Molly Butler / Media Matters
Research/Study
Viral right-wing homesteading influencers are demonizing migrants and pushing nativist conspiracy theories
Homesteading content and groups are popping up across right-wing social media platforms
Published
Updated
Several viral right-wing homesteading and farming influencers are pushing anti-immigrant conspiracy theories and demonizing migrants to their hundreds of thousands of followers across social media.
These conspiracy theories come as the broader right-wing media are increasingly attacking migrants, whipping up hysteria over a flimsy “migrant crime” narrative, and Republican lawmakers are advocating for laws that make it easier for Americans to kill undocumented people.
The homesteader lifestyle, which these influencers proudly promote and base their content on, is not exclusively a right-wing phenomenon. “Crunchy” culture, which is the foundation of the homesteading movement, is deeply rooted in anti-government sentiment and “anti-modernism,” which strives for independence from the mainstream. The movement broadly disavows cultural relevance and focuses on life and survival without government interference, often choosing to settle in rural areas with plenty of room to grow food, graze animals, and raise children.
Subscribers to this movement promote self-sufficiency, and some advocate for traditional gender norms as well, aligning themselves with the adjacent “tradwife” sect that has been gaining popularity within right-wing circles for romanticizing antifeminism.
A faction of these influencers also produce content around doomsday preparation and the supposed upcoming collapse of society, which often leans into deep conspiratorial thinking.
Homesteading culture is not new within the greater right-wing ecosystem. In fact, as author Kathleen Belew explains, radical right-wing groups like the Ku Klux Klan have used back-to-basics living and “opportunistic social movements” to recruit new devotees in the past.
As homesteading becomes a viral phenomenon, influencers have learned to make and promote their content across social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Several homestead influencers have hundreds of thousands of followers and subscribers across social media.
Right-wing video platform Rumble — a cesspool of white nationalist propaganda and antisemitism — even has a “homesteading” category landing page that is bustling with content.
There are many popular homesteading groups on Gab, an alternative social media platform and safe haven for extremists. The movement has also been discussed on platforms like 4chan, which is a favorite among mass shooters, and other right-wing social media platforms like Gettr and Truth Social.