The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a legal blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally libertarian, conservative, centrist, or some mixture of these." It is one of the most widely read and cited legal blogs in the United States. The blog is written by legal scholars and provides discussion on complex court decisions. Its name is a joking reference to Hillary Clinton's claim in 1998 of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" she believed was persecuting her and husband President Bill Clinton. In January 2014, The Volokh Conspiracy migrated to The Washington Post, with Volokh retaining full editorial control over its content. After June 2014, the blog was behind a paywall. In 2017, the blog moved to Reason. Volokh cited his principal reason for the move was to “be freely available to the broadest range of readers” and to have more editorial independence. Background The Volokh Conspiracy was founded in April 2002 by Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment expert and Soviet Jewish refugee. After being offered a guest-blogging gig on InstaPundit, Volokh decided to start his own blog in order to quickly disseminate his views in real time to a popular audience. Volokh, a professional computer programmer, built the site himself and invited his brother, Sasha, then a graduate student, to join him. The blog was initially called The Volokh Brothers and then changed to The Volokh Conspiracy, in reference to Hillary Clinton's claim of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Volokh recruited other contributors through a "closely guarded selection process." The blog is written by legal scholars and provides discussion on complex court decisions. Affordable Care Act The Volokh Conspiracy, among other blogs, played an important role in influencing the view of Americans against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many of The Volokh Conspiracy's postings were picked up by journalists and integrated into traditional media outlets. Subsequently, The Volokh Conspiracy impacted the questioning and opinions of judges and Supreme Court justices. Law professor Andrew Koppelman wrote that the blog was the "most important incubator" for constitutional challenges to the ACA. According to legal scholar Dick Howard, The Volokh Conspiracy "provided a forum for conservative legal scholars to develop arguments against the individual mandate, helping to break down the perception of expert consensus on the constitutional issues in play." Additionally, authors of the blog were influential