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Molly Butler / Media Matters

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On Rumble, right-wing creators use the violence in Israel and Gaza to spread antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant rhetoric

The RNC has partnered with both the Republican Jewish Coalition and Rumble for the third GOP primary debate

Written by Natalie Mathes & Jack Winstanley

Published

Amid the Israel-Hamas war, videos with antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant rhetoric have proliferated on Rumble.

The prevalence of hateful rhetoric on Rumble during the conflict is consistent with the site’s history of platforming extremism, hate, falsehoods, and conspiracy theories. And yet, Rumble is the exclusive livestream provider for the Republican National Committee’s third GOP presidential primary debate, for which the RNC has partnered with the Republican Jewish Coalition.

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  • The RNC has partnered with NBC, the Republican Jewish Coalition, Salem Radio Network, and Rumble for the third GOP presidential primary debate

    • On October 16, the RNC announced that the third primary debate will be hosted by NBC News on November 8. The first two primary debates were televised on Fox News and Fox Business, respectively. In addition to NBC News, the RNC selected Salem Radio Network — which distributes their right-wing programming, including shows of right-wing hosts like Charlie Kirk, to more than 2,000 radio stations across the country — as a partner for the debate. [CNN, 10/17/23; Media Matters, 9/25/23]
    • For the third GOP primary debate, the RNC has continued its partnership with extreme right-wing video streaming platform Rumble and also partnered with the Republican Jewish Coalition. The partnership with the RJC comes amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas. [NBC News, 10/16/23; CNN, 10/16/23]

  • The RNC’s partnership with Rumble has put mainstream politics alongside antisemitic, racist, and pro-Hitler videos

    • The RNC’s choice of platform may draw new audiences to Rumble and place presidential candidates in the company of extremists. Rumble is home to numerous shows dedicated to pushing dangerous conspiracy theories (including QAnon), anti-LGBTQ content, extreme misogyny, and right-wing figures who traffic in bigoted rhetoric and dangerous falsehoods. [Media Matters, 8/22/23, 8/23/23, 9/25/23]
    • Rumble has profited from virulently antisemitic rhetoric on its platform, including by placing RNC ads for the first debate on numerous pro-Hitler videos. Even though the platform has policies against antisemitism, Media Matters has documented the presence of numerous monetized Rumble videos that parrot Nazi propaganda, push Holocaust denial, and express support for Hitler, as well as videos from right-wing accounts that promote white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and extremist ideologies. [Media Matters, 6/7/23, 7/19/23, 8/22/23, 8/23/23, 10/16/23; Rumble, accessed 10/25/23]
    • Mainstream media outlets should adequately report on the presence of bigotry and misinformation on Rumble. A Media Matters analysis of coverage of the first GOP primary debate by top U.S. newspapers, cable news, and broadcast TV outlets found that newspapers told readers that they could stream the first debate on Rumble without noting that the platform is rife with dangerous misinformation, conspiracy theories, and hateful rhetoric. Cable news outlets CNN and MSNBC and broadcast outlets ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS did not report on the RNC’s partnership with Rumble at all. [Media Matters, 9/25/23]

  • On Rumble, right-wing creators have used the conflict between Hamas and Israel to launch antisemitic attacks

    • White nationalist Nick Fuentes used unsubstantiated reports of beheaded Israeli babies to push Holocaust denial, suggesting that both the recent attacks by Hamas and the Holocaust are being exploited as “atrocity propaganda” to advance “Jewish interests.” Fuentes claimed that governments “create” atrocities that are “supposed to elicit a certain emotional response,” which creates “the popular mandate to do whatever it is the government wants to do.” As supposed examples, Fuentes cited Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons on Syrians and the Syrian refugee crisis, the war in Ukraine, 9/11, and the Holocaust. [Rumble, America First, 10/12/23; Factcheck.org, 10/13/23]

  • From a video of Nick Fuentes' America First, as uploaded to Rumble on October 12, 2023

    NICK FUENTES (HOST): The people that wanted the war in Iraq and the war in Syria and the war in Ukraine, and the people that want for us not to talk about Jewish interests in media or Hollywood — they want everyone to believe in the Holocaust, they want everyone to believe that it was 19 illiterate camel riders that flew planes into the buildings, they want people to believe that Assad and Putin are supervillains that gas their own people, like Hitler. And they need you to believe in a Hitler so that you will never have a country that rallies on the basis of whiteness and never considers Jews as outsiders. And that's just a fact. So, you know, we can see in real time, in real time these lies are being created. And we could see exactly why — they created a lie about Palestinians chopping off heads, for one reason: so that Israel can dehumanize its enemy. If they can get people to believe that Palestinians are the type of people that cut off heads, then people will not be upset when Israel murders civilians in Gaza. It's that simple. If everyone believes that Gaza is full of rapists and murderers and kidnappers, then they will not cry, they will not care, when Israel bombs them indiscriminately and murders civilians and destroys all their infrastructure. So they lie. And that's pretty messed up. It's a blood libel to justify a genocide. Which is exactly what they accuse us of doing.

    • In another video, Fuentes claimed that genocidal violence was inherent to Judaism, stating that “people need to understand that’s actually the essence of Judaism — is a seething, genocidal hatred for non-Jews.” Earlier, he had attempted to claim that the conflict between Hamas and Israel was “eye-for-an-eye Old Testament biblical stuff, which is based on this idea that Jews are people and everybody else is dispensable, and that’s evil. That is wrong.” [Rumble, America First, 10/13/23]
    • Right-wing streaming network LFA TV’s Jeremy Herrell suggested that “things keep happening” to Jews because they’ve committed “the only unforgivable sin,” which is “to know the truth of Jesus” and “reject it.” Herrell asked, “Are the Jewish people their own worst enemy? … Jewish people aren’t attacking themselves and cutting their own heads off and burning themselves alive. No, maybe not, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not their own worst enemy. Let me ask you this: What is the only unforgivable sin? To know the truth of Jesus, of God, the Holy Spirit, and you reject it. … Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Knowing it’s real, knowing it exists, and rebuking it, and ignoring it on purpose. The only unforgivable sin. Basically what Satan did.” Herrell went on to say, “I’m not saying that if every Jew today became a completed Jew, and accepted Jesus, that Israel would be 100 percent safe … but I can tell you this, they are rejecting Jesus when they have the proof.” [Rumble, Rise Up, 10/17/23, 10/17/23]
    • In a video from a Rumble channel Media Matters found to have previously promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, host “Sarge” amplified the dangerous antisemitic “Khazarian Mafia” conspiracy theory. The “Khazarian Mafia” refers to a sprawling antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that many modern-day Jewish people descend not from ancient Israelites, but from a group of Eastern Europeans — called Khazars — who converted to Judaism in the eighth century in a conspiracy to oppress the world. In the October 12 Rumble video, “Sarge” said that Israel was “one of the headquarters for the Khazars,” calling them “the most evil people on the planet” before qualifying, “I don’t even think that they’re all the way people — human, as you may say.” Sarge went on to claim that Israel knew that Hamas would attack ahead of time. [Rumble, ICONS2020, 10/11/23; Media Matters, 2/6/23; Rumble, accessed 10/20/23]

  • Right-wing creators have also used the conflict to push egregious anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric on Rumble

    • In a segment uploaded to Rumble, InfoWars host Harrison Smith claimed that an upcoming World War would be “less states-versus-states,” and moreso “migrants fighting the natives” of Western countries. He added that his supposedly impending world war would “also have this very scary reality of having massive foreign populations within Western countries suddenly acting as enemy reserves behind enemy lines.” [Rumble, The American Journal, 10/12/23]
    • While showing a Fox News graphic of apprehensions at the southern border, Turning Point USA influencer Graham Allen exclaimed, “Nineteen people pulled off 9/11. Look what we’re letting in. You think it’s not here?” Later in his livestream, Allen showed an image of pro-Palestine demonstrators and stated, “this is an invasion. They’re not in America because they want to be Americans and they think this is the greatest country in the world. They’re here to infiltrate and overrun America.” [Rumble, Dear America, 10/11/23, 10/11/23]
    • During an episode of LFA TV’s Live from America, Herrell claimed that there was a “coordinated effort of Islam trying to kill Jews and Christians all over the world.” He went on to fearmonger about terrorist violence coming to the U.S., adding, “What do you think that southern border was open for? They’ve got to bring the holy war mentality to the United States in order to take the United States down.” [Rumble, Live from America, 10/10/23] 
    • Far-right figure TheSaltyCracker speculated that “massive, massive amount of terrorisms is most likely coming to your Democrat-run city shitholes” as “all of these people that we have no idea who the fuck they are” come over the border. He also criticized LGBTQ individuals for protesting in support of Palestinians, saying, “You’re going to find out real fast that the Palestinians don’t like you.” [Rumble, TheSaltyCracker, 10/9/23]
    • Conspiracy theorist Tim Pool published a video with the title “Israel Hamas Conflict COULD HIT US As Report Says TERROR Suspects Cross OPEN BORDER, Biden FLAILING.” Pool used an article from NBC to fearmonger over a “growing concern that terrorists were pouring in over the southern border” and the possibility that “something may occur in the United States in response” to the conflict between Hamas and Israel. [Rumble, TimCastIRL, 10/10/23]
    • Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones warned Rumble viewers that “the gates are wide open” and “Islamic hordes” are pouring into the U.S., claiming that “it's only a matter of when, not if” there will be “terror attacks in this country.” Speaking on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast about protests in defense of Palestinians, Jones said that “these people on average are not going to assimilate. They are only going to try to conquer us” and “we need to deport all these people now.” Jones also claimed: “The left and Islam have merged worldwide. They've made deals. The corporate media worldwide, the major universities, Harvard, Oxford, you name it. They're turning us over to Islam.” [Rumble, War Room, 10/18/23]
    • On his “Rumble Exclusives” show The Rubin Report, host Dave Rubin falsely insisted that there is no distinction between Palestinians and Hamas. He said: “Let me be very clear about this. The U.S. should bring in zero Palestinian refugees. Some people have tried to make this, you know, this difference: OK, well, the Palestinians are the people and Hamas is the government and they don't all support, whatever. I don't see any Palestinians out marching in these parades, wherever they are, or their supporters making a distinction, right? There's very few people at the Hamas parades going, guys, Hamas are the bad guys, stop beheading people, we should have a peaceful movement. There’s literally nobody.” [Rumble, The Rubin Report, 10/17/23; Media Matters, 4/11/23]