14:09

The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt, claiming not to have been previously a regular Breitbart reader, immersed himself in the site for two days to see what all the fuss is about. Here’s part of his report:

To gain clarity following yet another Trump campaign shakeup, I read Breitbart exclusively for two days, eschewing all other news sources. (The Guardian included. Apart from its soccer coverage.)

It offered an insight into not just the popularity of Breitbart – the site boasted 31 million unique visitors in July – but also how it appeals to its readers. And it’s not as straightforward as you might imagine.

The first thing you notice when visiting Breitbart is its idiosyncratic presentation. Every headline is in capitals. It implies a sense of significance and dire urgency.

It screams at you. “THIS IS IMPORTANT,” is the effect. “THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.” “THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THIS COUNTRY GOING TO HELL IN A HANDCART.”

The last of those points is an example of how well Breitbart knows its audience.

This doomsday approach makes it seem like Breitbart readers want to feel that everything is rotten. They want to feel irate. They want to feel that disaster is impending – unless their guys can fix it.

Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) There are actually some jobs that foreigners will do that Americans won't. @adamgabbatt demonstrates for @GuardianUS https://t.co/RMzSHy2LtN