A former top Hillary Clinton adviser who recently founded Verrit, a pro-Clinton news source, went on a social media tirade against the mainstream media on Thursday night into Friday morning for criticizing his website, singling out a New York Times writer in the process.

Peter Daou, a strategist and internet director for Clinton's failed presidential run in 2008, is the founder of Verrit, which bills itself as "media for the 65.8 million" Americans who voted for Clinton in 2016. The site features stories like "The Republican Party Is Harmful to America's Children," "Hillary Democrats Are the Conscience of America," and "Bernie Sanders and the Mainstream Media Helped Put Trump in the White House."

The site has been the subject of criticism, including a Politico piece from Wednesday titled, "This Pro-Hillary Website Looks Like North Korean Agitprop."

Daou called it "shameful" for Politico to tweet a "hit piece" on a site "centering Clinton voters when things like DACA are happening."

"Unreal" is Politico taking time to tweet a hit piece on a site centering Clinton voters when things like #DACA are happening. Shameful. https://t.co/qd1yToDS0t — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

Clinton endorsed the site herself on Sunday.

I'm excited to sign up for @Verrit, a media platform for the 65.8 million! Will you join me and sign up too? https://t.co/bOLSMyk6bG — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 3, 2017

Daou said the site gained tens of thousands of followers after Clinton's endorsement, noting it has more followers than the Twitter account Chapo Trap House.

Hmm… People say Hillary is "the past" but within 24 hours of her @Verrit endorsement, we have more followers than @CHAPOTRAPHOUSE. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 5, 2017

Chapo Trap House is a podcast with a Twitter bio led by, "SPEED BOAT DOPE COCAINE GENESIS."

Verrit has been mocked for its "verification codes," which appear on each post. It is not obvious to a casual observer what their purpose is, or why one would need to verify that an article posted on Verrit is indeed from Verrit.

This has led to many memes about the site.

https://twitter.com/crushingbort/status/905282210122563584

Not everyone was amused, however. Daou lashed out at New York Times culture writer Sopan Deb for liking a tweet "from an account with a mock Verrit insulting me."

Deb appeared to have no idea what tweet Daou was referring to.

I don't even know what tweet he is referring to! — Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 7, 2017

Other journalists on Twitter noticed Daou's comments and did not take his side.

What a time to be alive. pic.twitter.com/31hS3O6cKo — Philip Bump (@pbump) September 7, 2017

i hope to one day be as Mad Online as peter daou https://t.co/6tc3gX8f2s — Julia Reinstein (@juliareinstein) September 7, 2017

Friends don't let friends get this Mad Online https://t.co/HguPGui7RB — Samantha Vicent (@samanthavicent) September 7, 2017

This kinda petty ain't never been dreamed of until now https://t.co/nHcf3Sy4Gt — Jennifer C. Martin (@notreallyjcm) September 7, 2017

website

this one

how free https://t.co/zx6FEYKIul — Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) September 7, 2017

Daou remains convinced that the criticism of Verrit is linked to sexism, connecting it to criticism of Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

Last year, I said coverage of Hillary was sexist. Virtually every elite media male jumped down my throat. Same guys bashing @Verrit. Yawn. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

Elite media boys' club doing their level best to trash @Verrit because Hillary endorsed it. Makes me doubly thankful for her amazing voters. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

I love how these male media elite types like @pbump circle the wagons. They can dish it but get all prickly when you call them out. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

During his late-night tirade, Daou blamed the media for not understanding Clinton voters.

Fascinating thing I'm seeing with the unhinged reaction to @verrit in the mainstream media is how little they understand Clinton voters. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

He went after individual reporters who criticized his site.

https://twitter.com/peterdaou/status/905558535483817985

Glenn – you're smart enough to know these reviews are meaningless to @Verrit's core community. In fact, they only help cement our value. https://t.co/Gx4wYrHRi8 — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

Nick – don't you have better things to do than to participate in an attack on a site that centers voters who tried to stop this mess? https://t.co/qpXGiFhVBa — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

Daou woke up Thursday ready to continue the fight.

Good morning friends. Another day to fight the damage caused by people who helped elect Trump. Full-time work cleaning up their mess. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

To elite media, I'm the Hillary guy who won't let go. To her base, I'm fighting their erasure. I'll gladly take the former to be the latter. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

Anyone trolling my mentions to harass my followers instead of fighting the GOP is part of the problem. We see you. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 7, 2017

For those curious, this is the meme Deb "liked":