Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Basil Molyneux (/stəˈfæn ˈmɒlɪnjuː/; born September 24, 1966) is a Canadian far-right white nationalist,[2][3][4] white supremacist,[5][6] podcaster and banned YouTuber, who is best known for his promotion of conspiracy theories, scientific racism, eugenics, and racist views.[7][8][9][10][11] As of September 2020, Molyneux has been permanently banned or permanently suspended from PayPal, Mailchimp, YouTube, Twitter and SoundCloud, all for violating hate speech policies.[12][13][14][15][16]

Not to be confused with Stephen Molyneux.
Stefan Molyneux
Molyneux in 2014
Born
Stefan Basil Molyneux

(1966-09-24) September 24, 1966
Athlone, Ireland
NationalityCanadian
EducationHistory (B.A., McGill University, 1991; M.A., University of Toronto, 1993)
OccupationPodcaster
Years active2005–present
MovementAlt-right
Identitarian movement
White supremacy
Spouse(s)Christina Papadopoulos[1]
Websitefreedomainradio.com

Molyneux is described as a leading figure of the alt-right movement by Politico and The Washington Post, and as far-right by The New York Times.[17][18][19][20] Tom Clements in The Independent describes Molyneux as having "a perverse fixation on race and IQ".[21]

Multiple sources describe the Freedomain internet community as a cult, referring to the indoctrination techniques Molyneux has reportedly used as its leader.[22][23][24][25]

Background

Molyneux was born in Ireland and mostly raised in London before moving to Canada at age 11.[26] He attended Glendon College at York University in Toronto, acting at Theatre Glendon[27] and being a member of the Debating Society.[28] He then attended the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.[26][29] In 1991, at age 25, Molyneux received a B.A. degree in History from McGill University. He received an M.A. degree in History from the University of Toronto in 1993.[23][29]

Molyneux describes himself as being a philosopher.[17] Academic philosophers do not take the idea of Molyneux as a philosopher seriously. American philosopher David Gordon wrote of Molyneux's 2007 book Universally Preferable Behavior: A Rational Proof for Secular Ethics that, "He fails, and fails miserably. His arguments are often preposterously bad."[30]

Career

In early 1995, Molyneux and his brother Hugh founded Caribou Systems Corporation, a Toronto-based provider of environmental database software. The company was sold in 2000.[29][31]

Molyneux began a podcast called Freedomain Radio (FDR) in 2004. Over the next 13 years, he created over 1,000 podcasts and videos. Meanwhile, Molyneux wrote nine articles for the personal website of Lew Rockwell in 2005.[7] In 2010, Molyneux appeared on the Press TV program On the Edge hosted by Max Keiser, and first participated on Alex Jones' InfoWars show the following year. In that year and 2012, he appeared on the RT program Adam vs. the Man, hosted by the libertarian Adam Kokesh.[7]

In July 2018, Molyneux and Canadian political activist Lauren Southern toured the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne.[32] NITV quotes Simon Copland, an SBS freelance writer, who thinks that Molyneux disparaged pre-colonisation Australian Aboriginal culture, calling it "very violent", and downplayed massacres perpetrated against Aborigines, saying that the European takeover of Australia had been less violent than other such takeovers, and that the settlers "were trying to stop infanticide and mass rape".[33] Molyneux and Southern subsequently traveled to New Zealand for their speaking engagement at Auckland's Powerstation theatre. The event was cancelled at the last minute when the Powerstation's owner rescinded the booking, citing opposition from local groups and the offensive content of their speech.[34][35][36]

Molyneux has frequently hosted white supremacists on his podcast, such as Peter Brimelow (founder of the white-nationalist website VDARE), and Jared Taylor (founder of the white-nationalist magazine American Renaissance).[20]

In November 2019, PayPal suspended Molyneux's account. He had previously received donations via the service. PayPal's actions came after activist group Sleeping Giants campaigned for him to be removed, citing Molyneux's bigoted attitudes including his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories concerning the media.[12][13] In January 2020, Molyneux released a video in which he asked his followers for money and complained that he would not be able to find regular employment after saying racist things online. He was subsequently mocked by observers.[37] Later that month, email marketing platform Mailchimp suspended Molyneux's account, which he used to send out his newsletter.[14]

Molyneux's YouTube channel was banned on June 29, 2020 alongside white supremacists David Duke and Richard Spencer, for violating the YouTube policies against hate speech enacted in 2019. By the time it was closed, Molyneux's channel had 900,000 subscribers.[38] Molyneux said it was a "systemic, coordinated effort" in which YouTube had "just suspended the largest philosophy conversation the world has ever known".[15][39] Molyneux funds his efforts through listener support.[40] Molyneux's Twitter account was permanently suspended on July 8, 2020 for violating Twitter's policies.[41][42]

Views

Promotion of white supremacy and conspiracy theories

Molyneux is known for his promotion of white supremacist views and conspiracy theories.[2][10][43] He is a proponent of the white genocide conspiracy theory,[44][45][46] interviewing several South African advocates of the theory in his podcasts.[47] In 2017, he stated that the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi has a concealed sub-text about the persecution of white people and predicted the "quasi-extinction" of whites "in the not so distant future". He further indicated that "Whites are not allowed to have a history to be proud of, not allowed to have in-group preferences" leading to "the end of a lineage. It's the end of a history. It is the end of culture".[48] In a podcast broadcast on August 9, 2014 he stated that he did not "view humanity as a single species".[7][12]

Molyneux describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist.[17] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Molyneux initially used the Freedomain Radio website "to amplify his views on anarcho-capitalist ideology, atheism, philosophy, anti-statism, pseudo-therapy and anti-feminism." The SPLC also stated that Molyneux's views become more politically extreme and racialized around 2013 or 2014 when his ideology shifted to include far-right and ethno-nationalist thinking.[7] The SPLC describes him as an "internet commentator and alleged cult leader who amplifies 'scientific racism', eugenics and white supremacism to a massive new audience" and that "Stefan Molyneux operates within the racist so-called 'alt-right' and pro-Trump ranks". He gave his support to President Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen of the French National Rally, as well as the Dutch politician Geert Wilders, during their election campaigns in 2016 and 2017.[7]

Molyneux has been described as a part of the "alt-right" by Politico, Metro, New York magazine, Vanity Fair, and CBS News, and has been described as "one of the alt-right's biggest YouTube stars" by Washington Post columnist J.J. McCullough.[18][19][49][50][51][52] Business Insider, CNN, The New York Times, and BuzzFeed News have characterized Molyneux as far-right.[20][17][53][54] Data & Society, a research institute, described Molyneux as "a Canadian talk show host who promotes scientific racism".[43]

According to The New York Times, Molyneux is fixated with "race realism".[17] He has hosted white supremacists such as Jared Taylor on his show. Molyneux has blamed "rap culture" for unarmed black men getting shot by police.[17] In a possibly unbroadcast interview for OANN with Jack Posobiec, recorded in Warsaw, Poland in November 2018, Molyneux said: "I’ve always been skeptical of the ideas of white nationalism … However, I am an empiricist and I could not help but notice that I could have peaceful, free, easy, civilized and safe discussions in what is essentially an all-white country".[55] An hour-long video on these themes was uploaded to YouTube.[4][56]

The Independent of London describes Molyneux as a provocateur who "has been allowed to promote a racist, transphobic, misogynistic and Islamophobic agenda on various platforms but has started to see his revenue diminish," while including a tweet by Molyneux in which he asserts that he is not a "white nationalist" in response to being banned from a popular platform.[14]

Men's rights activism

Molyneux has described himself as a men's rights activist.[17] He was a panelist at a 2014 Detroit conference held by the men's rights movement and manosphere organization, A Voice for Men. According to Jessica Roy of Time magazine, Molyneux argued that violence in the world is the result of how women treat their children, and that: "If we could just get people to be nice to their babies for five years straight, that would be it for war, drug abuse, addiction, promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, ... Almost all would be completely eliminated, because they all arise from dysfunctional early childhood experiences, which are all run by women".[57] Molyneux believes feminism is a form of socialism,[17] and has the aim of "reducing white Christian birth rates".[4]

In August 2017, on his YouTube channel, Molyneux interviewed James Damore, the Google employee who was fired after writing the Google's Ideological Echo Chamber memo opposing diversity measures.[58] Molyneux agreed with Damore's memo, and said the main reason Damore had drawn heavy criticism was because he is a white man.[59]

Family-of-origin relationships

Molyneux refers to the family that people are born into as their "family-of-origin", or "FOO". He suggests that family-of-origin relationships may sometimes be detrimental, and individuals who are unsatisfied with their childhood relationships would benefit from severing such involuntary relationships as adults, or "deFOO".[60][lower-alpha 1] He views all adult relationships as being voluntary and discretionary rather than a duty. Molyneux has said:

Deep down I do not believe that there are any really good parents out there – the same way that I do not believe there were any really good doctors in the 10th century.[60]

A disciplinary panel at the College of Psychologists of Ontario spoke critically of "deFOOing" after a professional investigation into Molyneux's wife,[1][61] saying that by the standards of the College, it "may be appropriate to recommend family separation in cases of abuse" only after a suitable evaluation of patient history to "ascertain whether the advice [is] warranted in the circumstances".[62] According to a 2008 article in The Guardian, both Molyneux and his wife have dissociated from their families of origin.[60]

According to The Times of London in January 2009, the following month, an adherent of Molyneux, a teenager named Tom Bell left a note stating he no longer wanted contact with his parents and siblings and left home referring to Molyneux's concept of "deFOOing".[22] It was reported, by Molyneux's estimation, that of the estimated 50,000 users of the website, about 20 (0.04%) FDR members had disassociated from their families-of-origin, and that many parents chose not to speak to the media in an effort to avoid alienating their children further.[22] The British Cult Information Centre (CIC) has described Freedomain Radio as a cult.[25] A representative of the CIC said they were following FDR, and said that one sign of cults was that they cut people off from their families. Molyneux responded by saying, "If I advised a wife to leave an abusive husband, there would not be articles about how I am a cult leader".[22]

Molyneux and "deFOOing" were subjects of an investigative documentary by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, which aired on August 20, 2015.[63] The same subjects were also featured on the February 18, 2016 episode of the documentary series Dark Net. The episode calls Freedomain Radio a cult.[64]

Cult accusations

According to Steven Hassan, a mental health counselor with experience on cults, "Partly what's going on with the people on the Internet who are indoctrinated, they spend lots of hours on the computer. Videos can have them up all night for several nights in a row. Molyneux knows how to talk like he knows what he's talking about, despite very little academic research. He cites this and cites that, and presents it as the whole truth. It dismantles people's sense of self and replaces it with his sense of confidence about how to fix the world".[24]

In 2009, Tu Thanh Ha wrote that Molyneux was called the leader of a "therapy cult" after Tom Bell, a Freedomain Radio community member, severed contact with his family.[23]

See also

Notes
  1. Molyneux is quoted saying, "Family relationships are voluntary and you should really work, if you're unhappy in these relationships, to improve the quality of those relationships – but to remember they do remain voluntary. And that gives people the motivation, I think, to try to improve them. But if you can't improve them – and we can't change other people, as we all know – for sure you should have the option to disengage."[60]

References
  1. Ha, Tu Thanh (December 19, 2014). "Controversial podcaster listened in on therapist wife and clients: lawsuit". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  2. Collins, Ben (April 16, 2019). "Notre Dame Cathedral fire spurs Islamophobic conspiracy theories on social media". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019.
  3. "YouTube bans prominent white supremacist channels". BBC News. June 30, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. López G., Cristina (May 20, 2019). "Stefan Molyneux is MAGA Twitter's favorite white nationalist". Media Matters for America. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  5. "YOUTUBE REMOVES THREE PROMINENT WHITE SUPREMACIST CHANNELS". The Independent. June 30, 2020.
  6. Alexander, Julia (June 29, 2020). "YouTube bans Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and more for hate speech". The Verge. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  7. "Stefan Molyneux". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019.
  8. Beery, Zoë (February 14, 2019). "How YouTube reactionaries are breaking the news media". Columbia Journalism Review. Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019.
  9. Lewis, Rebecca (September 18, 2018). "Alternative Influence". Data & Society Research Institute. p. 37. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018. In his YouTube videos, Molyneux openly promotes scientific racism, advocates for the men's rights movement, critiques initiatives devoted to gender equity, and promotes white supremacist conspiracy theories focused on 'White Genocide' and 'The Great Replacement.'
  10. Evans, Gavin (March 2, 2018). "The unwelcome revival of 'race science'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019.
  11. Winter, Aaron (2019). "Online Hate: From the Far-Right to the 'Alt-Right' and from the Margins to the Mainstream". In Lumsden, Karen; Harmer, Emily (eds.). Online Othering. Palgrave Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 39–63. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12633-9_2. ISBN 978-3030126322. LCCN 2019930706.
  12. Gurley, Lauren Kaori (November 6, 2019). "PayPal Bans YouTuber Who Thinks Non-White People Are a Separate Species". Vice. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. Crowley, James (November 5, 2019). "PayPal to cut off donations to right-wing YouTuber Stefan Molyneux following social media divestment campaign". Newsweek. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  14. "A prominent far-right commentator has been banned from sending his own newsletter". Indy100. January 15, 2020.
  15. Alexander, Julia (June 29, 2020). "YouTube bans Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and more for hate speech". The Verge. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  16. "Twitter Suspends White Nationalist Stefan Molyneux". ScreenRant. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  17. Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The Making of a YouTube Radical". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  18. Schreckinger, Ben (April 7, 2017). "Trump's Troll Army Isn't Ready for War in Syria". Politico Magazine. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. McCullough, J. J. (March 10, 2017). "Canada's obsession with American politics is nothing to apologize for". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. McDermott, Nathan; Kaczynski, Andrew; Massie, Chris (November 30, 2018). "Rep. Steve King appeared on podcast frequented by white nationalists". CNN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  21. Clements, Tom (September 4, 2019). "I fell down the rabbit hole of alt-right propaganda and this is what I learned". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019.
  22. Whipple, Tom (January 10, 2009). "The mother and son torn apart by web 'cult' that destroys families". The Times. London. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  23. Ha, Tu Thanh (December 12, 2008). "How a cyberphilosopher convinced followers to cut off family". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  24. Collins, Ben (February 5, 2016). "Meet the 'Cult' Leader Stumping for Donald Trump". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  25. Lamoureux, Mack (August 11, 2017). "How Cults Use YouTube for Recruitment". Vice. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  26. "Author Stefan Molyneux To Russia, with love". The Mississauga News. Mississauga, Ontario. June 1, 2003. p. Arts & Entertainment: 15. ISSN 0834-6585. OCLC 290997481. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News). Molyneux is an Irish-born author who grew up in England and Africa before coming to Canada 25 years ago.
  27. Johnson, Phil (February 23, 1988). "Horrors! Dracula's at Glendon College". Toronto Star, The. Ontario, Canada. p. Neighbors: N17. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News).
  28. da Costa, Cathy (February 8, 1988). "World Champions at Glendon" (PDF). Pro Tem. York University/Glendon College. p. 4. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  29. Burg, Robert (May 26, 1997). "Their software keeps tabs on site data". Toronto Star, The. Ontario, Canada. p. Business: D1. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News).
  30. David Gordon (April 7, 2012). "The Molyneux Problem". Mises.org.
  31. "Blue292 acquires Caribou Systems" (Press release). Durham, NC: Blue292. January 28, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  32. Kinsella, Luke (July 31, 2018). "What I learnt about the far right from Lauren Southern". News.com.au. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  33. Smith, Douglas (July 30, 2018). "Far-right Canadian duo's vile rampage against Aboriginal culture at Sydney event". National Indigenous Television, Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  34. "Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux's speaking event cancelled". Newshub. August 3, 2018. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  35. Truebridge, Nick; Niall, Todd (August 3, 2018). "Auckland's Powerstation owner apologises for booking controversial speakers". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  36. "Auckland venue cancels controversial far-right Canadian pair's speaking event". 1 News. August 3, 2018. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  37. Rutledge, Daniel (January 14, 2020). "Stefan Molyneux mocked over desperate plea that he'll struggle to find a job". Newshub. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  38. Sommer, Will (June 29, 2020). "YouTube Boots White Supremacist Richard Spencer, Far-Right Personality Stefan Molyneux for Spewing Hate". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  39. Greenspan, Rachel E. (June 29, 2020). "YouTube bans white supremacist channels including those of Richard Spencer, David Duke, and Stefan Molyneux". Business Insider.
  40. Horsager, David (October 2012). The Trust Edge: How top leaders gain faster results, deeper relationships, and a stronger bottom line. New York: Free Press. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-1-4767-1137-9. OCLC 820783989.
  41. Mustafa, DJ Kamal (July 8, 2020). "Stefan Molyneux Controversial Podcaster Suspended On Twitter". EMEA Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  42. "Twitter Suspends White Nationalist Stefan Molyneux". ScreenRant. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  43. "Alternative Influence". Data & Society. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  44. Hankes, Keegan; Janik, Rachel; Hayden, Michael Edison (April 28, 2019). "Shooting at Poway Synagogue underscores link between internet radicalization and violence". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  45. "Alt-right speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern anger NZ Muslims". Radio New Zealand. July 20, 2018. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  46. McIntire, Mike; Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry (November 2, 2019). "In Trump's Twitter Feed: Conspiracy-Mongers, Racists and Spies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  47. Ward, Justin (August 23, 2018). "The dangerous myth of 'white genocide' in South Africa". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  48. Holt, Jared (December 19, 2017). "Stefan Molyneux Thinks New Star Wars Film Is About The Decline Of White People". Right-Wing Watch. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  49. Smith, Adam (August 19, 2017). "Heartbroken mother describes how she lost her son to alt-right movement". Metro. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  50. Kilgore, Ed (August 14, 2017). "Don't Look Now, But Alt-Right Demonstrations Are Scheduled for Nine Cities Next Weekend [Update: Now Cancelled]". New York. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  51. Kosoff, Maya (August 9, 2017). "The Fired Google Engineer Is Doubling Down". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  52. "Fired Google Engineer Who Wrote Controversial Gender Essay Speaks Out". KPIX-TV/CBS News. Associated Press. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  53. Tani, Maxwell (August 23, 2017). "'UNLIMITED WAR': Breitbart and the far right start to turn on Trump over his Afghanistan decision". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  54. Ling, Justin (January 8, 2018). "The Far Right Can't Decide If The Iran Protests Are A Good Thing, Or A George Soros Deep State Coup". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  55. Hayden, Michael Edison (August 19, 2020). "OANN's Jack Posobiec Filmed an Interview Segment with White Nationalist Stefan Molyneux". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  56. Holt, Jared (December 12, 2018). "Stefan Molyneux Says His Trip to Poland Sold Him on White Nationalism". Right-Wing Watch. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  57. Roy, Jessica (July 2, 2014). "What I Learned as a Woman at a Men's-Rights Conference". Time. Archived from the original on June 8, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  58. Levin, Sam (August 9, 2017). "Fired Google memo writer gives first big interviews to rightwing YouTubers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  59. Schmidt, Samantha (August 10, 2017). "'I'm not a sexist': Fired Google engineer stands behind controversial memo". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  60. Hilpern, Kate (November 15, 2008). "You will never see me again". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  61. Rodan, Galit (November 1, 2012). "Therapist who told podcast listeners to shun their families reprimanded". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  62. In the matter of The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, Chapter 18 and the Psychology Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, Chapter 38; and in the matter of Ms. Christina Papadopoulos, Psychological Associate; and in the matter of a hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Psychologists of Ontario concerning allegations of professional misconduct against Christina Papadopoulos, Psychological Associate as set out in the Amended Notice of Hearing dated May 17, 2012 (College of Psychologists of Ontario October 31, 2012).Text
  63. Wyatt, Daisy (August 20, 2015). "Trapped in a Cult? – TV review: Disappointing Channel 5 shock-doc fails to come up to scratch". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  64. "Dark Net – Season 1, Episode 5". Showtime. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.