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Stefan Molyneux

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Not to be confused with Stephen Molyneux.
Stefan Molyneux
Stefan Molyneux in 2014
Personal information
Born
Stefan Basil Molyneux

(1966-09-24) September 24, 1966 (age 57)
Athlone, Ireland
NationalityCanadian
EducationHistory (B.A., McGill University, 1991; M.A., University of Toronto, 1993)
Occupation(s)Radio host, YouTube personality
Websitefreedomainradio.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2005–present
Subscribers903,000+[1]
Total views264.5 million[1]
NetworkFreedomain Radio
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2015
Last updated: February 02, 2019

Stefan Basil Molyneux (/stəˈfæn ˈmɒlɪnjuː/; born September 24, 1966) is a Canadian podcaster and YouTuber. Molyneux, a self-published author, usually speaks on the topics of anarcho-capitalism, politics, relationships, race and intelligence, multiculturalism, libertarianism, anti-feminism,[3] and familial relationships.

A supporter of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, he has been described as alt-right by Politico and The Washington Post, and far-right and right-wing by CNN.[4][5][6][7][8] The Freedomain Radio internet community which he leads has been described as a cult by left-wing publications.[9][10][11][7] Molyneux formerly worked in the software industry.

Background

Molyneux was born in Ireland and raised mainly in London before moving to Canada at age 11.[12] Molyneux attended the Glendon College of York University, where he was an actor at Theatre Glendon[13] and a member of the Debating Society.[14] He then attended the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.[12][15] In 1991, Molyneux received a B.A. in History from McGill University, where he was active in the McGill Debating Union. He then went on to receive an M.A. in History from University of Toronto in 1993.[15][10]

Career

In early 1995, Molyneux and his brother Hugh founded Caribou Systems Corporation, a Toronto-based provider of environmental database software. The company was sold in 2000.[15][16]

In 2005, Molyneux began a podcast called Freedomain Radio (FDR).[17] He uses the same name for the website on which he distributes his own writings, hosts podcast archives, and provides an Internet forum for FDR listeners. Molyneux also produces videos and commentary on current events, and he presents a weekly call-in show on which listeners can ask questions or discuss personal issues.[10] Molyneux funds his efforts by soliciting direct payment from listeners and viewers.[18]

In 2017, Molyneux interviewed James Damore, the Google employee who was fired after writing the Google's Ideological Echo Chamber memo.[3]

In July 2018, Molyneux and Canadian internet personality Lauren Southern toured the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne.[19] NITV quotes Simon Copland, an SBS freelance writer, who thinks that Molyneux disparaged pre-colonisation Australian Aboriginal culture, calling it "very violent", and downplayed massacres perpetrated against Aborigines, saying that the European takeover of Australia had been less violent than other such takeovers, and that the settlers "were trying to stop infanticide and mass rape".[20] Molyneux and Southern subsequently traveled to New Zealand for their speaking engagement at Auckland's Powerstation theatre. The event was cancelled at the last minute when the Powerstation's owner rescinded the booking, citing opposition from local groups and the offensive content of their speech.[21][22][23]

Molyneux has frequently hosted prominent white supremacists on his podcast, such as Peter Brimelow (founder of the white nationalist website VDare) and Jared Taylor (founder of the white supremacist magazine American Renaissance).[8]

Views

A Voice for Men

Molyneux was a panelist at a 2014 Detroit conference held by the men's rights movement and manosphere organization, A Voice for Men. According to Jessica Roy of Time magazine, Molyneux argued that violence in the world is the result of how women treat their children, and that "If we could just get people to be nice to their babies for five years straight, that would be it for war, drug abuse, addiction, promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, ... Almost all would be completely eliminated, because they all arise from dysfunctional early childhood experiences, which are all run by women."[24]

Alt-right

Molyneux has been described as a part of the "alt-right" by Politico, Metro, NY Magazine, Vanity Fair, and CBS, and has been described as "one of the alt-right's biggest YouTube stars" by Washington Post columnist J. J. McCullough.[5][6][25][26][27][28] Business Insider and BuzzFeed have characterized Molyneux as far-right.[29][30] In a 2016 YouTube video, Molyneux has denied that he identifies with the alt-right movement.[31] Data & Society, a research institute, described Molyneux as "a Canadian talk show host who promotes scientific racism".[32]

The SPLC describes Molyneux as a "libertarian internet commentator and alleged cult leader who amplifies 'scientific racism,' eugenics and white supremacism to a massive new audience" and that "Stefan Molyneux operates within the racist so-called 'alt-right' and pro-Trump ranks."[33]

Family of origin (FOO) relationships

Molyneux refers to the family that people are born into as their "family of origin" or "FOO". Molyneux suggests that family of origin relationships may not necessarily be desirable, and in some circumstances may even be detrimental, and thus, for those individuals having suffered abusive childhood relationships, it would be advantageous for them to sever such involuntary relationships as adults, or "deFOO".[34] In this way, he views all adult relationships as being voluntary and discretionary rather than obligatory. According to a 2008 article in The Guardian, both Molyneux and his wife have "deFOOed".[34]

White genocide

Radio New Zealand reported that Molyneux subscribes to a white genocide conspiracy theory.[35] In a 2018 interview with Lauren Southern about violence against white farmers in South Africa, he stated that the media and NGOs were under-reporting the subject because they "don’t want to scare the whites in the west with what happens when whites become a minority in a highly aggressive and tribalised world".[36][37]

Cult accusations

According to Steven Hassan, a mental health counselor with experience on cults, "Partly what's going on with the people on the Internet who are indoctrinated, they spend lots of hours on the computer. Videos can have them up all night for several nights in a row. Molyneux knows how to talk like he knows what he's talking about, despite very little academic research. He cites this and cites that, and presents it as the whole truth. It dismantles people's sense of self and replaces it with his sense of confidence about how to fix the world."[7]

In 2009, Tu Thanh Ha wrote that Molyneux was called the leader of a "therapy cult" following Freedomain Radio (FDR) community member Tom Bell breaking off all contact with his family.[10] In April 2008, Bell had called in to the show asking about his veganism and his feeling of disgust towards people that eat meat.[9] Molyneux suggested that this disgust could have come from witnessing an authority figure who was cruel to animals.[9] Bell responded by describing memories of his father being verbally and physically cruel to the family cat, causing him to feel intimidated by the father, and then described his emotional detachment toward his mother and the rest of his family.[9]

The following month, Bell left a note stating he no longer wanted contact and left home. It was reported that, of the estimated 50,000 users of the website, about 20 (0.04%) FDR members had also "deFOOed" (disassociate from family of origin), and that many parents chose not to speak to the media in an effort to avoid alienating their children further.[9] A representative of the British Cult Information Centre said they were following FDR, and noted that one sign of cults was that they cut people off from their families. Molyneux responded by saying, "If I advised a wife to leave an abusive husband, there would not be articles about how I am a cult leader."[9]

Molyneux and FOO were subjects of an investigative documentary by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, which aired on August 20, 2015.[11][38]

Molyneux and "deFOOing" were one of three subjects featured on the February 18, 2016 episode of the documentary series Dark Net. The episode calls Freedomain Radio a cult.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "About Stefbot". YouTube.
  2. ^ Ha, Tu Thanh (December 19, 2014). "Controversial podcaster listened in on therapist wife and clients: lawsuit". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Levin, Sam (August 9, 2017). "Fired Google memo writer gives first big interviews to rightwing YouTubers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved August 26, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Krieg, Gregory (November 10, 2016). "How did Trump win? Here are 24 theories". CNN. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved July 24, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Schreckinger, Ben (April 7, 2017). "Trump's Troll Army Isn't Ready for War in Syria". Politico Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved August 10, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b McCullough, J. J. (March 10, 2017). "Canada's obsession with American politics is nothing to apologize for". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved August 10, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c Collins, Ben (February 5, 2016). Meet the 'Cult' Leader Stumping for Donald Trump. Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Beast. Retrieved: October 12, 2016.
  8. ^ a b CNN, Nathan McDermott, Andrew Kaczynski, and Chris Massie, (November 30, 2018). "Rep. Steve King appeared on podcast frequented by white nationalists". CNN. Archived from the original on 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-02. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Whipple, Tom (January 10, 2009). "The mother and son torn apart by web 'cult' that destroys families". The Times. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d Ha, Tu Thanh (December 12, 2008). "How a cyberphilosopher convinced followers to cut off family". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2014-05-11. Retrieved April 28, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b "Trapped In A Cult?". Channel 5. 2015-08-20. Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b "Author Stefan Molyneux To Russia, with love". The Mississauga News. Mississauga, Ontario. June 1, 2003. p. Arts & Entertainment: 15. ISSN 0834-6585. OCLC 290997481. Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News). Molyneux is an Irish-born author who grew up in England and Africa before coming to Canada 25 years ago. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Johnson, Phil (February 23, 1988). "Horrors! Dracula's at Glendon College". Toronto Star, The. Ontario, Canada. p. Neighbors: N17. Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News). {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ da Costa, Cathy (February 8, 1988). "World Champions at Glendon" (PDF). Pro Tem. York University/Glendon College. p. 4. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  15. ^ a b c Burg, Robert (May 26, 1997). "Their software keeps tabs on site data". Toronto Star, The. Ontario, Canada. p. Business: D1. Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved June 18, 2014 – via NewsBank (Access World News). {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Blue292 acquires Caribou Systems" (Press release). Durham, NC: Blue292. January 28, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  17. ^ "An Introduction to Freedomain Radio". Freedomainradio.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved June 18, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Horsager, David (October 2012). The Trust Edge: How top leaders gain faster results, deeper relationships, and a stronger bottom line. New York: Free Press. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-1-4767-1137-9. OCLC 820783989.
  19. ^ Kinsella, Luke (31 July 2018). "What I learnt about the far right from Lauren Southern". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 31 July 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Smith, Douglas (30 July 2018). "Far-right Canadian duo's vile rampage against Aboriginal culture at Sydney event". National Indigenous Television, Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 31 July 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux's speaking event cancelled". Newshub. 3 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-08-03. Retrieved 3 August 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Truebridge, Nick; Niall, Todd (3 August 2018). "Auckland's Powerstation owner apologises for booking controversial speakers". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Auckland venue cancels controversial far-right Canadian pair's speaking event". 1 News. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  24. ^ Roy, Jessica (July 2, 2014). "What I Learned as a Woman at a Men's-Rights Conference". Time. Archived from the original on 2018-06-08. Retrieved May 30, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Smith, Adam (August 19, 2017). "Heartbroken mother describes how she lost her son to alt-right movement". Metro. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved August 20, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Kilgore, Ed (August 14, 2017). "Don't Look Now, But Alt-Right Demonstrations Are Scheduled for Nine Cities Next Weekend [Update: Now Cancelled]". New York. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved May 30, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Kosoff, Maya (August 9, 2017). "The Fired Google Engineer Is Doubling Down". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  28. ^ "Fired Google Engineer Who Wrote Controversial Gender Essay Speaks Out". KPIX-TV. Associated Press. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-04-21. Retrieved May 30, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Tani, Maxwell (August 23, 2017). "'UNLIMITED WAR': Breitbart and the far right start to turn on Trump over his Afghanistan decision". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved August 28, 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Ling, Justin (January 8, 2018). "The Far Right Can't Decide If The Iran Protests Are A Good Thing, Or A George Soros Deep State Coup". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved May 30, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ What Is The Alt-Right? Vox Day and Stefan Molyneux on YouTube
  32. ^ "Alternative Influence". Data & Society. Archived from the original on 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-09-19. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ Stefan Molyneux. Archived 2018-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved: December 5, 2018.
  34. ^ a b Hilpern, Kate (November 15, 2008). "You will never see me again". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-12-23. Retrieved January 7, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ "Alt-right speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern anger NZ Muslims". Radio New Zealand. 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2018-07-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Molyneux, Stefan (February 10, 2018). "White Farmers Slaughtered in South Africa | Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux". YouTube.
  37. ^ "News Corp Australia's promotion of Lauren Southern is disturbing". The Guardian. 16 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-17. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Wyatt, Daisy (August 20, 2015). "Trapped in a Cult? – TV review: Disappointing Channel 5 shock-doc fails to come up to scratch". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved November 18, 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ "Dark Net – Season 1, Episode 5". Showtime. Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 12 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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