Maajid Nawaz is a British media personality and activist. Nawaz is considered part of the intellectual dark web. Nawaz has platformed and supported other members who hold anti-transgender views.
Background
Maajid Usman Nawaz born on November 2, 1977 in Southend-on-Sea, England. Nawaz’s sibling became involved in Islamist political activity through Hizb ut-Tahrir, and Nawaz also got involved.
Nawaz attended Newnham College. While in school, Nawaz had a year abroad in Egypt. Nawaz was arrested and imprisoned there for involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Upon release, Nawaz returned to the UK and earned an undergraduate degree at SOAS, University of London, then earned a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.
Nawaz founded the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think tank, and became a critic of Islamism. Nawaz has written about leaving Islamist extremism and ran for office as a Liberal Democrat.
Anti-transgender activity
Nawaz is critical of a kind of progressivism dubbed “control left,” which includes people supportive of gender minorities. Nawaz accuses the control left of “post factual behaviour, violence being seen as an option and prioritising group identity over individual rights” and “they want to control our lives, control what we think, control how we even feel.”
Nawaz hosted a weekend afternoon radio show on LBC from 2016 to 2022.
Nawaz has appeared on shows with other intellectual dark web figures, including Joe Rogan and Sam Harris. Nawaz hosted the podcast Radical and covered gender on several episodes, including one devoted to the anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman?
Media
LBC (May 22, 2018). Jordan Peterson On Why He Refuses To Use Special Pronouns For Transgender People – LBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_UbmaZQx74
Sky News (Feb 14, 2020). Should gender transition for children take longer? The Pledge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tG6SPmqVUw
References
Nawaz, Maajid (November 20, 2016). Maajid: The Left Is No Longer Liberal. LBC https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/maajid-nawaz/maajid-the-left-is-no-longer-liberal/
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
“Akira the Don” is the stage name of Adam Narkiewicz, a British musician, DJ, and producer. Narkiewicz creates lo-fi music tracks featuring vocals from anti-trans extremist Jordan B. Peterson (JBP) and other members of the intellectual dark web. Fans call the subgenre “JBPwave” or “meaningwave.”
Narkiewicz has discussed this work and its political philisophy on Rebel Wisdom and other anti-trans platforms supporting the intellectual dark web.
References
Sweeny, Andrew (April 19, 2018). Jordan Peterson âthe 21st Century Battle Rapperâ vs Akira the Don. Rebel Wisdom https://medium.com/rebel-wisdom/jordan-peterson-the-21st-century-battle-rapper-vs-akira-the-don-a39d2f51ad3c
Media
David Fuller (Apr 19, 2018). Jordan Peterson, 21st Century Pop Superstar. The Origins of JBPWAVE. Rebel Wisdom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMxpSLWXgvs
Resources
Meaningwave (meaningwave.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Bandcamp (bandcamp.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Reddit (reddit.com)
OpenSea (opensea.io)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Stefan Molyneux is an Irish-born Canadian podcaster and key figure in the alt-right and the so-called intellectual dark web. Molyneux’s anti-feminist and white nationalist views have resulted in removal from many online platforms.
Podcast
Molyneux was an early adopter of social media and podcasting. Molyneux has participated in episodes with many key figures in the anti-trans movement, including Steven Crowder, Douglas Murray, Jordan Peterson, Dennis Prager, Joe Rogan, and Michael Shermer.
Guests include:
- Cordelia Fine
- Nicholas J. Fuentes
- Rebecca Hargraves / Blonde In The Belly Of The Beast
- Stephen Hicks
- Katie Hopkins
- Stephen Hsu
- Phyllis Schlafly
- Michael Shermer
- Tommy Sotomayor
- Lauren SouthernÂ
- Roger Stone
References
Jurg, DaniĂ«l; SchlĂŒter, Maximilian; Tuters, Marc (May 17, 2023). Inside the Cult of Stefan Molyneux: A Historical Exploration of Far-Right Radicalisation on YouTube. Global Network on Extremism and Technology https://gnet-research.org/2023/05/17/inside-the-cult-of-stefan-molyneux-a-historical-exploration-of-far-right-radicalisation-on-youtube/
Resources
Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org)
- Stefan Molyneux
- splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stefan-molyneux
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Freedomain (freedomain.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Alex Jones is an American far-right conspiracy theorist. Jones is a key figure in the alt-right and so-called intellectual dark web.
Background
Alexander Emerick “Alex” Jones was born on February 11, 1974 in Dallas, Texas. Jones’ family moved to Austin, Texas when Jones was a teen. Jones attended Austin Community College but did not get a degree.
Jones became interested in right-wing conspiracy theories as a teen. Around the time of the seige of the Branch Davidian compound in nearby Waco, Jones began a call-in radio show. Jones claimed the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was a false flag operation by the government.
In 1999 Jones and spouse Kelly founded InfoWars as a way to sell their conspiracy materials
Anti-transgender views
Jones was warned and ultimately banned by Facebook for “violent or graphic content,” including one with anti-trans content. Another was flagged for anti-transgender content in which Jones appeared to threaten transgender people.Â
Jones has appeared in media with conservative transgender troll Blaire White and numerous personalities who platform anti-trans guests and views, most notably Joe Rogan. In 2018 Jones inadvertently revealed on camera recent browsing history that included trans porn star Marissa Minx.
References
Kacala, Alexander (August 7, 2018). Infowars’ Alex Jones has a long history of inflammatory, anti-LGBTQ speech. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/infowars-alex-jones-has-long-history-inflammatory-anti-lgbtq-speech-n898431
O’Hara, Mary Emily (August 28, 2018). A Trans Porn Star Reacts to Her Video Appearing on The Alex Jones Show. them. https://www.them.us/story/trans-porn-alex-jones-show
Resources
GLAAD (glaad.org)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
https://www.infowarsstore.com/
PrisonPlanet.com
InfoWars.com
NewsWars.com
IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1093953/)
Stephen Hicks is a Canadian-American philosopher, considered part of the so-called intellectual dark web. Hicks and Jordan Peterson have overlapping anti-trans positions.
Background
Stephen Ronald Craig Hicks was born on August 19, 1960 in Toronto. Hicks attended University of Guelph, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2001 followed by a master’s degree. Hicks earned a doctorate from Indiana University in 1991.
Hicks began teaching at Rockford College in 1992. Hicks was a Fellow of The Heritage Foundation in 1996 and served as director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship.
Hicks is known for the 2004 book Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault. It was influential among lay critics of postmodernism and progressivism. Hicks believes that Western society has experienced a failure of epistemology, which is basically a study of the way we know things.
Hicks’s thesis is that “the failure of epistemology made postmodernism possible, and the failure of socialism made postmodernism necessary.” In other words, Hicks believes that postmodernism is an intellectual reaction to the failure of communist, collectivist, and socialist political thought. Hicks believes those ideas failed when put into practice, and intellectuals needed a new form of political philosophy to explain those failures.
Anti-trans views
Critics of postmodernism sometimes see “gender ideology” as an aspect of postmodernist philosophy. As an example, the nonbinary gender identity emerged from deconstructionism, a school of thought which seeks to break down social constructs, many of which operate under what philosopher Ferdinand de Saussure calls binary opposition. As an example, the long-held idea of âopposite sexesâ creates the category of âsexâ as one of two mutually exclusive opposing terms: male or female. In this school of thought, binary opposition created a hierarchy where one of the two components is dominant.
Challenging binary oppositions is an important part of postmodernism, an intellectual movement that uses rhetorical, critical, and strategic means to destabilize concepts and beliefs that some people consider stable or even unchangeable. When academics say that race, sex, and other characteristics are socially constructed, they are challenging the deeply held beliefs of many people.
Critics of postmodernism and relativism also believe that these ideas will lead to loss of freedoms, the end of reason, and a number of other existential threats to society and humanity.
Academics are often concerned about freedom of speech in general and academic freedom in particular. Some believe these freedoms are threatened by postmodernism. They see things like expectations to use preferred names and pronouns as “compelled speech.”
Hicks gives an example:
Demanding that people call you by your preferred name is already a retreat from civility, and that should be a two-way street. You also have to respect the other personâs context and what kind of linguistic framework that they are operating within.
Lewis (2016) [transcript]
Hicks was an early adopter of YouTube and social media to present these ideas. Hicks has appeared with a number of anti-trans figures, including Jordan Peterson, Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster of TRIGGERnometry, Michael Nayna, Glenn Beck, and Benjamin Boyce.
Media
Jordan Peterson Aug 18, 2017 Postmodernism: History and Diagnosis…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyzSrtr6oJE
Jordan Peterson May 27, 2019 Stephen Hicks: Postmodernism: Reprise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwW9QV5Ulmw
TRIGGERnometry Dec 12, 2021 The Truth About the Nazis with Stephen Hicks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAydErHRJ9w
Sovereign Nations Sep 3, 2021 Encroaching Darkness Stephen Hicks, James Lindsay, & Michael O’Fallon Changing Tides Ep. 6
Michael Nayna May 16, 2020 Stephen Hicks & Mike Nayna – PhDs and Passive-Aggression https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7iFIhUVHuw
Benjamin A. Boyce Dec 11, 2019 Postmodern Monsters with Stephen Hicks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEGMoQkgXf8
Mark Michael Lewis Dec 12, 2016 Ayn Rand Hero: Professor Stephen Hicks – Postmodernism and Making Work Beautiful Stephen Hicks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTKE00OQTpE&t=1841s [transcript]
Glenn Beck Dec 17, 2018 Dr. Stephen Hicks The Glenn Beck Podcast Ep 15 BlazeTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fs0HFRwqrY
- https://possiblycorrect.com/show/open-college-with-dr-stephen-hicks/
Resources
Stephen Hicks (stephenhicks.org)
Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship (ethicsandentrepreneurship.org) [archive 2008-March 2020]
YouTube (youtube.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
instagram.com/stephenhicksphilosophy
Owen Benjamin is the stage name of Owen Troy-Smith, an American conspiracy theorist and anti-transgender activist.
Benjamin is part of the alt-right and intellectual dark web movements of anti-trans extremists.
Background
Owen Benjamin Kares Troy-Smith was born on May 24, 1980. Both parents are college professors. Troy-Smith earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2002, then began a career in stand-up comedy, branded as a conservative comedian.
Anti-transgender activism
After podcaster Jesse Thorn expressed support for their family’s trans child on Twitter, Troy-Smith and other anti-trans extremists like Jesse Singal decided to make inappropriate comments about this child.
Following additional attacks on trans healthcare for adolescents as well as posting standup clips mocking trans people, Troy-Smith’s talent agency cut ties.
Data & Society released a report demonstrating Troy-Smith’s connections within the alt-right network of YouTubers. Troy-Smith did collaborations with Stefan Molyneux, Lindsay Shepherd, Michael Malice, Erec Smith, Tim Pool, and Joe Rogan.
References
Berkowitz, Joe (December 3, 2018). Why is Amazon promoting this anti-trans alt right troll’s comedy special? Fast Company https://www.fastcompany.com/90275862/why-is-amazon-promoting-this-anti-trans-alt-right-trolls-comedy-special
Holt, Jared (November 29, 2018). Owen Benjamin: Transgender Rights Movement is a U.N.-Sponsored Eugenics Program. Right Wing Watch / People for the American Way http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/owen-benjamin-transgender-rights-movement-is-a-u-n-sponsored-eugenics-program/
Holt, Jared (December 13, 2019). Instagram and Facebook Suspend Right-Wing âComedianâ Owen Benjamin. Right Wing Watch / People for the American Way https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/instagram-and-facebook-suspend-right-wing-comedian-owen-benjamin/
Center on Extremism (December 26, 2023). Owen Benjamin: What You Need to Know. ADL https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/owen-benjamin-what-you-need-know
Media
Owen Benjamin (May 2, 2018). Trans People Ruined Everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=telZ8Dc0i_M
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Owen Benjamin (owenbenjamin.com)
Huge Pianist (hugepianist.com) [archive]
Unauthorized TV (unauthorized.tv)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Mike Cernovich is an American far-right extremist and anti-transgender activist. Cernovich is considered part of the intellectual dark web, described as a gateway to the far right.
Background
Michael C. Cernovich was born on November 17, 1977 in Kewanee, Illinois. Cernovich earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois at Springfield in 2001 and a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2004. Cernovich was married in 2003 and divorced in 2011. Cernovich’s spouse was a successful technology lawyer and was required to pay Cernovich a large sum in the settlement. Cernovich was admitted to the California Bar in 2013.
Cernovich started as a self-help writer. Cernovich endorses an anti-feminist “gorilla mindset” for men interested in meeting and dating women.
Cernovich is a key figure in the QAnon conspiracy that claimed Hilary Clinton was involved in a vast pedophile ring.
Cernovich is well known for trolling and no longer identifies with the alt-right, saying it is “too obsessed with gossip and drama for my tastes.”
Cernovich and second spouse Shauna announced their fourth child in 2023.
Anti-transgender activism
Cernovich once reportedly made a list of countries with the most attractive transgender women.
Cernovich also shares consistently negative news stories about transgender people.
References
Stack, Liam (April 5, 2017). Who Is Mike Cernovich? A Guide. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/politics/mike-cernovich-bio-who.html
-https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1066335232263999491
Cernovich, Mike (August 31, 2016). Is Mike Cernovich Part of the Alt-Right? Danger & Play https://www.dangerandplay.com/2016/08/31/is-mike-cernovich-part-of-the-alt-right/
Marantz, Andrew (October 24, 2016). Trolls for Trump. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/trolls-for-trump
Resources
Mike Cernovich (cernovich.com)
Danger & Play (dangerandplay.com)
Crime & Federalism (crimeandfederalism.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)
Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org)
- Mike Cernovich
- splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/mike-cernovich
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Nicholas Christakis is an American physician and academic. Christakis is considered by some to be part of the intellectual dark web.
Anti-transgender statements
In 2020, Christakis ascribed the increase in trans adolescents seeking healthcare as “social construction of medical conditions.”
On February 8, 2022, Christakis responded to a Twitter post on social contagion by anti-trans extremist Mia Hughes, saying:
I think there is a large element of social contagion with respect to transgenderism. It reminds me of previous examples including not just bulimia but also peanut allergies and (mild) autism. But this explosion of cases will likely ultimately be seen as a failure of the medical system, not a victory â a failure to clearly demarcate the small core of people for whom surgery & hormones are indicated, & the large number of others for whom other modalities are preferable.
Resources
Human Nature Lab (humannaturelab.net)
Erika Christakis (erikachristakis.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Matt Christiansen is an American media personality and anti-transgender activist. Christiansen is associated with the intellectual dark web, described as a gateway to the far right.
Background
Matthew “Matt” Christiansen was born on October 18, 1987 and resides in Bozeman, Montana.
Christiansen frequently discusses political issues on YouTube.
References
Olson, Warren (June 18, 2021). The Orwellian Function of Transgender Ideology. Matt Christiansen Media https://www.mattchristiansenmedia.com/outback-observer/2021/6/17/the-orwellian-function-of-transgender-ideology
Media
Matt Christiansen (December 10, 2015). Transgender, Transage, and Transreason Meet Me on Mars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBGZq7XCBOE
Ribeiro MH, Ottoni R, West R, Almeida VAF, Meira W (2019). Auditing Radicalization Pathways on YouTube. arXiv.org (PDF) https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.08313
Resources
Matt Christiansen (mattchristiansenmedia.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Twitch (twitch.tv)
YouTube (youtube.com)
(minds.com/mlchristiansen)
Sam Harris is an American writer, podcaster, and anti-transgender activist. Harris is a key figure in the intellectual dark web (IDW), described as a gateway to the far right. In 2020, Harris disavowed the IDW, and in 2021 Harris symbolically returned the “imaginary membership card to this imaginary organization.”
Background
Samuel Benjamin Harris was born on April 9, 1967 in Los Angeles, California to parents who were both in entertainment. Harris left Stanford after an experience with MDMA and spent about a decade learning spiritual practices in India and Nepal. Harris returned and completed a bachelor’s degree in 2000. Harris earned a doctorate from UCLA in 2009.
Harris published the book The End of Faith in 2004. harris has gone on to be a critic of religion, especially Islam. Harris has debated many people on religion, including Rick Warren, Deepak Chopra, Jean Houston, William Lane Craig, and Reza Aslan. Harris has also appeared in debated on religion with anti-trans extremists Andrew Sullivan, Jordan Peterson, and Michael Shermer.
Harris and spouse Annaka Gorton have two children.
Podcast
Harris began the podcast Waking Up in 2013, later renamed Making Sense.
References
Young, Sam (Oct 26, 2022). Sam Harris, J.K. Rowling, and the Cesspool of Anti-Trans Activism. An Injustice! https://aninjusticemag.com/sam-harris-j-k-rowling-and-the-cesspool-of-anti-trans-activism-3e2753e5b6da