Alex Kaplan
@alkapdc.bsky.social
Senior Researcher at Media Matters, focusing on social media misinformation, disinformation, & online extremism. Statements are mine, not employer's. Send tips to [email protected].
On a podcast this week, California GOP congressional candidate Dennis Feitosa said that white nationalist Nick Fuentes was "charismatic" & "capable of reaching a lot of people," meaning "narratives that the Jews are putting out there is going to effectively, you know, get a little weaker."
February 4, 2026 at 8:38 PM
On a podcast this week, California GOP congressional candidate Dennis Feitosa said that white nationalist Nick Fuentes was "charismatic" & "capable of reaching a lot of people," meaning "narratives that the Jews are putting out there is going to effectively, you know, get a little weaker."
On a right-wing podcast today, ACIP member Robert Malone, who has a history of spreading medical misinformation online, claimed that COVID "boosters didn't make sense" & "you might speculate that those things might come up at the February meeting" for ACIP.
February 3, 2026 at 8:06 PM
On a right-wing podcast today, ACIP member Robert Malone, who has a history of spreading medical misinformation online, claimed that COVID "boosters didn't make sense" & "you might speculate that those things might come up at the February meeting" for ACIP.
On a far-right podcast this past weekend, conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne claimed that the FBI Fulton County election center raid was "exactly what we were asking [Trump] to do" in the December 2020 Oval Office meeting that Byrne, Michael Flynn, & Sidney Powell had with Trump.
February 2, 2026 at 8:12 PM
On a far-right podcast this past weekend, conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne claimed that the FBI Fulton County election center raid was "exactly what we were asking [Trump] to do" in the December 2020 Oval Office meeting that Byrne, Michael Flynn, & Sidney Powell had with Trump.
A baseless conspiracy theory has spread on social media that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is the illegitimate son of Jeffrey Epstein, getting thousands of shares. A Russian state-run media outlet has also shared the baseless claim.
February 2, 2026 at 7:36 PM
A baseless conspiracy theory has spread on social media that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is the illegitimate son of Jeffrey Epstein, getting thousands of shares. A Russian state-run media outlet has also shared the baseless claim.
Rumble has added as an "editor pick" a video titled "PizzaGate was Real ReeEStream," where the streamer specifically discusses Comet Ping Pong & suggests there's a "group of elite pedophile lizard people eating babies."
February 2, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Rumble has added as an "editor pick" a video titled "PizzaGate was Real ReeEStream," where the streamer specifically discusses Comet Ping Pong & suggests there's a "group of elite pedophile lizard people eating babies."
Sather created another video about using apparently the same fake account on Hinge to harass liberal women, this time around Portland, Oregon. He admits he is ban evading on Hinge & claims the videos are "taking off on Instagram."
January 30, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Sather created another video about using apparently the same fake account on Hinge to harass liberal women, this time around Portland, Oregon. He admits he is ban evading on Hinge & claims the videos are "taking off on Instagram."
Rumble has added as an "editor pick" a video titled "Was the Ice Storm Natural—or Was It Engineered?," where conspiracy theorist Dane Wigington claimed the recent national winter storm was engineered "chemical winter weather warfare" & claimed weather experts are controlled by the Rothschilds.
January 28, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Rumble has added as an "editor pick" a video titled "Was the Ice Storm Natural—or Was It Engineered?," where conspiracy theorist Dane Wigington claimed the recent national winter storm was engineered "chemical winter weather warfare" & claimed weather experts are controlled by the Rothschilds.
QAnon figure Jordan Sather posted a video where he apparently created a fake account on the dating app Hinge & then used it to harass liberal women around Minneapolis. Sather also wrote that he has "a few more cities planned" to do this to.
January 28, 2026 at 3:47 PM
QAnon figure Jordan Sather posted a video where he apparently created a fake account on the dating app Hinge & then used it to harass liberal women around Minneapolis. Sather also wrote that he has "a few more cities planned" to do this to.
On a podcast yesterday, January 6 participant Taylor Johnatakis praised Trump for posting last year the quote "he who saves his Country does not violate any Law":
"I was like, that's it. Because we're way past law. We're way past law."
"I was like, that's it. Because we're way past law. We're way past law."
January 27, 2026 at 8:02 PM
On a podcast yesterday, January 6 participant Taylor Johnatakis praised Trump for posting last year the quote "he who saves his Country does not violate any Law":
"I was like, that's it. Because we're way past law. We're way past law."
"I was like, that's it. Because we're way past law. We're way past law."
Some in the far-right have also now resorted to antisemitism & calling Alex Pretti "r******d" looking as apparent defenses for the shooting.
January 27, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Some in the far-right have also now resorted to antisemitism & calling Alex Pretti "r******d" looking as apparent defenses for the shooting.
Yesterday, Clay Parikh — an election denier who was a "witness" for Kari Lake 2022's election lawsuit — said "I do pay attention to Q" & found it "astounding," & while he was "not necessarily a Q person," "I know plenty of them ... It amazes me, because the predictions are dead on."
January 26, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Yesterday, Clay Parikh — an election denier who was a "witness" for Kari Lake 2022's election lawsuit — said "I do pay attention to Q" & found it "astounding," & while he was "not necessarily a Q person," "I know plenty of them ... It amazes me, because the predictions are dead on."
Some in the far-right internet have not only defended Alex Pretti's shooting in Minnesota by ICE officials, but outright mocked & celebrated it, such as calling it "good," laughing about it, & suggesting Pretti went to Hell.
January 26, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Some in the far-right internet have not only defended Alex Pretti's shooting in Minnesota by ICE officials, but outright mocked & celebrated it, such as calling it "good," laughing about it, & suggesting Pretti went to Hell.
New:
ACIP member Robert Malone suggested on a stream that ACIP may restrict mRNA COVID vaccines.
“I’m not deaf to the calls that we need to get the COVID vaccine mRNA products off the market. All I can say is stay tuned & wait for the upcoming ACIP meeting.” www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-...
ACIP member Robert Malone suggested on a stream that ACIP may restrict mRNA COVID vaccines.
“I’m not deaf to the calls that we need to get the COVID vaccine mRNA products off the market. All I can say is stay tuned & wait for the upcoming ACIP meeting.” www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-...
January 23, 2026 at 6:33 PM
New:
ACIP member Robert Malone suggested on a stream that ACIP may restrict mRNA COVID vaccines.
“I’m not deaf to the calls that we need to get the COVID vaccine mRNA products off the market. All I can say is stay tuned & wait for the upcoming ACIP meeting.” www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-...
ACIP member Robert Malone suggested on a stream that ACIP may restrict mRNA COVID vaccines.
“I’m not deaf to the calls that we need to get the COVID vaccine mRNA products off the market. All I can say is stay tuned & wait for the upcoming ACIP meeting.” www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-...
On a right-wing podcast earlier this week, January 6 participant & far-right figure Jake Lang, while discussing who would "own the streets of Minneapolis," said that "we need Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Boogaloo, all of them. There's even more. Patriot Front, all the active clubs."
January 22, 2026 at 9:29 PM
On a right-wing podcast earlier this week, January 6 participant & far-right figure Jake Lang, while discussing who would "own the streets of Minneapolis," said that "we need Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Boogaloo, all of them. There's even more. Patriot Front, all the active clubs."
On a Proud Boys-affiliated podcast this week, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio said the Proud Boys "are not going under no official capacity" to Minnesota, though individual Proud Boys may go. However, Proud Boy "PatriotRob" said "when Enrique goes out" to Minnesota, "I'm probably going with him."
January 21, 2026 at 8:40 PM
On a Proud Boys-affiliated podcast this week, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio said the Proud Boys "are not going under no official capacity" to Minnesota, though individual Proud Boys may go. However, Proud Boy "PatriotRob" said "when Enrique goes out" to Minnesota, "I'm probably going with him."
On a podcast yesterday, prominent election denier David Clements said that "the stuff that's going on with Q — if it's real, right, & it is — is as mind blowing as anything that the Founders could have been grappling with to secure independence."
January 16, 2026 at 10:16 PM
On a podcast yesterday, prominent election denier David Clements said that "the stuff that's going on with Q — if it's real, right, & it is — is as mind blowing as anything that the Founders could have been grappling with to secure independence."
On a podcast yesterday, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes called FBI Director Kash Patel "a traitor" who has "become part of the cover up & part of the deep state," & that Patel has "been compromised or bought off, but he's joined the bad guys."
January 16, 2026 at 4:50 PM
On a podcast yesterday, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes called FBI Director Kash Patel "a traitor" who has "become part of the cover up & part of the deep state," & that Patel has "been compromised or bought off, but he's joined the bad guys."
Last month, whites-only community Return to the Land leader Eric Orwoll said on a podcast "ordinary Republicans are now at a point where they think what we're doing is a good thing & they explicitly support it" & said the GOP "& government officials are saying explicitly white identitarian things."
January 14, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Last month, whites-only community Return to the Land leader Eric Orwoll said on a podcast "ordinary Republicans are now at a point where they think what we're doing is a good thing & they explicitly support it" & said the GOP "& government officials are saying explicitly white identitarian things."
On a QAnon podcast a few days ago, election denier David Clements said he met with U.S. Agency for Global Media's Kari Lake "for about an hour" & she told him that if VOA got more money than she wanted, she'd spend the funds on "content to the rest of the world about how rigged our elections are."
January 14, 2026 at 4:16 PM
On a QAnon podcast a few days ago, election denier David Clements said he met with U.S. Agency for Global Media's Kari Lake "for about an hour" & she told him that if VOA got more money than she wanted, she'd spend the funds on "content to the rest of the world about how rigged our elections are."
In a podcast appearance in late November, prominent election denier David Clements said that "Q is real" and is "a white hat operation through and through."
January 13, 2026 at 10:09 PM
In a podcast appearance in late November, prominent election denier David Clements said that "Q is real" and is "a white hat operation through and through."
Some in the far-right have been sharing memes based on George Floyd's murder to mock the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a ICE officer.
(Have blurred the images.)
(Have blurred the images.)
January 9, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Some in the far-right have been sharing memes based on George Floyd's murder to mock the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a ICE officer.
(Have blurred the images.)
(Have blurred the images.)
During an "election integrity" chat on a podcast last month, right-wing conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root suggested that he was behind Trump saying he would pardon Pete Rose & was "the guy who ... created the ideas of no tax on Social Security & no tax on overtime & sold them to the president."
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 PM
During an "election integrity" chat on a podcast last month, right-wing conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root suggested that he was behind Trump saying he would pardon Pete Rose & was "the guy who ... created the ideas of no tax on Social Security & no tax on overtime & sold them to the president."
Nick Fuentes on his show the day after Christmas credited social media platforms & their supposed policy reversals as "the number one thing" for his alleged recent rise in popularity, mentioning platforms like Instagram & YouTube specifically. www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
![NICK FUENTES (HOST): And starting with number one, the number one thing which accounted for all this success this year -- Why did the show blow up so much this year? The number one thing, which nobody will even mention and nobody has mentioned, is that this is the first year that they simply stopped censoring me. That's it. It's that simple.
...
And what happened this year is there were a few specific decisions that were made.
...
Three, and this is maybe the biggest one, Instagram stopped deleting my clips. And this is something that we noticed. This is like a switch was flipped. I think in like January. All of a sudden you were able to post my clips on Instagram without being banned. And they were able to get millions of views, hundreds of thousands of views. That was never the case. It used to be the case that if you posted any clip from my show, your whole channel will get deleted. All of a sudden starting this year, you're able to post the clip without it getting taken down.
And then the last thing that happened, kind of like the last shoe to drop was around May of this year, I was able to start appearing as a guest on YouTube. This is something else where even in 2024, Candace Owens wouldn't bring me on her show because she was worried that if I was even a guest that the whole YouTube channel would get deleted. And in May for the first time, I think I did the Hodgetwins and then I did the [Digital] Social Hour with Sean [Kelly]. All of a sudden, again, I was on a YouTube show and the YouTube channel was not banned. The video was not taken down. I don't know if it was even demonetized.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:af7tqcetuyt352aolf3znlxe/bafkreidh3rtiazxsbm65nkqfuthpilni6gky3pcswu5rhqakqwyqyst3wi@jpeg)
January 5, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Nick Fuentes on his show the day after Christmas credited social media platforms & their supposed policy reversals as "the number one thing" for his alleged recent rise in popularity, mentioning platforms like Instagram & YouTube specifically. www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
A key figure with the false conspiracy theory connecting Venezuela to false claims of 2020 election fraud has been conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne.
In October, Byrne on a podcast said "there’s never been as necessary a war since the Civil War, that we go down & take care of Venezuela."
In October, Byrne on a podcast said "there’s never been as necessary a war since the Civil War, that we go down & take care of Venezuela."
January 5, 2026 at 8:26 PM
A key figure with the false conspiracy theory connecting Venezuela to false claims of 2020 election fraud has been conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne.
In October, Byrne on a podcast said "there’s never been as necessary a war since the Civil War, that we go down & take care of Venezuela."
In October, Byrne on a podcast said "there’s never been as necessary a war since the Civil War, that we go down & take care of Venezuela."
Between Christmas & today, Trump shared images of & links to posts from QAnon influencer "The SCIF" at least 8 times, all to push false election fraud claims.
Additionally, Trump shared an image from another QAnon figure to connect The SCIF's election fraud claims to Trump's actions in Venezuela.
Additionally, Trump shared an image from another QAnon figure to connect The SCIF's election fraud claims to Trump's actions in Venezuela.
January 5, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Between Christmas & today, Trump shared images of & links to posts from QAnon influencer "The SCIF" at least 8 times, all to push false election fraud claims.
Additionally, Trump shared an image from another QAnon figure to connect The SCIF's election fraud claims to Trump's actions in Venezuela.
Additionally, Trump shared an image from another QAnon figure to connect The SCIF's election fraud claims to Trump's actions in Venezuela.