How Did the Left Lose the Internet? The Deck Was Stacked In Their Favor

In this episode, the hosts dive into a viral video clip by a leftist commentator who argues that the left has lost the battle for the internet to right-wing influencers. They discuss the historical dominance of progressive voices online, the cultural shifts over the past decade, and the reasons behind the right's growing popularity on platforms like YouTube and Rumble. The conversation also covers the polarization within the Democratic Party, the rise of new right-leaning creators, and the impact of social dynamics on political content creation. Additionally, they touch upon lighter topics such as romantic Omega verse literature and personal anecdotes.

Malcolm Collins: Hello Simone. I saw a video recently that I want to play a little clip from that argues that the left, and this is a leftist arguing, this has essentially lost the battle for the internet, and the statistics she provides are compelling.

So I play the video clip?

Hazel: There is no alt left pipeline because for the longest time, the internet was the alt left pipeline. Maybe it doesn't feel like it anymore, but for over a decade it felt like the internet belonged to us, the progressives, the feminists, the socialists, the Bernie Bros, the techno revolutionaries, the Wikipedia editors, and not just humbler.

The internet and then first slowly by the co-opting of Beloved Online mascots like Pepe and Doge and Joe Rogan. And then all at once in the last year or so, the right took over the internet in the 2010s. The culture war was ours to lose and we lost. We buffed that , man, having blue hair and an ambiguous sexual orientation that used to be cool.

Know them.

Speaker 2: Ah, used to be with it. But then they changed what it was. It'll happen to you

Hazel: anyway. The left wing of American politics is the Democrats, I'm sorry to tell you, they are pouring money into throwing cringe, yet lavish coconut themed parties for online influencers and plot twist. I was one of those influencers.

And everybody is rightfully dunking on it online. Meanwhile, the Republicans seem to have an unstoppable wave of organic support from basically every podcaster who doesn't talk like with the NPR voice. Today on our show, we're gonna be discussing the ways in witch like that. So I ask What the happened?

Now, you might be saying, Hazel, you're catastrophizing. Okay. The internet is still very left or at least a liberal place. And to that, I say, that's right. Look at it. Look at it. Look at it. We want all of you to look at it.

Almost all the most popular channels on YouTube, not to mention the, um, the other, all the other ones, including rumble. Should, should I be posting my on Rumble? Uh, yeah. So they're all right-Leaning this Media Matters report shows that nine out of the top 10 online shows had right-leaning politics and across the internet, the right wingers took the lion's share of the views.

This is a big deal. This has real world effects, obviously, because now they're calling the 2024 election, the podcast election, and Trump is also doing this. He specifically thanked podcasters in his inauguration speech.

Malcolm Collins: No. You hadn't seen these statistics before. What are your thoughts?

Simone Collins: This is so surprising to me because as you know, I mostly consume leftist media on YouTube, and so my perception is that YouTube is just a socialist Marxist super echo chamber, and that we are among the very few.

That, that post content, that's conservative, aside from like some, you know, conservative niches, but the mainstream stuff. Super progressive and it

Malcolm Collins: used to be that way.

Simone Collins: Okay, so what hap was, is she saying this happened after Trump was elected?

Malcolm Collins: By the way, I

Simone Collins: was just watching a left-leaning video in which this one financial, she's supposed to be financially focused, but she's just incredibly politically polarized.

Interviewed among other people, princess Weeks, a very progressive YouTuber, and she literally bleeped out President Trump's name, like it was a bad word. Yes. Yes. Like this is how, 'cause it's too, maybe 'cause it's too triggering anyway. Like, this is how, how I'm just so surprised by this, right? Like in light of what I'm listening to.

Well,

Malcolm Collins: and it actually makes sense. If you think about, if I think of any YouTuber or online personality who rose to fame let's say from 1990 to 2010. Mm-hmm. My assumption is gonna be that they are left wing. All Yeah. Because

Simone Collins: you, you could not have gained. All that political, or Oh, sorry. All of that all those followers without being banned if you weren't progressive.

Malcolm Collins: Well, that's part of it. Yes. Which is why they they, because they had a lot more editorial control back then. Yeah. But they were just all progressive. But what I mean is if you were like a neutral content creator, right? Like if you were Matt Pat, or you were, you know, shoe on head. Or you were you know, you're, you're creating content that is like, maybe sometimes it touches on the political, the Green Brothers or something.

Or you were you know, the, the show that became real pique, what did he do? The, the bald guy, like V Sauce. You know, all of these individuals you assumed, even if they don't talk about their politics, are far lefty. The

Simone Collins: Green Brothers, the AKA, the vlog brothers are super leftists.

Malcolm Collins: Yeah. Or, oh, who is that lady who did like the song?

Do you want to date? My avatar? Who's actually pretty cool. Anyway, she far leftist as well and everything, but now I and Jenny

Simone Collins: Nicholson leftist.

Malcolm Collins: Yeah. Now I often take the opposite approach. I, I, I generally think anybody who's risen to fame within the past 10 years, if, if, if they don't, if they'd only talk about their politics casually or not explicitly, they're typically rightists.

Simone Collins: So they were just closeted rightists when being a rightist would've otherwise gotten them banned?

Malcolm Collins: No, it's a new class of creators. It's, it's new people who were not famous before. So they just

Simone Collins: got famous. Now, like after the second Trump election, the

Malcolm Collins: people not famous in the past 10 years, largely speaking like Asma Gold.

Asma gold was not famous before 10 years ago. Like he, he may have had some, so you're saying this, this

Simone Collins: rise first started and they were first able to accumulate. Momentum with the first Trump election, Noor?

Malcolm Collins: You know, no, I don't think it was the first Trump election. I, and I'm gonna argue why I don't think it was the first Trump election, actually.

Okay. Because, because let's talk about like, what I think caused this, because I've been trying to like actually dig my brain on this. And I think part of it is the way that each side relates to positions of power. If I look at the online lefty YouTubers, none of them, and I mean literally not one that is popular that I am aware of is identifies as a democrat.

In fact, they are quite antagonistic to the Democrats and see them as not real leftists. You know, like Hassan Piker is never gonna say I'm a Democrat. You know, the, the no, and I'm, and I mean this, you know, not only will he not say he's a Democrat, he let on his show, you know, a OC and Bernie, like two of the most