Paul Joseph Watson
Paul Joseph Watson | ||||||||||
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YouTube personality | ||||||||||
Website | https://modernity.news/ | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
Also known as | PJW, Paul J. Watson, PropagandaMatrix (formerly), Anything Goes | |||||||||
Channel | ||||||||||
Years active | 2011–present | |||||||||
Genres | ||||||||||
Subscribers | 1.9 million[2] | |||||||||
Total views | 518.5 million[2] | |||||||||
Associated acts |
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Last updated: 21 January 2022 |
Paul Joseph Watson (born 24 May 1982)
Watson's career emerged through his work for conspiracy theorist and radio host
Since 2011, Watson has hosted his own YouTube channel, prisonplanetlive, on which he expresses his views on topics such as contemporary society, politics, and modern liberalism in an often mocking manner. He rose to prominence on his YouTube channel by criticizing and mocking the "
Early life
Paul Joseph Watson was born on 24 May 1982 at
Watson described his formative moment as being when, at the age of 18, he watched The Secret Rulers of the World, a documentary in which journalist Jon Ronson accompanied Alex Jones in infiltrating Bohemian Grove in California, a place where some conspiracy theorists believe global elites plot the New World Order. He has described British conspiracy theorist David Icke, whom he first read as a teenager, as the person who woke him up.[1] After the release of the Ronson documentary, Watson launched his own website called Propaganda Matrix. In 2004, he registered Global Propaganda Matrix as the company responsible for his website. According to Watson, he was initially invited to contribute by Alex Jones in 2002, and rapidly gained substantial compensation for his work on InfoWars, as stated by the former spouse of the site's founder.[1]
Political self-identification
Watson, along with Jones and
Watson previously described himself as a
Although he endorsed
On 16 June 2018, Watson announced that he had joined the UK Independence Party along with Mark Meechan and Carl Benjamin.[30][31]
In traditional media
In 2016, Watson was an early proponent of
In February 2017, Watson tweeted an offer to pay for a journalist to visit Sweden and stay in the "crime ridden migrant suburbs" of Malmö, if they think it would be safe.[35] Many journalists took him up on the offer,[35][36] and Watson chose New York journalist and videographer Tim Pool, who was already planning a similar investigation.[37] Watson gave Pool $2,000 for the trip.[35][37] Pool's findings contradicted Watson's claims.[38]
At a November 2018 White House press briefing, persistent questioning of Trump led an intern to attempt to take a microphone from the hand of CNN's Jim Acosta.[39][40] Acosta's White House press credentials were subsequently revoked, allegedly for having "put his hands" on the intern.[41][42] Watson uploaded an edited version of the original footage in support of this claim. In this version, zoom and frame rate changes create the misleading impression that Acosta had behaved aggressively towards the intern.[41]
Watson confirmed that he had applied a zoom and denied making any other alterations, though expert analysis confirmed that "the clip repeats several frames that do not appear in the original footage" and that it had been sped up.
On 2 May 2019, Watson and several other people considered to be extremists, including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Jones, and right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, were permanently banned from Facebook, which called them "dangerous".[47] "We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology", a Facebook spokesperson said. "The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today."[48] Watson tweeted that he had broken "none of their rules" and complained of "an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants" in which "all dissent must be purged."[16] Trump retweeted Watson, mocking the "dangerous" epithet.[49]
Views
Immigration
Watson is anti-immigration.[50][1] He has claimed[51] that "Malmö is known as 'Sweden's Chicago'" due to mass immigration into the country.[52] According to a study published in Critical Studies in Media Communication, this claim is false.[53]
In 2022, Watson criticised French president Emmanuel Macron and France's African migrant communities, following the murder of a Jewish man in Paris.[9]
Islam
Watson is
Race and ethnicity
Watson has criticised perceived racial tokenism.[59] In 2017, he criticised the BBC for "portraying Roman Britain as ethnically diverse" after the broadcaster included a black Roman centurion in an educational cartoon. His criticism was contradicted by Mary Beard and Cambridge's Faculty of Classics, saying there was overwhelming evidence that Roman Britain was a multi-ethnic society.[60]
In May 2022,
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hines, Nico (22 April 2018). "Alex Jones' Protegé, Paul Joseph Watson, Is About to Steal His Crackpot Crown". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ a b "About Paul Joseph Watson". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Alt-right editor challenges journalists to visit Sweden". BBC News. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
Paul Joseph Watson, the UK-based editor of far-right conspiracy website InfoWars
- ^ "alt-right commentator gets 'schooled' by historian over diversity in Roman Britain". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "The alt-right's views of Trump are getting kind of complicated after his Syria strike". The Week. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "This Alt-Right Blogger Said Sweden Is Crime-Ridden And Now People Are Trolling Him With Memes". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Facebook bans Alex Jones, other extremist figures". Reuters. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ a b Hayden, Michael Edison (6 May 2022). "Leaked Audio Underscores Dark Side of Far-Right YouTube Subculture". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "'Wipe Jews Off the Face of the Earth': Racism and Antisemitic Slurs of Viral YouTuber Exposed". Byline Times. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
- ^ a b Cheadle, Harry (26 August 2016). "How Conspiracy Theories About Hillary Clinton's Health Went Mainstream". Vice.
British conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson
- ^ Townsend, Mark (11 February 2017). "Britain's extremist bloggers helping the 'alt-right' go global, report finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
London-based Paul Watson, described as "editor, staff writer" for the conspiracy website InfoWars ... is named as a central disseminator of the conspiracy theory concerning Hillary Clinton having debilitating health issues ... During a series of unashamedly conspiratorial videos that were viewed millions of times, Watson, originally from Sheffield, suggested Clinton might have had syphilis, brain damage and Parkinson's disease as well as alleging she was a drug abuser.
- ^ Weigel, David (28 August 2016). "The alt-right's take on Clinton's speech: Botched, but legitimizing". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
For the alt-right and its allies ... the speech helped elevate a fringe. In videos, Jones and his colleagues at InfoWars portrayed her as a sickly, doddering figure of desperation. ... InfoWars contributor Paul Joseph Watson...
- ^ [11][12][13][3]
- ^ a b Pearce, Matt (29 November 2016). "The 'alt-right' splinters as supporters and critics agree it was white supremacy all along". LA Times. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ a b Isaac, Mike; Roose, Kevin (2 May 2019). "Facebook Bans Alex Jones, Louis Farrakhan and Others From Its Services". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Ortutay, Barbara (3 May 2019). "Facebook bans Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones for hate speech". YouTube News. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ a b Walter, Damien (18 February 2017). "There's a very simple reason why the alt-right is not the new counterculture". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ a b Wilson, Jason (24 May 2017). "How rightwing pundits are reacting to the Manchester attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
Paul Joseph Watson, Alex Jones's British mini-me, has followed the same broad path that the rest of the organization has. He was never on the left, of course, but over time his commentary has focused less and less on the Illuminati and chemtrails, and more and more on pushing a stridently anti-Muslim, anti-feminist and anti-left message.
- ^ Hanonoki, Eric (19 June 2017). "Infowars' Paul Joseph Watson can't get anything right". Salon.
- ^ "Paul Joseph Watson's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". Socialblade. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ Worswick, Marie-Elise (7 November 2016). "An interview with Paul Joseph Watson". The Sheffield Tab. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ Hayden, Michael Edison (4 January 2018). "Keith Ellison's 'Antifa' Tweet Spurs Anti-Muslim and Racist Backlash". Newsweek. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ Lynch, Conor (23 December 2016). "Donald Trump and the libertarians: Why have so many people who claim to love freedom embraced a strongman?". Salon.
- ^ "Trump supporters turn on the president over Syria strike". The Irish Times. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Withey, Josh (8 April 2017). "Paul Joseph Watson in humiliating U-turn after losing hundreds of followers". indy100. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Greenwood, Max (7 April 2017). "Syria strike disappoints Trump backers in media". The Hill. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Mulhall, Joe (9 April 2017). "Exclusive: US President's Son Interacts with British Far-Right Figure". Hope Not Hate. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Ovenden, Olivia (6 August 2018). "UKIP Are Working With Controversial Alt-Right YouTubers To Win Over Young Voters". Esquire. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ "UKIP is bouncing back in an altogether nastier form". The Economist. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ a b Macbain, Hamish (1 March 2017). "Are these the faces of London's young 'alt-right'?". Evening standard magazine.
- ^ Jamieson, Amber (26 August 2016). "Conspiracy central: the activists painting Clinton as a sick, terrorist-friendly killer". The Guardian.
- ^ Collins, Ben (9 August 2016). "'Is Hillary Dying' Hoax Started by Pal of Alex Jones". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Roden, Lee (21 February 2017). "Far-right editor's offer to pay travel costs to 'crime-ridden Malmö' backfires as dozens accept". The Local Sweden.
- Huffington Post.
- ^ Huffington Post.
- ^ "The man sent to 'crime ridden' Sweden by a right-wing journalist has reported his findings". 1 March 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ Lurie, David R. (21 November 2018). "The White House Restored Jim Acosta's Press Pass, but Hasn't Abandoned Its Attack on Free Speech". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ Griffiths, Brent D.; Schwartz, Jason (7 November 2018). "White House pulls pass from CNN reporter". POLITICO. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ a b Harwell, Drew (8 November 2018). "VIDEO: White House shares doctored video to support punishment of journalist Jim Acosta". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Duluth News Tribune.
- ^ a b Hefner, Josh (8 November 2018). "White House shares edited video to justify revoking press pass of CNN's Jim Acosta". Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ a b Ismail, Aymann (8 November 2018). "The White House's Acosta Video Looks Different From the Original. Does That Mean It's "Doctored"?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Kaleigh; Koebler, Jason (8 November 2018). "Expert Says: No Evidence the White House Video of Jim Acosta Was Doctored". Motherboard. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ Johnson, Michaela (8 November 2018). "Sanders criticized for sharing 'doctored' video of Acosta at press conference". KOMO-FM. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ Epps, Garrett (16 November 2018). "Why Jim Acosta Got His Pass Back". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ Lorenz, Taylor (2 May 2019). "Instagram and Facebook Ban Far-Right Extremists". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Oliver, Darcy (2 May 2019). "Facebook bans Louis Farrakhan, Milo Yiannopoulos, InfoWars and others from its platforms as 'dangerous'". CNN. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Latza Nadeau, Barbie; Weill, Kelly (4 May 2019). "Trump Spends Morning Endorsing Far-Right Fringe Propaganda on Twitter". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ a b Croucher, Shane (16 August 2018). "Alex Jones Is Off Social Media—but His British InfoWars Sidekick Paul Joseph Watson's Accounts Are Still Live". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ Marantz, Andrew (11 December 2017). "The Live-Streamers Who Are Challenging Traditional Journalism". The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Kanye West celebrated by right-wing conspiracy theorists over recent comments". Newshub. MediaWorks New Zealand. 24 April 2018.
- ^ Lemon, Jason (25 June 2018). "Alt-Right Linked Social Media Activists Welcomed As Members of Britain's UKIP". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ "Mosque-attack suspect read conspiracy site InfoWars prior to London rampage: Prosecutors". The Washington Times. 24 January 2018.
- ^ "Even a top far-right conspiracy theorist says Trump's retweets of fringe British anti-Muslim videos are 'bad optics'". Business Insider. 29 November 2019.
- ^ Griffin, Andrew (11 August 2017). "YouTube stars that supported Donald Trump claim site is taking away their money and they'll quit". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Alt-right commentator gets 'schooled' by historian over diversity in Roman Britain". The Daily Telegraph. 27 July 2017.
- ^ Ashworth, Louise (7 August 2017). "Faculty of Classics backs Mary Beard after Roman Britain diversity debate". Varsity.
External links
- Paul Joseph Watson's channel on YouTube
- Paul Joseph Watson on Twitter
- Paul Joseph Watson at IMDb