Overview

Stefan Molyneux is an Irish-Canadian, far-right nationalist, antisemite, and leader in the alt-right movement. He promotes scientific racism, which is the belief that there is empirical evidence suggesting the superiority of white people over non-white individuals.Kevin Roose, “The Making of a YouTube radical,” New York Times, June 8, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html. Molyneux, who is the host of Freedomain Radio, which is billed as the “largest philosophy conversation in the world,” is also an avid promoter of eugenics, antisemitism, and misogyny.“Stefan Molyneux,” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stefan-molyneux; Sam Levin, “Fired Google memo writer gives first big interviews to rightwing YouTubers,” Guardian, August 9, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/09/james-damore-google-memo-youtube-interviews.

Molyneux has been banned from PayPal, Mailchimp, YouTube, Twitter, and SoundCloud for violating hate speech policies.Julia Alexander, “YouTube bans Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and more for hate speech,” The Verge, July 29, 2020, https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/29/21307303/youtube-bans-molyneux-duke-richard-spencer-conduct-hate-speech. In addition to believing and promoting that the Holocaust never happened, Molyneux uses his platform to glorify the South African Apartheid and the transatlantic slave trade as well as to demonize civil rights leaders and activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Indeed, he has repeatedly said that non-white human beings were racially and genetically inferior to white individuals.Gavin Evans, “The unwelcome revival of ‘race science’,” Guardian, March 2, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/02/the-unwelcome-revival-of-race-science.

Molyneux began broadcasting his opinions online via a website called Freedomain Radio in 2004, and for the first ten years, the website focused on disseminating his beliefs on anarcho-capitalist ideology, atheism, anti-statism, and anti-feminism.“STEFAN MOLYNEUX,” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stefan-molyneux. As Molyneux gained an audience, he began to appear on a number of news channels, such as Max Keiser’s “On the Edge Show” on Iran’s Press TV in 2010, as well as appearing as a regular on libertarian Adam Kokesh’s “Adam vs. the Man” show on Russia Today from 2011 to 2012.“STEFAN MOLYNEUX,” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stefan-molyneux.

Molyneux has been able to use social media and online platforms to spread his rhetoric.Jared Holt, “Stefan Molyneux Thinks New Star Wars Film Is About The Decline Of White People,” Right Wing Watch, December 19, 2017, https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/stefan-molyneux-thinks-new-star-wars-film-is-about-the-decline-of-white-people/. Before being banned from most social media platforms, Molyneux had a considerable viewership and more than 900,000 subscribers on YouTube alone.Will Sommer, “YouTube Boots White Supremacist Richard Spencer, Far-Right Personality Stefan Molyneux for Spewing Hate,” Daily Beast, June 29, 2020, https://www.thedailybeast.com/youtube-boots-white-supremacist-richard-spencer-far-right-personality-stefan-molyneux-for-spewing-hate?ref=scroll. On June 29, 2020, YouTube terminated Molyneux’s account for violating the platform’s hate speech policies.Matt Perez, “YouTube Bans White Supremacists Stefan Molyneux, Richard Spencer, David Duke,” Forbes, June 29, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/06/29/youtube-bans-white-supremacists-stefan-molyneux-richard-spencer-david-duke/?sh=7b4f96a25ff1; Josephine Harvey, “YouTube Bans White Supremacists Richard Spencer, David Duke And Stefan Molyneux,” Huffington Post, June 29, 2020, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/youtube-bans-richard-spencer-david-duke_n_5efa7fdec5b6acab2845e71f. However, Molyneux still maintains accounts on Facebook and Instagram.“Stefan Molyneux,” Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/stefan.molyneux/?hl=en; “Stefan Molyneux,” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/stefan.molyneux.