Drudge: Net Will Cover Real News

The founder of one of the world’s leading independent news sites has warned that the internet will cover the “real” stories if major news groups pass up the chance.

Matt Drudge said small websites like his Drudge Report will continue to publish the “underground” news that the corporations shrink away from.

Speaking to Sky in his first interview for four years, the pioneer behind the influential site also asserted that the web is likely to have a big impact on the forthcoming US presidential elections.

“If we are faced with corporations who don’t want to report real news the internet will play a very valuable role in the underground, catching real stories that are being spiked,” said Drudge.

In addition, he responded to accusations of his site peddling rumour and scandal by saying: “That’s a 1990s discussion - we’re now in a totally new era where information is information and you just really have to set your own threshold in what you believe.

“Just because you get it from an established source doesn’t mean it’s true.”

The Drudge Report achieved global notoriety when it broke the Monica Lewinsky story to the public during the Clinton era.