Hey, Big Boy, Looking for a Hot Primary?

0 Comments | Insight on the News, March 27, 2000 | by John Elvin

A banner advertisement for Arizona Sen. John McCain's Republican presidential bid appeared on a pornographic Website -- billed as the Internet's "No. 1 Asian site" -- in January, according to a report to be issued in the spring 2000 issue of the Harvard Current magazine. "I think it was targeted to a New England audience in advance of the New Hampshire primary," the Current's Dona Kim tells Insight.

Though McCain's campaign did not respond to calls seeking comment, it appears that an order was placed with the company, www.theglobe.com, that hosts a Website for the pornographic pages. The Current quoted the host company's advertising director as confirming that the ad was purchased to target viewers who logged on from New England. The spokesman said that under terms of the contract there were no reservations regarding the type of site on which it would be posted.

Asked what sort of investigative work was going on that led to discovery of the site, Kim told Insight: "It was me; I found it. I'm working on a story on Internet pornography and feminism." The Current is a student newsmagazine with an audience of 200,000 college and graduate students.