Dominic Robucci | Contributing Writer
In the United States, there is a problem with right-wing extremists. Since Trump has entered office, these extremists have been preaching hatred more and more, from the Charlottesville riot in 2017, to the acting on it during the January 6th insurrection. We always see the culture war rage, but we must consider who stokes this fire? Over the past 7 years, we have seen a rise of young, white teenagers fall down the rabbit-hole of right-wing extremism. This has been dubbed the ‘Alt-Right Pipeline’. The Alt-Right is defined as a right-wing political ideology that is a rejection of mainstream intersectionality in popular culture, utilizing rhetoric and methods based in internet culture. The Alt-Right preys upon insecure, young white men who feel that they are being ‘left behind’ by mainstream intersectional politics, and direct their frustration towards marginalized groups, normally manifesting itself in white-nationalist politics.
This is learned, and can be perpetuated by content creators on the internet. Most notably recently, has been an internet provocateur named Andrew Tate, who preaches toxically masculine, misogynistic advice under the guise of ‘self-improvement’ with the imagery of cars, money, big houses, and women. While not being explicitly political, his content acts as the beginning of the alt-right pipeline, by normalizing the type of thinking that the Alt-Right utilizes to propagate their ideology. When already receptive of these viewpoints, the viewers will then start consuming more explicitly political content.
The Daily Wire acts as the most popular producer of these videos. They are a massive right-wing media corporation founded by Ben Shapiro. While everyone involved, Candice Owens, Matt Walsh, and Jordan Peterson, have been very influential among men, Ben Shapiro is the most popular. Pumping out propaganda for years, he has gained a massive following. Of course, the left does not have the financial backing by massive organizations like The Daily Wire, or the benefit of existing in the current dogmatic way of capitalistic thinking that Andrew Tate does. But I must ask, what would be the alternative?
I have compiled a list of left-wing content creators that I would consider to be positive influences. Instead of preying on bigotry and hatred, they use many people’s anti-status quo, left-leaning views to educate people on contemporary issues and how they all derive from capitalism. Wikipedia uses the term ‘dirtbag left’ to define many of the creators I will mention, but many of those creators have rejected that label. The main phrasing comes from the crude humor and language they use, appealing as a counter-culture alternative to the mainstream liberal views.
Hasan Piker:
Hasan Piker is a left-wing politcal commentator, twitch streamer and podcaster. He streams under the name Hasanabi. He is the most popular political commentator on the platform, and one of the largest streamers in general. Much of his content revolves around covering the news from a left-wing, anti-capitalist perspective, and giving commentary over content created by right-wingers online. The latter acts as a very effective way of poking holes in their arguments, which is useful for deradicalizing viewers. Other great left-wing political commentators are Sam Seder, Kyle Kulinski and Dave Pakman.
Chapo Trap House:
Chapo is a left-wing political podcast, founded and hosted by Will Menaker, Matt Christman and Felix Biederman. One of the most popular podcasts on Patreon, they cover contemporary news through a leftist perspective, and does not hold back on making jokes both at the expense of American conservatives, but also not afraid of making jokes critiquing the Democratic Party. They frequent have guests on, including mainstream celebrities like Patton Oswald and David Cross, as well as having politicians, economists, activists, comedians, journalists, and other political commentators on as well (such as Hasan Piker).
Stavros Halkias:
He is a Stand-Up comic and podcaster. While not being directly involved with politics, he is a hilarious comic with left-wing political views, and is a frequent guest on Chapo and Hasan Piker’s twitch broadcast. He has recently appeared on big podcasts (JRE) and released his first stand-up special free on YouTube. Being a plus-sized man, he makes jokes at his own expense, but always expresses himself confidently. His Instagram account is full of risqué photos of himself, while preaching body positivity to other men. Stavros is a healthy display of masculinity that young men should look up to.
Youtube Creators:
There are tons of great youtube creators that make long-form video essays about US culture from a progressive perspective. This community online is called ‘breadtube’ or ‘lefttube’ (which many of the creators refute). Most videos are framed as a response to the right-wing perspective on a topic, as an attempt to persuade people in the ‘alt-right pipeline’ to reconsider their positions. Some great creators in this community include FD Signifier, ContaPoints, Noah Samson, Philosphy Tube, and Kat Blaque, just to name a few.
These content creators above are a much better alternative to the hateful messages of Ben Shapiro, Andrew Tate, Matt Walsh, and many others.