GOP Nominee To Run North Carolina Schools Is A QAnon Extremist

GOP Nominee To Run North Carolina Schools Is A QAnon Extremist

Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee for state superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina, frequently promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory in newly unearthed social media posts. She also referenced a QAnon-fueled conspiracy theory to suggest that actor Jim Carrey drinks the blood of children.

Morrow is a far-right commentator who has written for Newsmax and appeared on various media outlets. Her history includes marching in Washington, D.C., on January 6 (Morrow said that she didn’t storm the Capitol) and attacking public schools as “socialist indoctrination centers.” She espouses anti-LGBTQ views, such as saying during Pride Month in June 2023: “As a nurse, I want you to understand something: There is no pride in perversion.”

Morrow is also anti-Muslim: She has written that the country should “ban Islam” and “ban Muslims from elected offices.” (She has claimed “that she was only talking about supporters of radical Islam.”)

She won the Republican primary on March 5. North Carolina’s superintendent of public instruction oversees more than 2,000 schools and more than 100,000 teachers and administrators.

QAnon is the sprawling far-right conspiracy theory in which supporters claim that Donald Trump has been secretly working to take down pedophilia rings that are supposedly linked to high-profile politicians and entertainment figures, among others. The conspiracy theory has been linked to numerous acts of violence.

Over the years, Republican politicians including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) have promoted the conspiracy theory. Trump has also repeatedly promoted QAnon supporters online.

Morrow frequently engaged with the conspiracy theory in the lead up to the 2020 election.

One of the movement’s hashtags is WWG1WGA (“where we go one, we go all”). In 2020, Morrow posted the QAnon hashtag at least seven times.

Michele Morrow QAnon hashtag 3Michele Morrow 2 QAnon images 1Michele Morrow 2 QAnon images 2Michele Morrow 2 QAnon images 3

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

She has also responded to posts that mentioned “Q” and “QAnon.”

In 2020, she positively responded to a post about Trump going after drug cartels that had the hashtags “#qarmy #qanon #WWG1WGA #WWG1WGA_WORLDWIDE.”

Michele Morrow QAnon response 1

In 2019, she also responded “Yes! Prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!” to a pro-QAnon post which stated, “POTUS 45 + Q + General Flynn + Mister Durham + AG Barr ... and many many other warriors are starting the storm ... 44 and his criminals will be brought to justice ... no mercy please !!!!”

Michele Morrow QAnon response 2

Additionally, in 2020 she promoted the QAnon-fueled adrenochrome conspiracy theory in response to a post about actor Jim Carrey and added the hashtag “JusticeIsComing”. The conspiracy theory essentially claims that elites are harvesting and drinking the blood of tortured children to extend the drinkers’ lives.

Michele Morrow Jim Carrey conspiracy theory

In 2020, Trump thanked Morrow after she praised him on CNN.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters

Michael Flynn

Mike Flynn Says He's Been An Alex Jones Conspiracy Fanboy Since 2008

Retired Gen. Mike Flynn appeared on the December 27, 2023, edition of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show to praise the host, saying that when he “had first seen him in 2008 and 2009” he had said, “That guy's absolutely right on the money.” In the years since, Flynn has served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and White House national security adviser, and could potentially return to government under a second Trump administration.

Jones is one of the country’s leading conspiracy theorists. He has pushed false claims about a variety of tragedies, including the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School; the Boston Marathon bombing; and 9/11. In November, Jones aired a report questioning the Holocaust death toll.

The families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims successfully sued Jones for his lies about the tragedy.

Despite Jones’ long history of toxicity, right-wing media figures and Republican politicians — including former President Donald Trump — have embraced him over the years.

Among Jones’ admirers is Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI before being pardoned by Trump. Prior to that, Flynn also served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under then-President Barack Obama, but was fired in 2014.

Trump has suggested that Flynn will be involved in his potential second administration, telling him at an event last year: “We’re going to bring you back.”

Flynn has also acted as a far-right media commentator and has repeatedly made toxic remarks. In 2021, he warned his audience that “we're being marched” to Nazi death camps but that, unlike Holocaust victims, he “would never get on that train.” He also seemed to call for a Myanmar-style coup in the United States (which he later denied); encouraged Trump to invoke martial law in order to redo the 2020 election; and tweeted that “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL.” Flynn also previously supported the QAnon movement.

Along with Clay Clark, Flynn co-founded the pro-Trump ReAwaken America tour. Those events, which feature Eric Trump and other Trump allies, have repeatedly featured Hitler-promoting antisemites. (The tour has dropped those speakers after facing criticism.)

On the December 27, 2023, edition of The Alex Jones Show, Flynn appeared in-studio for a significant amount of time and praised his host. Clark also appeared on the program as a guest.

During a commentary about trusting the right people, Flynn spoke directly to Jones’ audience: “Alex has been bashed over the head for the better part of really 30 years, and I told Alex a couple of years ago when we met that I had first seen him in 2008 and 2009. I said, ‘That guy's absolutely right on the money.’ And here we are sitting here today in 2023, we're talking about the same issues — although they have exacerbated. So we have to really dig in. Do the research, listen to the right people.”

Shortly after Flynn’s endorsement, Jones characteristically argued that government-aligned entities are planning to stage false flags in order to spark a civil war: “They're going to stage false flags — unless we expose them and stop them — to blame us and trigger this. And they're going to make moves that they believe will elicit a civil war. This isn't coming. It's here. They are going to try this.”

Following Jones’ “false flags” warning, Flynn replied: “This is absolutely right.”

During the show, as Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights Executive Director Devin Burghart noted, Flynn also invoked violent imagery to prepare viewers for bloody conflict.

MIKE FLYNN: I don't raise my voice that much, but when I do, it means that we are moving to — as Alex just said — we're moving towards the sound of the guns here, folks. And the sound of the guns is freedom. We are going to move towards freedom.

In a December 2018 Washington Post profile about Flynn, a Defense Intelligence Agency officer said that when Flynn was leading the agency, he “started doing weird things, like bring[ing] his unsecured BlackBerry into the secure space.” Flynn “became unabashed about his beliefs,” the officer said, “In meetings, he sounded like he was reading Breitbart and Alex Jones and random bloggers, alt-right stuff, and he’d just say, ‘Well, I heard this . . .’ ”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Donald Trump Jr.

Don Junior Previews Lunatic Staffing Of Next Trump White House

Donald Trump Jr. said on his streaming program yesterday that he wants Laura Loomer as former President Donald Trump’s White House press secretary and Mike Davis as attorney general. Loomer has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “pro-white nationalism,” while Davis has declared that if given power in a future Trump Justice Department he would use it to imprison Trump’s political enemies and support pardons for “every January 6 defendant.”

On the October 9 edition of his Rumble show, Trump Jr. said that he’d “love to see” Loomer “as press secretary just to watch D.C. just explode.” He explained:

DONALD TRUMP JR.: She’s a bulldog, man, I will say that. She gets after it. I’d love to see her as press secretary just to watch D.C. just explode. There’s a couple of people that you could put in positions like that, you know. We talk about, like, you know, Mike Davis as attorney general, one of those guys. You almost have to. Just put them in as interim even just to send that shot across the bow of the swamp, you know? Like — you want to play?

You want to play? And then you can get someone, you know, the guys that wouldn’t get affirmed or otherwise. But let like Mike Davis, you know, Kash Patel be like interim AGs. Put Laura Loomer as press secretary for just a couple of days just to, you know, these losers in the — they’ll figure out exactly how easy their job is, you know, before that, so that’d be pretty funny.

Following his 2016 election, Trump stocked his White House and administration with an array of familiar faces from his television screen, including at least 20 former Fox News employees. As the former president has widened his media diet since leaving office to include even more unhinged sources, it’s not implausible that a future administration would feature denizens from the right-wing fever swamps.

Here’s who Trump Jr. is suggesting be given power under a potential 2024 Trump administration.

Laura Loomer

Loomer is a conspiracy theorist who recently joined Rumble as an exclusive host — a fitting collaboration since the platform hosts right-wing conspiracy theories and bigoted rhetoric. (Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski hailed Loomer’s addition.)

According to The New York Times, former president Donald Trump wanted to hire Loomer for his current presidential campaign but was talked out of it. Since then, he has repeatedly praised Loomer, and campaign adviser Jason Miller recently appeared on her program, where he called her “the best” and said of Trump: “I know he's very appreciative for everything that you do, Laura.”

(Ironically, one of Loomer’s biggest critics is member of congress and anti-Muslim bigot Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called Loomer “a documented liar,” among other things)

Loomer is virulently anti-Muslim. She has said that she is “anti-Islam” and a “proud Islamophobe,” stated that she never wants “another Muslim entering this country EVER AGAIN,” and asked, “How many more people need to die before everyone agrees that Islam is cancer & we should never let another Muslim into the civilized world?” Here is a summary of some — but certainly not all — of her anti-Muslim rants.

  • Loomer described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and wrote: “I never want another Muslim entering this country EVER AGAIN!”
  • Loomer called Muslims “savages” who “ruin everything.”
  • In response to July 2017 news that “over 2,000 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year,” Loomer tweeted: “Good. [clapping emoji] Here's to 2,000 more.”
  • Loomer wrote of the 2019 mass murder of 51 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand: “Nobody cares about Christchurch. I especially don’t.”
  • Loomer said: “How many more people need to die before everyone agrees that Islam is cancer & we should never let another Muslim into the civilized world?”
  • Loomer has argued that “it should be illegal in America to take your oath of office on the Quran,” explaining, “There must be a full blown effort to prevent these people from further infiltrating our government.”
  • Loomer complained in 2021 of former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy: “Kevin is very pro-Islam. He wouldn’t allow the NRCC to support my campaign last year because I’m anti-Islam and he doesn’t like that I speak out about Sharia law and Islamic terrorism/ immigration.”

Loomer also said during a podcast: “Someone asked me ‘Are you pro-white nationalism?’ Yes. I’m pro-white nationalism.”

Mike Davis 

Davis served in the Justice Department during the Bush administration, oversaw judicial nominations as a staffer to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, and played lead roles in the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. He founded the Article III Project, which he described to The New York Times in 2019 as an effort to “take off the gloves, put on the brass knuckles and fight back” on judicial issues. That article characterized Davis as “a take-no-prisoners conservative eager to challenge the left with hardball tactics.”

In practice, Davis has spent the last several years offering unhinged and authoritarian diatribes, conspiracy theories, and pro-Trump sycophancy on his social media feed and across a constellation of right-wing media outlets.

He has excused Trump’s withholding of government documents by claiming presidents can effectively “wave a magic wand” and declassify them; urged House Republicans to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and President Joe Biden; said that Biden is “the perfect guy to put in the White House if you want a puppet to control”; described Trump’s various criminal indictments as “a political hit by Biden and Garland to take out Trump for the 2024 presidential election” that will “have a very chilling effect on democracy” and the district attorneys and the special counsel investigating Trump as “partisan hitmen sent by Biden to take out Trump”; and argued that the New York civil suit against Trump was “only constitutional in Third World Marxist hellholes” and was essentially “legal terrorism."

Davis has put forward a chillingly specific platform for what he would do if appointed attorney general, which he describes as his “reign of terror.” He claims to have “five lists, ready to go and they're growing,” which consist of political enemies he would fire, indict, deport, or imprison in the “DC gulag” or Guantanamo Bay, as well as political supporters who would be pardoned, including “every January 6th defendant.”

When Media Matters’ Jason Campbell reported on those remarks in September, Davis replied that he was “excited to put” Campbell “and all the leftwing freaks at” Media Matters on the lists for indictment, deportation, and imprisonment at the “DC gulag” or Gitmo. When Media Matters’ Matt Gertz noted that “Trumpists are becoming unusually explicit in acknowledging they want to regain power so they can engineer political prosecutions of people they disagree with,” Davis responded, “Fact Check: True,” adding that Gertz had been added to the indictment and gulag/Gitmo lists.

Trump Jr. also mentioned Kash Patel as a potential attorney general. Patel previously worked as chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller during the Trump administration. He is now a right-wing pundit who, along with other senior Trump officials, has spoken at events featuring Hitler-promoting antisemites. He’s also embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Moms For Liberty Activist Pushed Anne Frank Book Ban -- And Joined Antisemitic Broadcast

Moms For Liberty Activist Pushed Anne Frank Book Ban -- And Joined Antisemitic Broadcast

A Moms for Liberty chair who previously fought a library for having an adaption of Anne Frank’s diary recently promoted her organization on an antisemitic network that warns viewers about “seditious Jews,” “Jewish tyrants,” and how Jewish people “have forsaken God.” She clearly had a positive effect on network leader Rick Wiles, who told her that he wants to “do everything I can to help you” and said that Moms for Liberty is doing “great work.”

Jen Pippin is the chair of the Moms for Liberty chapter in Indian River County, Florida. Pippin was recently awarded the group’s “Abigail Adams Award for Public Policy” and the group wrote that she “stepped up to launch one of the first two Moms for Liberty chapters in the country." The post celebrating Pippin’s award said she “has not only had an enormous impact on her community, she has served at the state level on committees to shape policies and guidelines for school libraries and teachers.”

Pippin made national news after she forced a high school to remove Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation from its library because it allegedly had “sexually explicit” content and was “not a true adaptation of the Holocaust.”

Media Matters has documented Moms for Liberty’s extremism as the group has gained influence among Republican politicians and in the right-wing media. Moms for Liberty also promoted rhetoric from Adolf Hitler to argue for its mission.

Pippin appeared on TruNews on September 12 to promote Moms for Liberty and its mission. Evidence about the nature of the network is ample and readily available.

TruNews is led by Rick Wiles, a virulent antisemite who has said of Jewish people: “That’s the way the Jews work. They are deceivers, they plot, they lie, they do whatever they have to do to accomplish their political agenda. … You have been taken over by a Jewish cabal.” He has also claimed that “the American people are being oppressed by Jewish tyrants” and the impeachment of Donald Trump was a “Jew coup.”

TruNews posts antisemitic content on its website such as:

National outlets have documented TruNews’ virulent antisemitism, including after the Trump White House gave the site press credentials and Donald Trump Jr. granted an interview to the outlet.

Pippin appeared in a 30-plus-minute segment on TruNews with Wiles. The two promoted the work of Moms for Liberty and Wiles repeatedly praised and offered to help the organization. After complaining about allegedly inappropriate material in schools, Wiles asked Pippin: “I think, Jennifer, we should sue the school board. You want some help, you want some help in suing the school board?” He added:

RICK WILES (HOST): I will do everything I can to help you. I will help raise money. I will help organize. I will help you get a lawsuit against the school board. I think you should sue the school board and the sheriff's office for the violation of constitutional rights in a meeting. These people have to be taught a lesson. They must be taught a lesson. And I will help you. The remaining minutes we got, tell us about Moms for Liberty, because your group just suddenly appeared in the last couple of years and now you're listed as domestic terrorists.

He continued later: “We are on your side. We will help Moms for Liberty in anything that you need. … If you [in the audience] are interested in Moms for Liberty, go to their website, MomsforLiberty.org and become a member. Start a chapter. Do something. Help them and support them because they're doing a great work and the leftist communists are smearing them and trying to take them down.”

Pippin replied at the conclusion of the segment: “Thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Stew Peters

How The Sinclair Network Promoted Antisemitic Psycho Stew Peters

At least 16 Sinclair television stations ran sponsored gold investment segments featuring white nationalist and antisemitic streamer Stew Peters from May through September of this year. In addition to promoting Peters, who has urged the execution of journalists, the Sinclair segment touted his misinformation-filled anti-vaccine movie Died Suddenly to viewers across the country.

A Sinclair Broadcasting Group spokesperson told Media Matters about the Peters segment: “We were not aware of the association and are reviewing our internal policies on sponsored content. The segment in question is no longer on our air.”

Peters is the host of The Stew Peters Show, which streams on Rumble. He frequently pushes for the death of his perceived enemies, including repeatedly advocating for the executions of people who have backed the COVID-19 vaccines. Peters is so extreme that he recently ran a segment endorsing the executions of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce over the Kansas City tight end’s promotion of the Pfizer vaccine.

Sinclair’s promotion of Peters is even more egregious because he has called for the deaths of reporters who have promoted vaccines. In March, Peters wrote: “The journos, anchors and hosts that participated should be indicted, tried and fried.” In June, he posted a video of various media and government figures talking about the vaccine and wrote: “Every single one of these people deserve the rope.”

On X (formerly Twitter), Peters has also endorsed the killings of politicians and LGBTQ advocates.

Peters regularly promotes white nationalism and antisemitism and appeared at Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes’ conference last year. He recently complained of Jewish people: “Support for homos, trans, abortion, and the unchecked illegal invasion of every country on earth isn't exactly a message of morality.” He also wrote that Judaism is a “death cult built on the blood of murdered babies.”

He promotes bizarre and dangerous conspiracy theories, including those related to QAnon, Pizzagate, the Uvalde and Sandy Hook mass shootings, 9/11, the Maui wildfires, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Peters is also a flat earther, writing: “If the ‘globe’ is ‘round’, someone is going to have to prove it to me.”

Peters was behind Died Suddenly, a widely debunked and misinformation-filled movie that pushes the conspiracy theory that, as the Anti-Defamation League summarized, “Covid-19 vaccines are causing healthy individuals to develop deadly blood clots, suggesting this is proof that ‘global elites’ are using Covid-19 vaccines to depopulate the planet as part of a broader conspiracy to establish a global, totalitarian regime.”

Despite that history, Sinclair stations across the country ran “sponsored” segments featuring Peters and meteorologist Brian van de Graaff from Sinclair’s Washington, D.C.-based station WJLA.

The roughly two-and-a-quarter-minutes segment began with van de Graaff touting Peters’ credentials, stating that he is a “former bounty hunter and host of The Stew Peters Show. Stew is also the producer of the film Died Suddenly, which was viewed by over 30 million people worldwide.” (A roughly 30-second longer version of the segment has also aired.)

The segment then transitioned into treating Peters as a purported financial expert, including van de Graaff asking for his “thoughts on the recent bank bailouts and frail financial system.” Peters responded that when it comes to savings, “the only answer is to invest in precious metals, physical gold and physical silver,” and viewers should do it through Goldco, the segment’s sponsor.

According to a search of the media databases Kinetiq and TVEyes, Peters’ segment aired on at least 16 Sinclair-affiliated stations since May through September, most recently on September 28:

In one instance, Peters’ segment also aired on KRGV in Harlingen, Texas, which is owned by Mobile Video Tapes Inc. (KRGV was airing the show Daytime, which is produced by Sinclair.)

At times, Peters’ segment was introduced by local news personalities. In Little Rock, for instance, the sponsored segment was introduced on Good Morning Arkansas by host Ansley Watson, who said: “Do you have concerns about the direction of the U.S. economy? Our D.C. correspondent Brian van de Graaff shares information about how you can protect your retirement savings from inflation.” In Birmingham, Alabama, Talk of Alabama host Katherine Page made a similar introduction before the start of the segment.

Gold companies have heavily targeted conservative audiences over the years. In addition to Peters, Goldco also uses Fox News host Sean Hannity as a spokesperson. Despite their mutual Goldco connection, Peters has called Hannity a “ball-less” phony; traitor; “bloviating blowhard”; “fake JiuJitsu champ”; and someone who “sold his soup to the communists” and is part of the “sold-out fake news media.”

Peters has previously thanked Goldco “for making our Died Suddenly film possible.”

Goldco connecting with Sinclair is a natural fit, as the media company has long broadcasted conservative propaganda to viewers across the country.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Linda Yaccarino

Musk's X: 'Hitler Was Right' Didn't 'Violate Our Safety Policies'

X's internal reporting system repeatedly responded that posts claiming “Hitler was right” and that there needs to be a “final solution” regarding Jewish people don't violate the platform’s “safety policies.” This isn’t an isolated example: The Center for Countering Digital Hate similarly released a report today finding that X has failed to remove neo-Nazi content on its platform in numerous cases.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has tried to mollify advertisers by claiming that her company “opposes antisemitism in all its forms” and “will always work to fight it.” But X has repeatedly shown that it cares little about antisemtism and bigotry on its platform. And owner Elon Musk has repeatedly engaged with antisemitism. This has created a toxic atmosphere for brands, where their advertisements appear directly on pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, pro-violence, and neo-Nazi accounts. Ads have also recently appeared next to unhinged conspiracy theories about Jewish people and 9/11.

X claims in its “safety” policies section that it does not allow “Hateful conduct,” saying: “You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.” It specifically states that violations of this policy include “genocides, (e.g., the Holocaust).”

The Center for Countering Digital Hate released a report today finding that “researchers identified a total of 140 posts that promoted antisemitism, including racist caricatures of Jewish people and claims that Jews control the world. X continued hosting this content in 85.00% (119) of cases.”

In light of Musk’s interactions with antisemitic users surrounding the “BanTheADL” campaign, Media Matters ran a test of X’s system for reporting policy violations by flagging 28 posts that specifically claimed that “Hitler was right” or a “final solution” is needed for Jewish people. X’s reporting system responded in five instances by telling us those don’t violate the platform’s policies.

At time of publishing, there have been zero instances of X telling us a post with either of those phrases was a violation, though three posts are no longer available: X told us it took action against one account based on “different reports we received about their behavior” and two reported posts no longer exist due to the tweet having “been deleted” and the account “no longer exists.” X took no apparent action nor responded to reports on the remaining posts that we flagged.

The five posts that X told us didn't violate their policies are:

  • Based_bigfoot wrote: “@elonmusk We really need to solve this problem. We need, like, a final solution.” (X's response.)
  • Dirlewanger8814 wrote: “@I98Kev @elonmusk @bennyjohnson It happened because Hitler was right about everything and most of his people knew it.” (X's response.)
  • HCollinns wrote: “@Resurrec_Ted @KeithWoodsYT [ADL CEO Jonathan] Greenblatt - proving Hitler was right one tweet at a time.” (X's response.)
  • OrganicReportin wrote: “@elonmusk Elon most the mainstream media are jews. Hitler was right. Also only 270.000 jew were in EUROPE IN THE 1940S. So who do you think BS the whole world telling us 6 million we in Europe who were killed? fake news from the jews. You ban on this and you too are owned by jews.” (X's response.)
  • PastorJim316 wrote: “@G_U_N_N_A_R_ A final solution for the ADL problem is needed.” (X's response.)

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Musk's 'X' Placed Major Ads On Account Of Antisemite Promoting Violence

Musk's 'X' Placed Major Ads On Account Of Antisemite Promoting Violence

X (formerly Twitter) has been placing ads for major brands like MLB, Bayer, Tyson Foods, and eBay on the account of Stew Peters, a white nationalist streamer who uses the social platform to endorse the killings of politicians and LGBTQ advocates. Peters has over 400,000 followers on his account, which he uses to attack people for being Jewish, and recently wrote of the Elon Musk-backed “BanTheADL” campaign: “The ADL controlling free speech has gone on long enough. The final solution should be @elonmusk banning the @ADL from twitter/@x.”

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has been claiming that her platform is a safe place for brands. She recently tweeted that X has a “commitment to brand safety” and told CNBC in a recent interview that companies are “protected from the risk of being next to” toxic content and, “By all objective metrics, X is a much healthier and safer platform than it was a year ago.”

That’s false: Media Matters and other observers have shown that X remains a toxic environment, especially for advertisers. Since Elon Musk took over the company, X has placed ads for numerous brands directly on pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, and neo-Nazi accounts. Ads have also appeared next to unhinged conspiracy theories about Jewish people and 9/11.

Peters is a far-right conspiracy theorist, white nationalist, and Rumble host who believes that politicians, pro-vaccine advocates, and journalists must be executed.

Peters was previously banned on X when it was known as Twitter, but he was able to reopen an account under Musk. During his time on X, he has authored numerous posts that have spread false claims and conspiracy theories, including recently claiming that a laser weapon caused the Lahaina wildfires.

He also uses his account to attack people for being Jewish and promote white nationalism. He once posted a celebratory picture of Hitler, writing: “Say what you will about Hitler, but people turned out for his rallies.”

He wrote of the Holocaust: “The Covid bioweapon genocide is significantly WORSE than the holocaust in terms of worldwide reach and number of deaths.”

Despite (or maybe because of) his toxic background, numerous political figures have appeared on his program. They include: U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ); Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Peters recently spoke at the ReAwaken America tour in Las Vegas along with Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Michael Flynn, among others. During that speech, Peters again called for the hanging of Anthony Fauci.

Peters openly promotes violence on his account, which is a violation of X’s purported rules. X, however, has repeatedly failed to enforce its rules under Musk and Yaccarino’s watch.

X placed ads for major advertisers on Peters' violent posts and account 

We looked at two recent examples of Peters promoting violence and found numerous ads for major brands directly on those posts. We also looked at Peters’ account and found numerous other brand ads.

Pro-LGBTQ killing. Peters posted an image of a flier calling for the murder of pro-LGBTQ advocates, including the anti-bullying group GLSEN and Target, because they support transgender rights. He wrote: “Apparently some fine Americans are circulating some literature at their local Target store.”

Brand ads on that post include:

While advertising for Bayer — a pharmaceutical company that helped produce a COVID-19 vaccine — has appeared on his account, Peters has said drug companies involved in the manufacturing of the vaccine should receive “the death penalty.”

Pro-politician killing. Peters posted an image of gallows with the caption “government repair kit.” He wrote: “We have a lot of repairing to do.”

Brand ads on that post include:

Peters’ account is filled with other calls for violence. Those include him posting a video of politicians and reporters making pro-COVID-19 vaccine remarks and writing, “Every single one of these people deserve the rope”; and him saying of non-binary singer Sam Smith, “Any serious society would give this demon the Old Yeller treatment.”

Peters also recently suggested violence against California state Rep. Lori Wilson (D), posting on X regarding a speech she made supporting gender affirming care: “Time for a trip to the woodshed.” (Replies to Peters included “gallows,” “hang,” and “to the big tree.”)

We also found ads for numerous brands on Peters’ account page:

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Linda Yaccarino

Musk's 'X' Places Major League Ads Next To Unhinged Antisemitic Posts

X (formerly known as Twitter) has been placing ads for major brands like the NFL, MLB, T-Mobile, and eBay alongside content pushing unhinged conspiracy theories about Jewish people orchestrating the 9/11 attacks. Despite X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s recent claims that her company “opposes antisemitism in all its forms” and “will always work to fight it,” these placements serve as another warning to advertisers about the hollowness of her promises.

Antisemites have long alleged that nefarious Jewish forces are secretly behind world events, including the 9/11 attacks.

Media Matters and other observers have documented how X has remained a dangerous cesspool, especially for advertisers. Since Musk took over the company, X has placed ads for numerous brands directly on pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, and neo-Nazi accounts.

In recent weeks, X owner Elon Musk has given fuel to antisemitism on the platform by showing support for the “#BanTheADL.”

Yaccarino has attempted to do damage control by claiming that “X opposes antisemitism in all its forms.” In a post to the platform, she also wrote, “Antisemitism is evil and X will always work to fight it on our platform. And X is also always open to proactively working together in that fight with all groups.” She recently told CNBC that companies are “protected from the risk of being next to” toxic content.

But Media Matters found on September 11 that X has been placing ads for numerous brands next to openly antisemitic content, including the hashtag “JewsDid911.” (In some instances, that hashtag also appeared next to the Musk-promoted “BanTheADL” hashtag.) Ads appearing next to antisemitic claims about 9/11 included:

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

 Jason Dean

Don Jr. Will Appear With Hitler-Loving Antisemite On Speaking Tour

Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, Trump lawyer Alina Habba, and other members of Trump’s orbit are scheduled to speak alongside antisemitic streamer Jason Dean this week. Dean, who also spoke at a May Trump hotel event with Eric and Lara Trump, has said that he has “NEVER been able to buy the Hitler/Nazi ‘Official Story’” and praised Adolf Hitler for having a “vision” and wanting “to straighten everything out” but “the bankers got him.”

He is at least the third Hitler-promoting antisemite that has appeared on the Trump-backed ReAwaken America tour. Two other tour regulars were set to appear at Trump’s Miami resort in May but were pulled from the event after widespread media criticism.

Dean is a chiropractor, Rumble host, and fringe conspiracy theorist who believes that the Earth is under the “control” of alien reptiles. He has appeared on One America News and Alex Jones’ Infowars network. Dean gained a following during the COVID-19 pandemic by pushing false medical claims and grifting followers by offering his own health “protocol.”

Trump allies Roger Stone, Kash Patel, and Mike Flynn, and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers have appeared on Dean’s program. He also posted a video of himself having a “strategic meeting” with congressional candidate and former Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini.

He is a regular speaker on the ReAwaken America tour and is scheduled to speak this week in Las Vegas. (Dean, tour co-founder Clay Clark, and the tour's website have confirmed his appearance.) The tour features QAnon conspiracy theorists and Christian nationalist rhetoric. In April 2022, Dean posted a picture of him meeting with tour co-founder Flynn, who also has a history of making antisemitic remarks, and thanked him for “giving me connections to people to meet with for the future.”

Members of Trump’s inner circle and past Trump administration officials are scheduled to speak at the event along with Dean. They include: Donald Trump Jr., Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, Devin Nunes, Habba, Flynn, and Stone.

Numerous other toxic commentators will be speakers, including Alex Jones sidekick and January 6 insurrectionist Owen Shroyer; far-right conspiracy theorist Lara Logan; COVID-19 conspiracy theorist Sherri Tenpenny, who has promoted antisemitic and Holocaust denying material; and election denier Mike Lindell.

Streaming host Stew Peters, a white nationalist who is virulently anti-LGBTQ, is also scheduled to speak. He has also repeatedly made antisemitic remarks, including stating that Judaism “is a death cult built on the blood of murdered babies” and writing: “It’s become socially unacceptable and in some cases even illegal to question or critique Jews, Israel, or the Zionist mob. The murder of Jesus (Read Book of Matthew). The attack on the USS Liberty. 9/11 dancing Israelis. Rothschild family. Who controls international banking, Hollywood, and the entire MSM.” He also wrote: “Say what you will about Hitler, but people turned out for his rallies.”

The tour invited Peters despite his attacks on Trump allies, including calling Trump adviser Ric Grenell “a sodomite ... who finds the meaning of life at the bottom of a shit hole."

Dean has spoken at prior ReAwaken America events in Post Falls, Idaho; Branson, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; and, most recently, at Trump’s resort in Miami, Florida. While Dean has spoken alongside Eric Trump at those events, the Trump son is currently not on the schedule for Las Vegas. (Eric Trump has been promoted as a speaker for the Las Vegas event and Clark said in an appearance on Stew Peters' program yesterday that audiences would “see Eric Trump,” but he told Clark several weeks ago that he would be in Scotland for a golf tournament and miss the event.)

Media Matters previously reported that Eric Trump repeatedly appeared alongside streamers Scott McKay and Charlie Ward, two antisemites who have a history of promoting pro-Hitler and Holocaust-denying content. (Dean has done streams with both of them.) After criticism, including from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, CNN’s Jake Tapper, and Trump ally Alan Dershowitz, the tour canceled their scheduled appearances at Trump’s Miami resort. Eric Trump responded by threatening “legal action” against Maddow.

Dean’s presence alongside key Trump officials is further evidence of how embedded antisemitism is on the right. It’s also an indication that Flynn and Clark’s tour has low standards when it comes to platforming speakers.

Here is some of Jason Dean’s history.

Dean said he doesn’t “buy the Hilter/Nazi ‘Official Story” and praised Hitler as someone who had a “vision” and “wanted to straighten everything out”

Dean has made numerous antisemitic remarks in the past several years, including praising Hitler -- remarks he acknowledged were “very, very, very controversial.”

During a November 2020 show, he claimed that Hitler was actually Jewish (“Hitler is, definitely — was a quote unquote bastard child of the Rothschilds”) and then praised Hitler for having supposedly been a visionary, stating: “He had visions of being a nationalist in Germany and to knock off the bankers. He had a vision of that. He potentially wanted to straighten everything out. However, that didn't go well, and instead it was overturned and the bankers got him.”

Dean prefaced his pro-Hitler remarks by saying he’s “been screaming this from a rooftop forever” and “this is a very, very, very controversial thing” to say.

JASON DEAN: What happened was, okay, I'm going to give you a very, very twisted history here that not everyone will agree with, but I've done a little bit of research. So Adolf Hitler. Here we go. Ready? I'm going to drop my own little bomb. And this is a very, very, very controversial thing that I'm going to say. But Adolf Hitler is, definitely — was a quote unquote bastard child of the Rothschilds. Now. The other part, though, is he had visions. He had visions of being a nationalist in Germany and to knock off the bankers. He had a vision of that. He potentially wanted to straighten everything out. However, that didn't go well, and instead it was overturned and the bankers got him.

Dean added that Hitler didn’t die but actually “went out the back door, down south toward Antarctica and … Argentina.”

He also wrote last year: “I have NEVER been able to buy the Hilter/Nazi ‘Official Story.’ The ONLY entity/organization that has told you to believe it is the Mainstream Media.”

He additionally wrote in January: “You have to remember something very important, and this will upset our veterans… We NEVER won World War 2. It wasn’t even a War. It was a setup to install Marxist Communism in America. It worked brilliantly and many are just becoming aware.”

Dean is also a believer in the “Khazarian mafia” conspiracy theory, which essentially claims that a group of fake Jewish people (the “Khazarian mafia”) stole Jewish identity centuries ago and now hides behind Judaism to control world affairs.

Mike Rothschild, a researcher and author of the upcoming book Jewish Space Lasers, previously told Media Matters that the conspiracy theory is “part of a long line of canards used by antisemites to claim that certain powerful Jewish families are ‘fake Jews.’” (Both Scott McKay and Charlie Ward have promoted the conspiracy theory.)

Dean wrote of the “Khazarian Mafia”: “The Jews were LEAD out of EGYPT. What is the MODERN DAY ‘SLAVERY?’ Debt Slavery. The DEBT is CARRIED by the Fake Jews, THe Khazarian Mafia.” He also claimed of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “The Khazarians and their puppet politicians used Zelensky as their pawn to set Trump up for the Impeachment phone call. Now, Putin is going for blood and they’re trying to paint him as the bully. This is going to get good.”

Dean claimed “the Reptilians/Invader Force controls planet Earth. … This is REAL” and “we are under Reptilian control”

Dean believes that the Earth is “under reptilian control” and these reptiles use “puppets,” including George Soros and the Rothschild family, to implement their agenda.

“We are under Reptilian control,” Dean wrote last year. “The Reptilian/Dracos control this planet and have for a very long time. This is TOO MUCH for many to handle.”

    He also claimed: “This planet is not controlled by humans. Gates, Soros, Rothschilds, families….ALL puppets.”

    “The Reptilians/Invader Force controls planet Earth. … This is REAL,” he wrote.

    Dean’s belief in reptilian overlords echoes that of David Icke. Dean told Icke during an interview that he’s “been watching for a long period of time, read his books. And he is a genius when it comes to what is happening in the world and planetary control.”

    Dean is a QAnon, JFK Jr., 9/11, and Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist

    Dean has pushed numerous other far-right conspiracy theories. Here are just some of them:

    • Dean is a QAnon conspiracy theorist who wrote last September: “No matter how many times I walk away from Q it sucks me back in.”
    • Dean has promoted the conspiracy theory that John F. Kennedy Jr. is alive, including doing a show about JFK Jr. in which he said that Kennedy Jr. is “potentially coming back.” During another stream, he wore a QAnon-themed shirt reading “Trump / JFK Jr. 2020.”
    • Dean is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist who claimed that “9/11 was an inside job” and wrote: “If Trump and the Patriots SHOW that 9/11 was perpetrated by Israel.... The Planet will never be the same again. #InsideJob.”
    • Dean has claimed that the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a “false flag.”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    RFK Jr.

    RFK Jr. SuperPAC Is Advertising On Racist Fringe Outlet

    The fringe outlet Creative Destruction Media posts content attacking purported “Black and brown invaders from Northern Africa and the MidEast” with “a primitive culture”; advising readers to arm themselves against transgender people; and falsely claiming that the 2020 election was “fraudulent” and “stolen” from Donald Trump.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PAC has been spending thousands on advertising on the right-wing outlet.

    American Values 2024 is a super PAC run by close Kennedy associates, including friend and Skyhorse Publishing President Tony Lyons. (Skyhorse has published numerous conspiracy theory-filled books, including Kennedy’s The Real Anthony Fauci.) Politico recently noted that the PAC received “more than half its nearly $10 million in funds from a single GOP donor.” Kennedy promoted content from the PAC last week.

    Kennedy’s PAC stated in a recently filed Federal Election Commission report that it spent $6,500 in late June on “web advertising” to Creative Destruction Media. The PAC has continued to send money to the outlet as CDM has been running American Values 2024 ads as recently as last week.

    CDM frequently posts pro-Kennedy content and has defended his antisemitic COVID-19 conspiracy theory.

    Kennedy himself is connected to the company: He has joined with Creative Destruction Media in legal action over alleged free speech violations. The Ohio chapter of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense also partnered with Creative Destruction Media for a May 2022 event.

    The presidential candidate has ties to numerous extremists and right-wing figures, while conservative media figures like Trump allies Steve Bannon and Roger Stone have been praising his campaign. Children’s Health Defense has also conducted outreach to users of the far-right social media platform Gab in 2021, including white supremacists, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and an open neo-Nazi.

    CDM is another right-wing site that promotes bigotry and conspiracy theories. In addition to its main site, it also runs various other properties and local-themed sites. The following are examples of CDM’s work and indicate the type of audience Kennedy’s PAC is apparently trying to reach:

    Bigoted rhetoric against non-whites. CDM’s property The Manhattan (which has run pro-Kennedy advertising) posted a racist piece headlined “Import A Primitive Culture, Become A Jungle” that warns readers about purported “Black and brown invaders from Northern Africa and the MidEast.” It concludes: “The new ‘colonizers’ aren’t white. They’re not of European descent. The people looking to enslave, dominate, and oppress Western countries are experienced in doing it in their own countries, which are the hollow shells they fled.”

    CDM publisher L. Todd Wood also uses the site to complain about Black Americans, writing in a piece headlined “Black Democrats Owe White America Reparations For The Destruction They Have Caused”: “What black Democrat America has done to our once-great American cities is truly sickening. White America is owed reparations for the destruction that has been wrought against our country. … Black Democrat America wants no accountability at all for their behavior. They just want free stuff, and they want to take it from you in some kind of made up racism BS. I for one am tired of it. This is of course not all of black America. Many have left the Democratic plantation and many more will have done so after the election.”

    Anti-LGBTQ bigotry. The site promotes hatred of LGBTQ people, including publishing pieces with the headlines “The Emperor Has No Clothes: Rejecting The Totalitarian Transgender Movement”; “The Revolting Misogyny Of The Transgendered”; and “The Powerful ‘Trans' Lobby Wants Special Privileges, Not Equal Rights.” Wood wrote a piece calling transgender people “mentally ill” and stated: “The mental illness is mutating into a domestic terrorist threat. It's time to shut this threat to our children down at the source - the teacher's unions, the corrupt medical community, and the government. In the meantime, get your concealed carry license and protect your family.”

    Election denial. CDM has run articles falsely claiming that the 2020 election was “stolenandfraudulent.” Wood wrote a piece headlined “Fraudulent Election Will Be Overturned, But Biden Chinese Masters Could Strike Militarily Or Via Terror” that concluded: “Let's put our faith in God and his instrument - President Trump. Stop the Steal!”

    QAnon. The site has endorsed the QAnon conspiracy theory. It published a November 2020 piece headlined “Q Was Right” and told readers: “After exhaustive meetings with sources in Ukraine, who provided reams of documentary evidence for hours, CDMedia has been exposed to a massive international criminal conspiracy which spans continents and decades. Q was right. Our wold is run by a criminal syndicate unlike mankind has ever known.”

    Mass shooting conspiracy theories. Wood has posted content pushing conspiracy theories about mass shootings. He wrote a May 2022 piece with the headline “Facts Beg The Question - Was Uvalde School Shooting Manufactured To Take Your Guns?” He wrote: “At the very least, the American people deserve an investigation and answers. … Since we know the Biden crime family was in bed with the communist regime, the natural inclination is to assume OBiden is working for the CCP to bring down our nation.”

    He also wrote in April 2021: “After years of a relatively gun violence-free Trump administration, the mass shootings have returned with a vengeance, timed suspiciously with the new Leftists push for gun control. … They want your guns and they want them now. This is the one thing standing between the globalists and complete tyrannical control, slavery, serfdom, Hell on Earth.”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    Kari Lake

    Kari Lake Appears On Antisemite's Podcast To Endorse Political Violence

    Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently appeared on the podcast of Michael Scheuer, a virulent antisemite who has called for the assassinations of leading political figures like President Joe Biden. During their discussion, Lake stated that the Second Amendment is “there to stop the tyrants.” Scheuer responded by claiming that there’s “an enormous enemy in Washington” and “in the general staff of the military.”

    Lake, who is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, is a former news anchor who has repeatedly and falsely insisted that she won her 2022 gubernatorial bid. She has referred to herself as “the real governor, the duly elected governor” and told one podcaster that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs “should be pulled out by her collar."

    She repeatedly appeared on far-right programs during her unsuccessful campaign. She also endorsed — and then rescinded, following media criticism — an antisemitic candidate for state Senate in the non-neighboring state of Oklahoma.

    Lake has attempted to stay relevant by positioning herself as Donald Trump’s potential 2024 running mate and releasing an election-denying memoir. Throughout her promotional tour for the book, Lake has appeared on shows like the QAnon-supporting X22 Report, Steve Bannon’s War Room, and right-wing troll Catturd2’s In the Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd.

    On July 28, the Arizona Republican appeared on Scheuer’s Two Mikes podcast, which streams on Rumble. Scheuer is a former CIA operative and QAnon conspiracy theorist who has said that Jewish people are “disloyal,” “subversive,” and “lethal enemies of Americans” who "must be stopped and then scoured from the continent.” He has also stated that numerous political figures should be assassinated, including “the Bidens, Harris, the Clintons, the Obamas,” George Soros, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    During the interview, Lake said that “the Second Amendment, in many ways, is the most important amendment” and that it’s “there to stop the tyrants.” (Elsewhere, Lake has directly accused Biden of acting tyrannically.)

    Scheuer pounced on Lake’s suggestion of using the Second Amendment against tyrants by arguing that “what we've seen now is an enormous enemy in Washington and an enormous enemy in the general staff of the military.”

    Scheuer also suggested to Lake that she consider “restoring the state militia,” an idea that she later said was “interesting.”

    MICHAEL SCHEUER: When you were preparing to be governor, did you ever give any thought to restoring the state militia?

    KARI LAKE: I had just — you know, I had a lot of people ask those kind of questions and I said — you know — interesting question, I'm sure that's your top issue, but my top issue is the border. And I think we have the people to help secure the border if we just put our will there to secure the border. You know, I think that the most — reason that we are still a country is we do have an armed citizenry.

    SCHEUER: Right.

    LAKE: The Second Amendment, in many ways, is the most important amendment, because when all else fails, we have that. That's what's keeping the world, honestly, going still, when you've got citizens who are able to protect themselves from tyrants, and that's why it was placed there. It wasn’t placed there for target practice. It wasn't placed there for pheasant hunting. It was placed there to stop the tyrants, and our Founding Fathers were pretty darn smart.

    SCHEUER: Yeah. And that's why we initially had a militia — because they were afraid of the federal government encroaching on them. And when they stole that away and made a National Guard, they left the Second Amendment alone. So it's still there. I've often wondered why governors haven't thought, "Well, you know, maybe we should have our own militia again." But it's probably just a wild thought. But it's something that's in the Constitution. No law can overrule the Constitution. And it just seems to me a state should think about that. That's all.

    LAKE: Interesting.

    SCHEUER: And I don't mean — I would agree with what you said. You probably have enough firepower to do what you need to do for your border. But I mean, what we've seen now is an enormous enemy in Washington and an enormous enemy in the general staff of the military.

    LAKE: That's [inaudible]. Well, and our founders understood this more than anyone, because they fought back the most — the largest tyrant you can imagine, King George and the British monarchy, and they died for our freedoms. They died for us to be able to choose our elected officials, our elected representation. And that's one of the reasons I stay in this fight, because I don't want that to have been done in vain.

    Scheuer invoked the Second Amendment as a solution to political problems during a July 3 exchange with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. On that podcast, he claimed that prior elections were “rigged” and said he thanks God that “the Second Amendment remains in the Constitution because I don't know how else to take care of these vermin.”

    This is not the first time Lake has invoked the American Revolution and the Second Amendment as a remedy for alleged tyranny. During a December speech at Turning Point USA’s America Fest, Lake called for the imprisonment of Maricopa County election officials and, comparing her circumstances to the tyranny that precipitated the American Revolution, said, “I think we’re right there right now, aren’t we?”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    Elon Musk

    Musk's Twitter Put Ads For Major Brands On Terror-Linked Neo-Nazi Account

    Twitter has placed ads for brands like Honeywell, Discovery, National Women’s Soccer League, the Pittsburgh Steelers, USA Today, and Manchester City on the verified account of the National Socialist Network, a leading neo-Nazi group that engages in violence, has connections to terrorism, and uses Elon Musk’s platform to recruit new members. Twitter's actions are reminder to advertisers that despite rebranding efforts by Musk and Linda Yaccarino, Twitter (now called X) remains a toxic environment for companies.

    Musk hired Yaccarino, an advertising executive, in an effort to convince companies that it is safe to advertise on Twitter. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “X Corp. is cutting ad prices as it tries to woo brands back to the Elon Musk-owned platform” and is “warning brands that they will lose their verified status unless they reach certain spending thresholds.”

    Twitter has had a problem with advertising revenue since Musk took over. Media Matters and other outlets have documented the appearance of brand advertisements on accounts that feature Holocaust denial, white nationalism, and other toxic content.

    The National Socialist Network is an Australian group named after Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party (aka the Nazi Party). It stages pro-Hitler and neo-Nazi rallies, including one in May that ended in violence.

    The Age described them as “Australia’s largest white supremacist group” and reported that members are “involved in prolific networking with other violent cells across Australia and overseas.” The publication additionally reported that “despite the network’s public claims to disavow violence, behind the scenes some in the group laud” the New Zealand mosque shooter “as an inspiration whose ‘unjust’ jailing has put the group on a ‘timeline’ to revolution.”

    Thomas Sewell, the group’s leader, was found guilty in December of “recklessly causing injury and affray” during a 2021 attack on a Black security guard. Members of the group have also “pleaded guilty to possessing documents and records of information for terrorist acts.”

    The National Socialist Network joined Twitter in November 2022, shortly after Musk completed his deal to buy Twitter. On November 12, they tweeted: “Elon Musk is a true homie #ElonIsDestroyingTwitter.” Their account has been “verified since July 2023.” Musk has said that verified accounts are eligible to receive a share of ad revenue, meaning that advertisers could be helping to fill the coffers of a neo-Nazi organization.

    The group has used its account to celebrate Hitler (“the greatest man to ever live!”) and has posted the swastika. It also attempts to recruit followers on the platform, including by writing: “So long as the Jews push for their Voice to Parliament, all White men of good conscience must fight against it. We implore all White Australians of our ideals to join the revolution!”

    Twitter has monetized the neo-Nazi account and has placed numerous ads on it. Media Matters found ads this week on the National Socialist Network's account for the following brands:

    A job recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol also appeared on the account of the National Socialist Network, meaning that the federal government is potentially spending money to recruit neo-Nazis. (Media Matters previously documented that an ad for the agency also appeared on a leading white nationalist account.)

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    Paul Gosar

    Gosar Promotes Antisemitic Website That Praises Hitler, Denies Holocaust

    Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) yesterday used his House.gov newsletter to promote USSA News, a fringe site that has posted content calling the Holocaust “the Holohoax” and telling readers to “stand up for Hitler.” Gosar’s promotion of the antisemitic outlet comes just months after he sent followers to a different site that has also denied the Holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler.

    Gosar has frequently promoted antisemitic media in recent years. He has met with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and repeatedly spoke at his conferences; and he’s promoted virulent antisemite Vincent James Foxx.

    Gosar drew criticism in April after he used his newsletter to direct people to a story that praised him for attacking “Jewish warmongers” for their support of Ukraine. Gosar linked to Veterans Today, an antisemitic website that has called the Holocaust a “lie” and a “hoax” and praised Hitler as a “great man” and “a man of valor.” TPM reported in May that Gosar has employed an aide that's connected to Fuentes and the white nationalist movement.

    In his July 23 newsletter, under the section “Gosar in the News and Other Must-Read Stories,” Gosar wrote: “USSA News: Biden White House Out To ‘Censor’ Press, ‘Silence’ Opponents, Lawmakers Charge” and sent readers to USSANews.com. Gosar was linking to the site even though the article is a repost of a piece from The Heritage Foundation publication The Daily Signal. (Elsewhere in the newsletter, Gosar writes that “there is zero room in our society for these vile, hateful and bigoted comments in the Halls of Congress” and “anti-Jewish and anti-Israel statements by members of Congress must be condemned.”) Gosar previously linked to USSA News on April 2 and August 7, 2022.

    Gosar was sending readers to a site that has repeatedly posted content that denies the Holocaust and defends Hitler. Here are four examples from just the past week and in the days prior to the Gosar mention:

    • USSA News on July 22 posted: “David Cole, a Jew, explores Auschwitz and debunks the claims that it was an industrial death camp – still on youtube for now but as more countries outlaw questioning the ‘holocaust’, it is uploaded here in case it is removed to censor inconvenient evidence.”
    • USSA News on July 21 posted: “Making Adolf Hitler into a Jewish-controlled agent is quite a brilliant plot by International Jewry to divert newcomers away from learning the true history & background of National Socialism (Slavery). Don’t be fooled! … Stand up for Hitler and National Socialism (Slavery)!!” The piece then promoted content on Renegade Tribune, a neo-Nazi site.
    • USSA News on July 20 posted an article from the antisemitic site Unz Review attacking Jewish people, which begins by stating: “Untrue stories exist at each end of Jewish history’s three thousand years – fictional, fabricated and of immense magnitude.” It then claimed: “Towards the end of the 20th century as belief in the origin stories was fading away, the Holohoax morphed into a fearsome modern religion, in which belief is compulsory.”
    • USSA News on July 17 lionized Hitler by writing that “the Kalergi Plan consists of the genocide of white people through miscegenation and mass immigration of non-whites to Europe. … Hitler was aware of Kalergi’s plan and did everything in his power to prevent it. Like Gobineau, Hitler considered the Aryan race to be the noblest, the best armed for the struggle for existence, the most beautiful, the most energetic, and the one with the greatest amount of creative genius. What this race lost by mixing it was not compensated by what the others gained by ennoblement.”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    Neo-Nazis And Antisemites Revel In RFK Jr.'s COVID Conspiracy Theory

    Antisemitic and neo-Nazi commentators have been celebrating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to exclude Jewish people.

    They have called Kennedy “based” and “100% correct”; written that “I fully support any presidential candidate saying things like this that make Jews upset”; and told followers: “Kennedy Jr. just opened the door for real truth to spread. We must not let him down - spread the word!!!”

    Kennedy is an anti-vaccine commentator who is running for president as a Democrat. Right-wing media figures, including past and present Trump advisers, have been cheering on his campaign.

    He and his anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense have a history of right-wing and conspiratorial associations. CHD has sought support from users of the far-right social media platform Gab, including white supremacists, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and an open neo-Nazi. Kennedy has also praised a fringe commentator who previously claimed that “Hitler was a Rothschild” and that he was “utterly set up.”

    The New York Post reported over the weekend that Kennedy said that there’s “an argument” that COVID-19 is “ethnically targeted,” adding: “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” Antisemites have claimed during the pandemic that COVID-19 is a Jewish plot.

    Kennedy’s remark has led to heavy controversy, with Asian and Jewish groups condemning his statement. (Kennedy has attempted to clean up his remark by claiming the event was off the record and saying he’s being smeared.)

    Virulent antisemites and neo-Nazis have applauded Kennedy for his conspiracy theory. Here is just a sampling of the online support.

    Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin: “BASED RFK Jr. Says Covid was Genetically Engineered to Spare Jews … a hilarious thing to say, and I totally support it.” Anglin is a neo-Nazi who has harassed and urged violence against Jewish people. He praised Kennedy on his Daily Stormer website in a piece titled “BASED RFK Jr. Says Covid was Genetically Engineered to Spare Jews.” He wrote: “I don’t really even understand exactly what this means, but clearly, the implication is that the Jews designed the virus to spare themselves while killing off the goyim. … However, ‘the virus was engineered to spare the Jews’ is a hilarious thing to say, and I totally support it.”

    Holocaust denier Henrik Palmgren: “#RFK is 100% correct.” Palmgren is a streamer who posts antisemitic and Holocaust denying material. He tweeted on his Twitter-verified account: “#RFK is 100% correct.”

    Neo-Nazi site Infostormer: “I fully support any presidential candidate saying things like this that make Jews upset.” Infostormer is a neo-Nazi site that has said it’s dedicated to “destroying Jewish tyranny.” In its section “Jewish Problem,” Infostormer wrote: “RFK Jr. said that COVID-19 was engineered and that it was engineered in such a way so that Jews and Chinese people would be the least at risk from it. This is a very funny thing to say because it has caused all sorts of Jews to get really angry and upset. … Regardless of what COVID-19 theory you believe in, I fully support any presidential candidate saying things like this that make Jews upset.”

    The site also commented: “This is perhaps the greatest thing he has ever said.”

    Antisemites and neo-Nazis on Gab: “Someone has to say it”; “Just Opened the Door for Real Truth to Spread. We Must Not Let Him Down - Spread the Word!!!”Gab is a social media platform that caters to far-right users, including antisemites and neo-Nazis. Numerous people on that platform who openly espouse those views celebrated Kennedy for his conspiracy theory; here are four examples:

    • The Western Chauvinist, a neo-Nazi account that Kennedy’s group previously messaged, wrote: “Pressure release valve or Overton window. Either way someone has to say it.”
    • An account called “JewsaretheProblem” said of his remarks: “The Truth War Has Officially Been Launched. Robert Kennedy Jr. Just Opened the Door for Real Truth to Spread. We Must Not Let Him Down - Spread the Word!!!”
    • An account called “HitlerWasRight” shared a link to a piece headlined “RFK Jr. Drops Nuclear Truth Bomb About How COVID-19 Bioweapon Was Designed To Spare Ashkenazi Jewish Bloodlines (video).”
    • An account called “ItWasTheJews” shared an image from the QAnon account Shadow of Ezra linking Kennedy’s remark to the conspiracy theory that “after the Mossad/CIA knocked down the World Trade Center they instructed Dr. Fauci through various proxies in 2002 to start developing bio weapons.”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    RFK Jr.

    RFK Jr. Promoted Antisemitic Streamer Who Claims 'Hitler Was A Rothschild' (VIDEO)

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his organization Children's Health Defense are fans and promoters of James Corbett, a Sandy Hook and 9/11 conspiracy theorist who has claimed that “Hitler was a Rothschild” and “Hitler and the Nazis were one hundred percent completely and utterly set up … by the international banking community and the international crony capitalists.”

    Kennedy has thanked Corbett for his supposedly “extraordinary work for keeping the public informed,” and Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group has featured Corbett in numerous videos and at a recent symposium.

    Trump and several associates have been praising Kennedy’s presidential campaign, with longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone stating that the Democrat’s candidacy will help “soften Joe Biden up for his defeat by Donald Trump.” Right-wing media figures, including former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, have also been propping up his candidacy.

    Kennedy’s connections to Corbett add to a growing list of the Democratic presidential candidate’s right-wing media associations, including but not limited to:

    Corbett is a fringe online host whose website describes him as providing “breaking news and important issues from 9/11 Truth and false flag terror to the Big Brother police state, eugenics, geopolitics, the central banking fraud and more.” In a 2009 interview, Corbett said he was inspired to become a media figure in large part by the work of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

    In November 2021, Kennedy appeared on Corbett’s show to promote his anti-Anthony Fauci book. During the introduction, he praised Corbett by stating: “Thank you for all of your extraordinary work for keeping the public informed so that we can actually maybe restore some democracy to the world.”

    Corbett has also been a frequent presence in CHD’s anti-vaccine propaganda, where he’s been described as “an expert on geopolitics and open-source journalism.” He is a monthly guest on Good Morning CHD, which is hosted by physician Meryl Nass, who was suspended by the Maine medical board. Kennedy’s group also hosted him as part of a March 4 symposium, where he discussed “The Future Food False Flags.”

    The following are some of the claims made by the Kennedy-backed Corbett:

    Corbett claimed that “Hitler was a Rothschild” and “Hitler and the Nazis were one hundred percent completely and utterly set up.” Corbett has claimed that Hitler was actually a member of the Rothschilds, a Jewish banking family that has been the focus of antisemitic conspiracy theories for years and been blamed for the world’s problems, including World War II. On his show in July 2013, Corbett said: “Hitler was a Rothschild. … Funny how that works, isn't it? Hitler and the Nazis were one hundred percent completely and utterly set up and made it into what they were by the international banking community and the international crony capitalists, including those in America.”

    The conspiracy theory that Hitler had Jewish relatives has been spread since the 1920s. However, as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum noted, “there is no credible evidence that Hitler had any Jewish ancestors.” The claim gained attention in 2022 when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Hitler “had Jewish blood.”

    JAMES CORBETT (HOST): Hitler was a Rothschild, the son of Alois Hitler, who was himself the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber, who happened to be a servant girl who got pregnant whilst working at the mansion of Baron Rothschild. Oh, an illegitimate son of a servant girl of Baron Rothschild, and his son ends up becoming Hitler. Yeah, well, funny how that works, isn't it? Hitler and the Nazis were one hundred percent completely and utterly set up and made it into what they were by the international banking community and the international crony capitalists, including those in America. One hundred percent documentable and on the record.

    Corbett claimed there are “articles documenting the discrepancies and outright lies in the official narrative of the Sandy Hook shooting.” In 2013, Corbett hosted discredited professor James Tracy, a leading Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist. Corbett introduced him by praising his work for supposedly showing that the “official narrative” of the 2012 tragedy was filled with “outright lies”:


    JAMES CORBETT (HOST): After writing a series of articles documenting the discrepancies and outright lies in the official narrative of the Sandy Hook shooting, professor James Tracy of Florida Atlantic University shot to international attention when the establishment media began covering his work. Now Dr. Tracey is left trying to explain the misinterpretations, lies, and soundbites that the mainstream media is using to discredit his work.

    Corbett later claimed that there were “inconsistencies” in the shooting, inviting Tracy to speculate by stating: “So for people who are really hearing about these inconsistencies and problems for the first time, perhaps we could just go over some of the most glaring inconsistencies that you've seen in the reporting on Sandy Hook.”

    Corbett is a frequent promoter of 9/11 conspiracy theories. Corbett has been heavily involved in the 9/11 conspiracy theory movement. He has produced content purporting to show that the terrorist attack was actually a “false flag” event and “the official story of 9/11 is a lie.” He also appears at “9/11 truth” events, where he speaks as a purported expert on what supposedly actually happened.

    Corbett is also a promoter of the “dancing Israelis” 9/11 conspiracy theory, which has been spread online in antisemitic circles. He produced a video titled “9/11 Suspects: Dancing Israelis” and claimed: “In a world of true justice, the dancing Israelis and other Israeli spies with insider advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, who openly celebrated those attacks, would be the targets of the 'war on terror,' not its beneficiaries.”

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    Elon Musk

    Samsung, Dish, And ​'Wall Street Journal' ​Ads Appear On White Nationalist Twitter Account

    Ads for major brands including Dish, Samsung, and The Wall Street Journal have been appearing on the verified Twitter account of VDare, a leading white nationalist group. Those companies are associating with a site that is largely dedicated to complaining about the alleged danger and inferiority of nonwhites, especially immigrants.

    Musk has turned Twitter into a nightmare for advertisers, with accounts featuring antisemitism, racism, anti-LGBTQ hate, and misinformation thriving on the platform. Media outlets and researchers, including Media Matters, have documented that corporate ads have appeared next to toxic accounts, including those that promote Holocaust denialism, and major advertisers have left Musk’s platform.

    The advertisers remaining on Twitter are having their ads placed directly on the accounts of white nationalists, including VDare’s verified account. Information on that account states that it’s been “verified since February 2023.” (Musk stated in June that “Twitter will start paying creators for ads served in their replies. First block payment totals $5M. Note, the creator must be verified and only ads served to verified users count.”)

    VDare is a white nationalist site and organization. Headlines on its site have included:

    • “One Problem With These Hispanic Immigrants Is Their Disgusting Behavior.”
    • “Diversity Is Strength! It’s Also…Hispanic Immigrants Taking Over FBI’s Ten Most Wanted.”
    • “Indians Aren't That Intelligent (On Average).”
    • “America Does Not Need ANY Immigrants From Africa.”
    • New Wave Of Failure Migration: Ethiopians On The Way.”

    Tags on the site include: “Immigrant Mass Murder,” “Anti-White Hate Crimes,” “White Guy Loses His Job,” “Birthright Citizenship Reform,” “Minority Occupation Government,” “Disgruntled Minority Massacre,” “Death Of White America,” “Black Serial Killers,” “War On Whites,” “Jewish Fear and Loathing of Donald Trump,” and “Immigrants And Disease.”

    It also runs regular “great replacement” updates designed to warn white readers that they are being replaced by nonwhites. (The so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theory is a white supremacist trope that’s motivated violence, including mass murders.)

    VDare has previously posted content praising Musk for calling out supposed “anti-white racism from U.S. Media” and responded to his complaint about the new Lord of the Rings series on Amazon by tweeting, “Elon Musk is /ourguy.”

    Numerous companies and even the U.S. government have been advertising directly in VDare’s Twitter account. Media Matters found ads for the following while looking at VDare’s feed:

    The advertisement for CBP was an invitation to apply for jobs. Border Patrol has a history of problems with online racism and bigotry in its ranks.

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

    RFK Jr.

    Kennedy's Anti-Vax Group Solicited Neo-Nazi Users Of Far-Right Gab Site

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s group Children’s Health Defense sought support from users of the far-right social media platform Gab in 2021, including white supremacists, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and an open neo-Nazi.

    Those users have written things including “White people are kings. F--- jews. n--s are animals”; “Against Jewish Control”; and, regarding Nazi Germany: “This is what the Jewish controlled system does not want us to see. When we kick them out and place our value on our own people, we thrive.”

    Kennedy is the founder, chair, and chief litigation counsel for Children’s Health Defense, one of the key spreaders of misinformation about vaccines and COVID-19. He is on leave from the group during his presidential campaign. Kennedy has frequently attempted to appeal to right-wing audiences during his run, as evidenced by his campaign site featuring interviews with Elon Musk, Laura Ingraham, Megyn Kelly, and Breitbart News.

    Children’s Health Defense has been using Gab to recruit followers since January 2021. Its profile says it is part of Gab Pro, which is a subscription-based program. CHD has posted to the site over 1,500 times and has touted its account as a way to “fight censorship.”

    Gab is a social media platform that caters to those deemed too extreme for Twitter and Facebook. Its user base is populated with numerous antisemites, neo-Nazis, and white nationalists. Many of them express hatred toward and issue violent threats against Jewish people. In 2018, a Gab user allegedly killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.

    The Stanford Internet Observatory analyzed content on Gab and concluded in a June 2022 report that “extreme anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic content is rife, with open praise of Nazism, encouragement of violence against minorities, and ‘Great Replacement’ narratives.”

    Andrew Torba is the site’s founder and CEO. He is a virulent antisemite who has said that Jewish people have too much political power and are not welcome in his preferred political movement: “We don't want people who are Jewish.” He has also reposted praise of Gab as a place where people can find “differing opinions” on the Holocaust.

    Media outlets have scrutinized Gab’s links to antisemitism and white supremacy, especially after failed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano paid Torba for campaign “consulting.” But Kennedy’s ties to Gab through his organization have previously gone unreported.

    CHD’s pointed engagement with the antisemitic platform comes as observers have noted a general increase in antisemitism in the U.S., especially online. Misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic has also worsened the problem. Kennedy received criticism in January 2022 after he said during an anti-vaccine rally: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”

    In addition to maintaining an active Gab account, CHD has repeatedly engaged with users who are antisemites and white supremacists. The group also conducted outreach to a neo-Nazi account. Below are numerous examples from 2021:

    CHD asked Gab founder and virulent antisemite Andrew Torba to “follow + support” Kennedy and his group. CHD has reached out to Torba (username “a”) to appeal for support, writing on Gab: “@a Please follow + support Children's Health Defense and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. #Freespeech is yet again under attack.” The organization also promoted an event in Torba’s replies and repeatedly sent him links to its website.

    CHD reached out to a former Gab officer who has expressed hatred of Jewish people (“They gotta go. Now”) and support for enslaving Black people. CHD posted a link to its website to “shadowknight412.” The group also tagged that account, along with Gab’s Help account, in asking for “help with analytics for our account.” The shadowknight412 account belongs to Gab’s former chief technology officer Rob Colbert. In more recent posts, he has made clear his hatred for Jewish and Black people. He’s written: “I don't have any questions about why my ancestors kept these retarded man-like creatures locked in sheds with metal collars on their necks that had bells on them. #N-----Bells”; and “N-----s. If only there was a whole continent they could go live on and not have to worry about fitting in with western civilization and our traditions/laws.”

    He is also an antisemite who has written, “I don't want to be around ridiculous jews”; “The jew is basically parasitic drag. And engineering has ways of mitigating that”; and “It's always some rat-faced jew. They are schizophrenic and violent. They gotta go. Now. The jew needs to be removed from American education, media, government, finance, and law.”

    CHD shared a link to its website with someone whose account states: “F--- jews. n--s are animals.” CHD responded to an anti-vaccine post by “Ytram” by sharing a link to its website. That account states in its “about” page: “White people are kings. F--- jews. n--s are animals.”

    CHD reached out to a neo-Nazi account. CHD responded to an anti-vaccine post by “WesternChauvinist1” by posting a link to its website. That account features two SS bolts as its header image with the “14 words,” a white supremacist slogan.

    It posts pro-Nazi propaganda, including praising Hitler for being “the only world leader to ever arrest a Rothschild”; claiming that “National Socialism took the German economy from a debt based depression, to a country with the highest standard of living in the world” and “National Socialists valued their own people and Nation as their most prized possession”; and concluding of Jewish people: “This is what the Jewish controlled system does not want us to see. When we kick them out and place our value on our own people, we thrive. When we allow their central banks and debt systems in our homelands, we are reduced to consumers and tax cattle.”

    CHD shared a link to its website with an account that’s “against Jewish control.” CHD responded to an anti-vaccine post by “Stevevvs,” which states in its about page that it is “Against Jewish Control.”

    CHD posted a link in the comments section of a white supremacist account. CHD responded to an anti-vaccine post by “PoisonDartPepe” by sharing a link to its website. That account’s pinned post is a screenshot of a social media post defending white supremacy; it states: “What they call White supremacy is really just White dignity. The dignity of a homeland. The dignity of cultural integrity. The dignity of communal pride. When they say they want to smash White supremacy it means they want to destroy your dignity as a people and humiliate you.” The account recently stated of Jewish people: “They should stay here in prison forever. A handful might have execution worthy crimes. But the rest - just throw them in gen pop with the n-----s.” Pepe is a common meme name used by the alt-right and white nationalist movement.

    CHD also shared links to its website to QAnon influencer Neon Revolt; far-right cartoonist Ben Garrison, who has a history of promoting QAnon, “Pizzagate,” and antisemitism; and far-right bigot Milo Yiannopoulos.

    Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.