Despite YouTube Policy Update, Anti-Semitic, White Supremacist Channels Remain
- August 15, 2019
For years, YouTube has officially prohibited content which promoted or condoned violence or incited hatred against individuals or groups based on core characteristics such as ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, and religion. In June 2019 it updated that policy with specific prohibitions against ideologies like white supremacy, which asserted the superiority of one group in order to justify discriminating against or persecuting other groups. It also added that it prohibited content which denied violent events like the Holocaust or certain mass shootings. ADL called the update “an important step forward,” adding, “This move alone is insufficient and must be followed by many more changes from YouTube and other tech companies to adequately counter the scourge of online hate and extremism.”
Following the June 2019 announcement, it appeared that YouTube was taking steps to remove offending content from its service, and several channels that were noteworthy vectors for the dissemination of anti-Semitism appeared to have been shut down. However, subsequent analysis from ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) found that significant anti-Semitic and white supremacist content continues to be accessible on YouTube even after the policy update. What follows is a sampling of channels that disseminate this content.
(*all page views are accurate as of July 22, 2019)
Anti-Semitic Channels
The following five anti-Semitic channels promulgate a variety of allegations and tropes which have been used for generations to stoke fear and hatred of Jews. Some of them are overtly Christian, including claims that Jews are aligned with the Antichrist, that they are a blasphemous and evil “synagogue of Satan,” or that they seek to undermine Christian society. Other anti-Semitic allegations are secular in nature and promote the belief that Jews are secret conspirators who control the media, academia, finance, and governments to the detriment of non-Jews. Belief that Jews control the levers of power in societies has been a crucial element of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories throughout modern times. Altogether, the following five anti-Semitic channels have been viewed more than 81 million times. (Note: The white supremacist channels enumerated in the following section also contain anti-Semitic elements.)
“TruNews”
This is the official channel of the fundamentalist Christian streaming news and opinion platform TruNews, whose programs routinely feature anti-Semitic content, and which has a long record of disseminating Islamophobic and anti-LGBTQ messages. TruNews founder and host Pastor Rick Wiles has used the YouTube channel to claim that Jews control the media, decimate American culture, and attack Christians. He describes Jews as the “Synagogue of Satan” and as agents of the antichrist. The TruNews YouTube channel has 178,000 subscribers and 17 million views.
Noteworthy quotes:
- “It’s not Muslims that are going to kill us. It’s the Jews.” (YouTube upload date: February 20, 2019. 52k views)
- “I personally believe Israel took out [President] John Kennedy…Who ties the [U.S.] presidents’ hands? Yes, the Jewish mafia.” (YouTube upload date: March 14, 2019. 29k views.)
“Sanderson1611”
Steven Anderson, who leads the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Movement from his Faith Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ, has a long history of preaching anti-Semitism and anti-LGBTQ messages. He claims that Judaism is a “fraud,” and openly denies the Holocaust. Pastor Anderson’s YouTube channel has 121,000 subscribers and 61 million views.
- “I have no doubt at all that in the End Times when the Tribulation happens and the Antichrist is in power, he is going to Judaize the world in many ways. I think that the Jews are going to have a strong part in bringing him into power.” (YouTube upload date: July 11, 2019. 15k views)
- “I hope that [Jews] get persecuted. I hope that [Jews] suffer and are persecuted because they hate the Lord Jesus Christ…So, blasphemous antichrist haters of God, I’m not worried about what’s going to happen to them. That’s their problem. They shouldn’t have blasphemed and hated the Lord Jesus Christ. Their state of Israel is an antichrist, evil state, it’s blasphemous, it’s wicked, it’s an affront to God…. The Antichrist is going to turn and wipe [the Jews] out and destroy them…and that’s what they deserve…God was right to curse them and punish them for 2,000 years straight…There is no such thing as an innocent Jew.” (YouTube upload date: June 6, 2019. 19k views)
- “In 2019 today, what a Jew is, or a Jewish person is, is something super-wicked. It’s basically an antichrist who denies the Father and Son. And [they are] also some of the most immoral people in the world.” (YouTube upload date: May 30, 2019. 21k views)
“E. Michael Jones”
Longtime anti-Semite and traditionalist Catholic writer E. Michael Jones uses his YouTube channel and books to promote the idea that Jews are responsible for perpetrating attacks against the Catholic Church, as well as against standards, social stability and global political order. He portrays Judaism as inherently threatening towards Christianity; he also describes Jews as “outlaws and subversives” and claims that Judaism exhibits “a particularly malignant spirit.” E. Michael Jones’ YouTube channel has 37,000 subscribers and 3.5 million views.
- “And you want to talk about who’s responsible for redefining speech to include pornography, it’s the Jews. I mean, from start to finish. Because they were the ones in the industry, and they were the ones who benefited financially from this. But they also benefit politically as we’re seeing now…So it’s been constant in this regard. A constant subversion of the moral order, and somehow making you feel guilty if you don’t go along with this thing….Everywhere you look it comes back to the same old story – whether it’s hate speech, whether it’s anti-Semitism, whatever it is, it’s the Jews trying to control the narrative in their interest….” (YouTube upload date: June 19, 2019. 19k views)
- “Money runs the entire congress of the united states. And largely Jewish money when it comes to foreign policy. AIPAC controls the American congress. There’s no question…Congress is controlled by Jewish money.” (YouTube Upload date: June 30, 2019. 21k views)
- “We have to put limits on Jewish speech. And we have to end Jewish privilege. It’s that simple.” (YouTube upload date: July 1, 2019. 22k views)
- “The Jews are the enemies of the Catholic Church. They are the enemies of the entire human race.” (YouTube upload date: July 16, 2019. 22k views)
- “You know how intelligent Jews are? Yeah, these people are some of the most stupid people in the world if you ask me. They can’t get on with anybody and they bring about their own destruction and usury and ripping rapacious monopolies and subversion of the culture and sexual decadence and there’s just a spiritual cultural and economic wrecking ball, and they wonder why you know there’s hostility and ill feeling towards them, you know?” (YouTube upload date: May 14, 2019. 26k views)
“Michael Hoffman”
Michael A. Hoffman II is a Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic ideologue. In his writings and speeches, Hoffman frequently claims that Judaism condones pedophilia and the hatred of non-Jews. Hoffman’s YouTube channel has 3,600 subscribers and 178,000 views.
- “Judaism’s focus is on self-worship, people who worship themselves, and this is where I see a corollary with Nazis and with what Hitler was doing….If Judaism ever becomes supreme in the United States—and it is not yet supreme to the extent that I’m saying in terms of Israeli suzerainty—if it ever does, we’ll have the same mass murder of [non-Jews] as we see in the Israeli state.” (YouTube upload date: February 11, 2016. 7,000 views)
“Brother Nathanael Video”
This YouTube channel features videos of Nathanael Kapner, a former Jew who converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and is now a “street evangelist” and anti-Semitic provocateur. Kapner’s videos typically intersperse his conspiratorial, anti-Semitic rhetoric with clips and images from other media. The channel has 86,000 views. (Subscription information is not available for this channel.)
- “The future belongs to the sons of god, not the synagogue. Those who serve a lie will soon pass away.” (YouTube upload date: June 7, 2019. 5,000 views)
- “A far greater tyranny than anything our founding fathers ever faced is now the plight of America: I’m talking about the suffocating grip Jewry has on every component of American life… America has become an indentured slave to the Jews who rule America. Only the historic church, independent of Jewish control, who can muster up the guts to stand up for the few who expose the Jewish evil, can deliver America from the most pernicious tyranny the world has ever seen.” (YouTube upload date: April 20, 2018. 1100 views)
- “There are three things that are impossible or nearly impossible in this life: For hell to freezer over; for a leopard to change his spots; and for a Jew to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve singed against God and man, please forgive me.’” (YouTube upload date: April 16, 2018. 650 views)
White Supremacist Channels
Anti-Semitism is just one iteration of the hate that is easily accessible on YouTube. The following YouTube channels are run by or feature white supremacists, many of whom use the platform to spread their racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic ideology.
“122 322”
This channel contains promotional videos for the Rise Above Movement (RAM). R.A.M. is a white supremacist group based in Southern California whose members believe they are fighting against a “modern world” corrupted by the “destructive cultural influences” of liberals, Jews, Muslims and non-white immigrants. They refer to themselves as the “premier MMA (mixed martial arts) club of the Alt-Right.” The 122 322 YouTube channel has 141 subscribers and 22,001 views.
“Alt-Woke”
Alt-Woke features “Radical Agenda” a recurring show hosted by Christopher Cantwell, a belligerent white supremacist podcaster who advocates for a white ethno-state. The Alt-Woke YouTube channel has 1,835 subscribers and 103,602 views.=
“America First with Nicholas J Fuentes”
America First is a recurring show featuring Nick Fuentes, an alt right personality whose rhetoric focuses on the failure of multiculturalism, immigration and the marginalization of white people. The America First with Nicholas J Fuentes YouTube channel has 38,097 subscribers and 845,643 views.
“American Free Press”
This channel is described as one “maintained by a supporter of the American Free Press, the only truly pro-American newspaper left in the country.” American Free Press is a Maryland-based anti-Semitic conspiracy-oriented publication that was originally founded by late Willis Carto. The American Free Press YouTube channel has 9,407 subscribers and 22,001 views.
“American Freedom Party”
The American Freedom Party (AFP) is a Third Position American political party that promotes white nationalism. Originally established by racist skinheads, the group was later transformed into a political party by William Daniel Johnson, a Los Angeles-based attorney. Since 2018, AFP has co-hosted an annual white supremacist conference dubbed “Nationalist Solutions.” The American Freedom Party YouTube channel has 2,069 subscribers and 507,276 views.
“American Identity Movement”
American Identity Movement (AIM) is a white supremacist group that formed during a rebranding effort by Identity Evropa in March 2019. As AIM, the group has moved away from European-focused rhetoric in favor of advocating for the preservation of “white culture” under the guise of American patriotism. The American Identity Movement YouTube channel has 1,944 subscribers and 39,675 views.
“American Renaissance”
American Renaissance is a white supremacist journal and companion website to The New Century Foundation, a self-styled think tank founded by Jared Taylor. The journal promotes pseudoscientific studies that attempt to demonstrate the intellectual and cultural superiority of whites and publishes articles on the supposed decline of American society because of integrationist social policies. American Renaissance generally avoids the crude bigotry and stereotyping characteristic of many other racist publications and Taylor himself personally refrains from anti-Semitism. The American Renaissance YouTube channel has 113,914 subscribers and 11,886,400 views.
“Arktos”
Arktos Media is a small publishing company that features books by white nationalist and translates European Identitarian works into English. The company, which is run by Daniel Friberg, a Swedish businessman and white supremacist who co-founded AltRight.com with Richard Spencer, also has an American chapter. The Arktos YouTube channel has 3,372 subscribers and subscribers and 166,414 views.
“Christogenea”
Christogenea is the name of a Christian Identity website and blog operated by William Finck of Florida. Finck is also a member of the white supremacist League of the South. The “Christogenea” YouTube channel has 213 subscribers and 2,824 views.
“Faith J Goldy”
Faith Goldy is a Canadian white supremacist who has promoted the “white genocide” narrative, recited the white supremacist “14 words” on an alt right podcast, and appeared on a podcast of The Daily Stormer, a site run by neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin. The Faith J Goldy YouTube channel has 105,964 subscribers and 6,528,307 views.
“The Foundry”
The Foundry is a recurring show hosted by William “Tony” Hovater and Matthew Parrott who helped found the now defunct neo-Nazi group the Traditionalist Worker Party. The group’s goal was to build a national socialist ethno-state for white people. Both men attended white supremacist rallies around the country including the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Foundry YouTube channel has 5,939 subscribers and 7,160 views.
“James Allsup”
James Allsup is a white supremacist activist associated with the American Identity Movement (formerly Identity Evropa) who is best known for his far-right podcasts and as the former president of a College Republican chapter at Washington State University. Allsup was a speaker at the May 2019 American Renaissance Conference. He also spoke at the March 2018 Identity Evropa conference and participated in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The James Allsup YouTube channel has 452,560 subscribers and 72,925,714 views.
“Kenn Daily”
Kenn Daily is hosted by Kenn Gividen of Indianapolis, Indiana, who is the founder of DailyKeen.com and the author of “The Prayer of Hannah” and “Kennisms,” a book of offensive/racist quotes known as “Kenn’s Laws.” The channel includes “The Ethnostate” a recurring show hosted by Gividen, William Johnson of AFP and Paul Fromm, a Canadian white supremacist. The Kenn Daily YouTube channel has 44,155 subscribers and 119,434 views.
“Little Revolution 2”
Patrick Little is an outspoken anti-Semitic politician. In 2018, he made an anti-Semitic campaign run for Dianne Feinstein’s U.S. Senate seat in California. After his crushing defeat, he went on a nationwide “Name the Jew” tour, visiting cities across the country, spewing anti-Semitic propaganda at passers-by. In early 2019, he registered as a presidential candidate with the Republican Party but dropped out of the race in May. In a YouTube video titled “Our Government is just a sham” Little claimed, “At this point it’s just about waking people up to who’s really in charge and just letting them know that the Jews run stuff. It doesn’t matter who we put into office.” The Little Revolution 2 YouTube channel has 1,420 subscribers and 41,897 views.
“NPI/RADIX”
NPI/RADIX is the official channel of The National Policy Institute and Radix Journal run by Richard Spencer one of the best-known leaders of the alt right. The “NPI/RADIX” channel has 18,069 subscribers and 583,657 views.
“PastorEliJames”
The YouTube channel “PastorEliJames” features Eli James a longtime Christian Identity preacher from Illinois who operates Eurofolk Radio. The channel description reads: “This site is about the history of the Anglo-Saxon (Caucasians, Celts, Eurofolk, etc.) people and our eternal, enemy, the Edomite and Ashkenazi Jews, who are the impostors (Synagogue of Satan) pretending to be Israel.” The PastorEliJames YouTube channel has 1,378 subscribers and 127,920 views.
“ThePoliticalCesspool”
The Political Cesspool is an overtly racist show on which anti-Semites, white supremacists, and other right-wing extremists regularly appear to voice their views. James Edwards, the show’s founder and main host, is associated with AFP and the Council of Conservative Citizens.
ThePoliticalCesspool YouTube channel has 465 subscribers and 56,904 views.
“The Public Space with Jean Francois”
The Public Space is a recurring podcast with Jean-François Gariépy, a French-Canadian alt right YouTuber. The Public Space with Jean Francois YouTube channel has 47,287 subscribers and 4,230,207 views.
“TRS Radio”
This channel features a collection of podcasts featuring alt right propagandist such as Mike “Enoch” Peinovich, Jesse Dunstan (aka Sven/Seventh Son), and Alex McNabb, all of whom who host TRS (TheRightStuff). The TRS Radio YouTube channel has 13,000 subscribers and 1,400,000 views.
“Reclaim America”
Reclaim America is a channel which promotes the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it solely to them. They define themselves as American fascists or American nationalists who are focused on preserving America’s identity as one of European-American identity. The Reclaim America YouTube has 1,341 subscribers and 47,585 views.
“The Red Elephants Vincent James” and “Vincent James”
The Red Elephants is a California-based extreme-right “media” entity headed by Vincent James Foxx. The site promotes conspiracy theories, anti-Semitic beliefs and white supremacist mantras. Beyond the virtual world, those associated with the Red Elephants have participated in rightwing and explicitly white supremacist rallies and demonstrations. “The Red Elephants Vincent James” channel has 286,659 subscribers and 33,367,186. The “Vincent James” channel has 52,989 subscribers and 8,235,381 views.
“Red Ice TV”
Red Ice TV is a Sweden-based online media company run by Lana Lokteff, an American born white supremacist, and her husband Henrik Palmgren. Red Ice features online TV and radio shows, including Lokteff’s own “Radio 3Fourteen,” that celebrate “European identity and culture.” Lokteff has interviewed numerous white supremacists on the show. She also co-hosts “Red Ice Live” and “Weekend Warrior” on Red Ice. In May 2017, Lotkeff appeared in a video segment with Jared Taylor of American Renaissance to discuss “the women of the alt right.”
The Red Ice TV YouTube channel has 327,961 subscribers and 45,799,930 views.
“TOQ LIVE”
The Occidental Quarterly (TOQ) is a recurring show hosted by James Edwards, who runs the white supremacist radio show, The Political Cesspool, and Kevin MacDonald, a retired professor who runs the anti-Semitic Occidental Observer website. The TOQ LIVE subscriber number is unavailable, but the channel has 42,730 views.
“VDARE TV”
VDARE TV often features Peter Brimelow, a white supremacist who runs the racist, anti-immigration site VDARE, which publishes writing by white supremacists such as Jared Taylor of American Renaissance, Brad Griffin of Occidental Dissent, and Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler. The VDARE TV YouTube channel has 4,887 subscribers and 213,028 views.
