gadfly

One group was inspired by Justin Shubow, a gadfly who has made a career out of opposing modern architecture, and bankrolled by Thomas Klingenstein, chairman of the conservative Claremont Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

The publication was founded in 1955 by the legendary gadfly William F. Buckley Jr. as a salon for the various right-leaning fraternities in American life: fire-eating libertarians, orthodox Catholics, conspiratorial anti-communists.

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2025

For decades, he also relished his role as a brutally insulting critic — sometimes of the bands he worked with — and a gadfly who pushed uncomfortable buttons about race, politics and sex.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2024

Aside from labeling the diatribes as “off topic,” there was little the supervisors could do to stop Herman, 56, an infamous gadfly at both L.A. city and county meetings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

He saw himself as a muckraking gadfly and had mortgaged his brownstone five times to keep The Phoenix going.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

As is quite common for these kinds of third-party gadflies, Oliver has made a career out of running unsuccessfully in multiple federal elections.

From Slate ● Mar. 12, 2024

There are always third party gadflies in presidential races and they can have an effect.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2023

He identified six tactics, the first five being “doubt the science,” “question scientists’ motives and integrity,” “magnify disagreements among scientists and cite gadflies as authorities,” “exaggerate potential harm” and “appeal to personal freedom.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2021

But there’ll be scores — perhaps hundreds — of publicity seekers, gadflies and wannabe somebodies on the ballot to replace Newsom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2021

They flit around as social butterflies when they are gadflies to me.

From Tokyo to Tijuana: Gabriele Departing America by Sills, Steven (Steven David Justin)