Will Sommer

Washington, D.C.

Media reporter

Education: Georgetown University, BS in International Politics

Will Sommer is a media reporter for the Style section, specializing in covering conservative media and conspiracy theories. He's the author of "Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America," a book covering the QAnon movement. Before starting at The Washington Post in May 2023, he worked for The Daily Beast as a politics reporter and the host of the 'Fever Dreams' podcast.
Latest from Will Sommer

Inside Tenet Media, the pro-Trump ‘supergroup’ allegedly funded by Russia

Even some of Tenet’s right-wing stars wondered why it existed. Now, a new federal indictment claims it was a Russian propaganda operation.

September 5, 2024
The Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

Justice Dept. charges two Russian media operatives in alleged scheme

The Justice Department charged two Russian media executives in an alleged scheme that authorities say illegally funneled millions of dollars to a Tennessee-based company.

September 4, 2024

He found a Project 2025 duffel bag. Then police showed up at his house.

Journalist and author Malcolm Harris says he found the bag left on a ledge in Capitol Hill. It turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

August 16, 2024
This Project 2025 duffel bag, photographed Aug. 15, was found by author and journalist Malcolm Harris on Aug. 9. Harris says it was left on a ledge.

Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents

The Trump campaign said the documents that reporters received from a mysterious source came from an Iranian hack. The FBI is now investigating.

August 13, 2024
Political comparison notes are projected onto a screen ahead of Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance’s remarks in Philadelphia on Aug. 6.

The skate park was thriving. Then a right-wing YouTuber bought it.

Tim Pool’s purchase of an improvised skate park has riled skateboarders in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle.

August 12, 2024

How ‘Morning Joe’ landed at the center of the Biden conversation

On an MSNBC show that can feel like a family therapy session, prominent Democrats — including the president — drop by to debate whether he should stay in the race. Its hosts seem eager to play a role in that decision.

July 12, 2024

Stephanopoulos again steps into the light with pivotal presidential interview

Stephanopoulos interviewed Joe Biden at a pivotal moment Friday. The ABC newsman played a different role when he advised candidate Bill Clinton in 1992.

July 5, 2024
George Stephanopoulos in New York City last September.

Hunter Biden sues Fox News for ‘mock trial’ miniseries

Hunter Biden claims that the show, portraying a fake prosecution of him for criminal charges he hasn’t faced in the real world, was equivalent to revenge porn.

July 1, 2024
Hunter Biden at the federal court in Wilmington, Del., last month.

Turmoil at the Daily Beast has staffers headed for the exits

Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood take control at Daily Beast and try to gin up fresh buzz. But with new layoffs and buyouts, some journalists have had enough.

June 27, 2024
(Illustration by María Alconada Brooks/The Washington Post; Evan Agostini, Vince Bucci/Invision/AP; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The fall of Alex Jones and his conspiracy empire

Conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones is facing a reckoning. After being ordered to pay $1.5 billion in damages to the families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims, the future of Jones’s media empire hangs in the balance.

June 24, 2024