Lets Call Bull actually started as a concept in 2015 and after extensive beta testing the website finally went live on 13.06.2017, as the timeline on this site details. It’s been a crazy ride and since then we have seen over 34,000 unique articles uploaded, posted 86 blogs, had hundreds of thousands of user comments added and literally millions of votes cast on the site.
Unfortunately, due to family commitments and daily life getting in the way we are now closing up shop, the servers will be left running for a few months yet so any content that you would like to use, share or view will still be available.
This is not a decision that has been made lightly but financially the site has never made any money, we have never had sponsorship or advertising as we didn’t want there to be any conscious or unconscious bias. It has been totally self-funded (a 5-digit cost, let’s leave it at that!) and a labour of love to genuinely try and help other people recognise lies and propaganda. We wanted give a generation the chance to stop measuring themselves against Instagram and realise the difference between #Fakenews and #TrueNews, and just to be clear that passion still burns bright even though we are closing.
Before we go, we would like to say a special thank you to a few people (in no particular order as you all get participation badges!)...
meltdownman178227, commonly referred to as MDM, a prolific poster and commenter on the site who has been here from the very start. MDM quickly established himself as a strong advocate of the site and has amassed the highest profile score out of everyone with a whopping 233246 points! He's to the point, good humoured and always looking for a friendly rise, you really have brought so much to the site. He also has an ability to link stories to historic articles that is second to none, he must have the memory of an elephant, and definitely the tough skin of one! Thank you for your unwavering support and input it made all the difference for this site.
Bad_Frank, here from the pre-release days helping brain storm ideas for layout and categories, a true friend and the guy to go to if you actually want to get to the truth as the amount of research he does to get to measurable facts is phenomenal. Always one to call it as he sees it and not afraid to have a laugh along the way. It’s been a pleasure to have you along for this ride.
Trinity, actually won our 1-year-old birthday prise draw and has stayed with us ever since. A weekly binge user of the site who added a well balancing voice of reason, she really added another layer to the site and an opinion that would often challenge the flow of conversation in the comments sections. We're going to miss that weekly catch up with you.
Bison, A beta tester for the site that stayed with us, going on to become a prolific uploader who seemed to spend a lot of time calling out The Daily Mail and the tabloids on their repeated BULL as well as a pretty fierce knowledge of the world of entertainment. Sure as tick follows tock he gave it his all every day
Milka, also here from the very beginning with a penchant for ‘Frenchies’ and often lining themselves up for a punchline because of it (honestly search for Bulldog on the site and see the hundreds of articles!) Good natured and happy to participate with loads of tech knowledge and banter. Don’t tell anyone but we’re going to miss the Frenchie madness on the site!
Pinkie, here from the very, very beginning, a huge advocate of this project in so many ways, thank you really is not enough for helping us chase the dream of www.LetsCallBull.com. You’ve been unconditionally supportive at every turn it really has meant the world and made this dream go from a crazy idea in to reality out into the world where millions of people have seen it
And to everyone else out there who have contributed on the site, Insta, Twitter and Facebook please don’t feel your time and input has not been appreciated every step of the way it really, really has THANK YOU. Also thanks for the positive feedback 91% of you thought the site looked good, 89% found it easy to use and 73% would recommend it to a friend according to the poll we took. But beyond that we set out to Call BULL and Call TRUE to on fake news and edited photos at the beginning and over the years the site has genuinely done that and not been afraid to hit repeat offenders.
So, did we make a difference and was it worth it? From a financial perspective I guess you would say no but (much like the implanted BUTT’s that we have called Bull on so many times on this site) it’s a big BUT it has been a success from a moral and wellbeing perspective and I wouldn’t change it for the world. LCB has brought out support, love, friendship and compassion between the people that have used it (especially those named above) and that, that is priceless.
So after an amazing 5 years together we leave you with our undying gratitude for being on this journey with us and with 2 quotes to contemplate…
See you on the other side...
Maxwell
Chief Admin
