’s nudging, Fyk launched WTF Magazine in 2010, an online platform for humorous content akin to College Humor. It quickly gained traction through social media. By leveraging platforms like Facebook, he managed to build a significant following, with his pages amassing millions of followers and generating substantial revenue through advertising and partnerships. His business model involved creating numerous pages, not just for his magazine but also for various interests, thereby maximizing his reach and influence. Unfortunately for Fyk, things took another turn for the worse.
Framed
Shortly after WTF launched, Fyk found himself behind bars after driving up to Baltimore to interview an American stunt group, the Adrenaline Crew, for a story. They were all hanging out in a parking lot, about to drive to the interview location, but things became chaotic when a drunken brawl broke out. Fyk stood off to the side and began filming the fight on his phone. Eventually, he stopped recording and tried to break up the fight when things got serious. Fyk was blamed for planning the altercation and charged with attempted murder by some corrupt cops.
“During my first interview, I caught a small fight on my cell phone camera and was arrested and framed by some dirty cops for conspiracy to commit attempted murder.”
Fyk was thrown in jail and had to spend the little money his family had left on an attorney. Two months later, the charges were dropped and Fyk was released from prison, but the damage had been done.
The Comeback
Broke as a joke, Fyk tried to think of ways to make a lot of money quickly. He felt his surreal jail story would make for a compelling book.
Unfortunately, Fyk wasn’t an established writer and knew the only way to sell a book would be to build a following. So, Fyk kept his head down and worked on his business. He eventually owned about 40 Facebook pages and garnered more than 28 million “likes” in total. The pages reached 260 million+ people on Facebook and the distribution list sent his website tens of millions of monthly page views.
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-jason-fyk-wtf-magazine-became-a-facebook-millionaire-2014-6
At the height of his career, around 2013 to 2015, his social media success earned him multiple millions a year in advertising revenue, which he combined with other businesses. He started Post Influencing, a social media consulting firm and Appularity, “a picture sharing application based around time, geographic location and popularity”. Fyk had achieved the American dream, becoming a multi-millionaire by his 40s. However, his luck was about to run out again.
One Step Forward, two steps back
Fyk faced significant setbacks in 2016 after several of his pages were unpublished by Facebook. This led to a drop in revenue and reach.
Between 2016 and 2017, Fyk attempted to recover his pages through a third party, which led to selling WTF Magazine to a competitor to regain control of his pages.
Fyk founded the Social Media Freedom Foundation in 2018, a 501c3 dedicated to “restoring freedom online” by fighting for Section 230 reform. That same year, he sued Facebook and later petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the correct interpretation of Section 230. Unfortunately for Fyk, SCOTUS denied his Writ.
In 2022, Fyk filed a constitutional challenge of Section 230. He received public Amicus support from Congressman Gohmert on the US Capitol’s steps.
This Fight is Far From Over
Back in September, Fyk made a guest appearance on The Culture War with Tim Pool to discuss his views on Section 230 and his legal battle.
After years stuck in court, the Ninth Circuit relocated Fyk’s case from San Francisco to San Jose, then Pasadena. A date was set for his first hearing on the proper application of Section 230 – on November 22.
Jason Fyk joined America Mission on the 14th to talk about his legal battle against Facebook.
Fyk updated America Mission on the status of his case. The hearing set for the 22nd was vacated because they had enough information to rule on the briefs. In other words, the court decided there was sufficient information in the briefs to make a ruling without further oral argument.
On November 19th, Fyk joined The Octagon to hang out with America Mission again and provide updates.
America Mission confirmed this update with Jason Fyk while writing this article on November 25th.
“Yeah, the courts have submitted it for ruling on the 22nd based on the briefs alone. A panel of judges who have seemingly not ruled on Section 230 before have been appointed albeit they are a Clinton, Obama, and Biden appointment which is disheartening. We can now only wait and see.”
- Jason Fyk, 11/25
The 9th Circuit will review the legal briefs submitted by both parties, potentially deliberate, draft a decision, finalize it, and then issue their decision. Interested readers can track the case.
Tune in Next Time
Jason Fyk’s journey through the digital landscape has been as tumultuous as it has been pioneering. From the heights of social media success to the depths of legal battles with tech giants, his story is one of resilience against the backdrop of an ever-evolving digital world. Despite the trials and tribulations, Fyke continues to advocate for digital rights through his Social Media Freedom Foundation. America Mission™ will continue keeping tabs on Jason’s story so that our readers stay informed of the latest info in the fight for free speech.
America Mission™’s timeline on
Jason Fyk’s past.
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