Rolling Stone calls Speaker Johnson's anti-porn parenting app 'creepy'

Rolling Stone called out Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for his attempts to protect his son from viewing pornography as "creepy" and Orwellian in a recent story that has sparked debate online over the practice. 

In a Sunday article headlined, "Mike Johnson Admits He and His Son Monitor Each Other’s Porn Intake in Resurfaced Video," Rolling Stone claimed Johnson "admitted that he and his son monitored each other’s porn intake in a resurfaced clip from 2022."

The clip, originally from an interview that Johnson gave during a conversation on technology at Cypress Baptist Church in Louisiana, detailed Johnson's attempts to maintain accountability in his house and prevent his son from watching pornography. 

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Rolling Stone called out Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for his attempts to protect his son from viewing pornography as "creepy" and Orwellian in a recent story that has sparked debate online over the practice.  (AP Photo // Getty Images)

"It scans all the activity on your phone, or your devices, your laptop, what have you; we do all of it," Johnson said about the anti-pornography app "Covenant Eyes," which provides accountability services for families and couples. 

Covenant Eyes did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

"It sends a report to your accountability partner," Johnson said. "My accountability partner right now is Jack, my son. He’s 17. So he and I get a report about all the things that are on our phones, all of our devices, once a week. If anything objectionable comes up, your accountability partner gets an immediate notice. I’m proud to tell you, my son has got a clean slate." 

"Outside of the creepy Big Brother-ness of it all," Rolling Stone wrote of Johnson's use of the anti-pornography app, "Receipt Maven also aired concerns about whether Covenant Eyes — which is still a working subscription-based service — might ‘compromise’ Johnson’s devices, if he’s still actively seeking accountability," according to the article. 

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Americans rallied behind House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday after a report nitpicked his personal finances and put a harsh spotlight on the possibility that he lives paycheck to paycheck.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Rolling Stone's headline sparked debate on X, with some conservatives and even liberal commentators pointing out that it was common for Evangelical Christians to use apps to prevent pornography use within their families. 

"What he actually said is that he installed accountability software on his son's devices to keep his son from using porn, and he put the same software on his own devices to show his son he wasn't using porn either," author Daniel Friedman wrote. "But Rolling Stone is a dishonest publication."

"The concern over ‘misinformation’ is usually framed as people getting bogus news from randos on social media, but what doesn’t get acknowledged enough is how media outlets that used to be trusted, like Rolling Stone, the LA Times and NBC News, are now trafficking in propaganda," Friedman added. 

"Speaker Johnson monitoring whether or not he and his son consumed porn seems abnormal to the vast majority of this website," Democratic politician and Biden DNC delegate Christopher Hale wrote, "but honestly, it's quite common in the evangelical community across the nation."

"Three words: UVA rape story," conservative commentator Lydia Leitermann wrote, referencing Rolling Stone's infamous story recounting an alleged rape on University of Virginia's campus that it later had to retract. 

Johnson did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The Speaker has repeatedly received criticism from liberal journalists over his Christian faith. When asked about media attacks over his faith, including from Daily Beast, which called Johnson a "Christo-fascist" who seeks to impose his religion on others like the Taliban and the "mullahs in Iran," Johnson called the comparisons "disgusting."

"That is absurd," he said, adding, "Of course, our religion is based on love and acceptance. So, to compare that worldview with the Taliban, who seek to destroy their enemies, or with some deranged shooter who murders people is absolutely outrageous. And I think that everyone who follows and believes in a Judeo-Christian worldview should be just terribly offended by that."

Rolling Stone didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History. 

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