The controversial MyPillow CEO has risen to prominence this year after backing Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Trump once referred to Lindell as “the greatest buyer of advertisements of the history of the world,” according to CNN reporter Daniel Dale.
Lindell has since put together his own social media platform called Frank, which describes itself as “the voice of free speech.”
However, the website is currently down after having been plagued with numerous issues. since its launch last week, users have reported the site’s layout has appeared jumbled and messy, with links and text overlapping.
Newsweek attempted to access the site on Wednesday morning but was directed to a holding page that claimed the site was down because the team is “working on new features.” Newsweek was able to temporarily access the site on Tuesday.
The holding page also included a video that claimed to show “absolute proof with new evidence foreign and domestic enemies used computers to hack the 2020 election.”
When it has worked, the site’s homepage has appeared to be a news site. When the site was active on April 20, articles posted to the homepage had titles such as “What the Welfare State Has Done to America,” and “Left Mocks Police Officer With Injuries, Molotov Cocktails Thrown.”
Last week, Kimmel repeatedly mocked Lindell after the businessman posted a livestream video to promote the Frank site.
Kimmel featured the stream on his show and referred to it as a “48-hour yellathon.” At numerous points during the stream, Lindell hits out at Kimmel for comments he made about him in the past.
Kimmel said Lindell was welcome on the show on two conditions: that he conduct the interview in-person and from a bed surrounded by pillows.
“What Mike Lindell doesn’t seem to understand is, I am his biggest fan. I have no idea what he is doing but I love it. I am enjoying it,” the comedian said.
Meanwhile, a number of groups have called for Lindell’s upcoming appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to be canceled, according to a letter published by activism site Common Cause and found by the Hollywood Reporter.
The letter, dated April 27, is addressed to Kimmel and the show’s producers and was written by groups including Common Cause, the Democracy Initiative, and the League of Women Voters of the United States.
It states: “Mr. Lindell has been a leading voice in spreading lies and disinformation regarding the 2020 election results, including producing several videos claiming that the 2020 elections were hacked.
“We believe that having Mr. Lindell on your show will give him a bigger platform to spread his lies and disinformation, and knowingly mislead the public about the integrity of our election systems.”
Lindell’s company is a pillow manufacturer based in Chaska, Minnesota. It was founded in 2009.
