Nicholas J. Fuentes, colloquially known as Nick Fuentes, is a 27-year-old antisemitic, Hitler-loving, racist, and misogynistic online commentator. As Fuentes continues his rapid rise to political stardom (his Twitter following has grown by almost 175,000 since Charlie Kirk’s assassination), right-wing commentators have inexplicably given Fuentes opportunities to appeal to mainstream audiences. The sanitizing of Fuentes’ image, despite a horrid digital footprint filled with the glorification of Nazism, Holocaust denial, and the promotion of sexual assault, is yet another development in the normalization of far-right extremism in the United States.
The platforming of all sorts of bigotry on social media, including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, isn’t a new problem. Podcasters with large followings such as Theo Von, Patrick Bet-David, and Joe Rogan have all recently platformed antisemitism on YouTube with minimal push back from their audiences. Compared to figures such as antisemite Candace Owens and misogynist Andrew Tate, Fuentes’ extremism is in a league of his own.
Fuentes first made his name as a commentator with the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), followed by the introduction of his own show, titled “America First,” which he has been running since 2017. His reputation grew as a crass, sarcastic, “troll”-like figure with a uniquely loyal following, which he affectionately calls the “Groypers.” His hateful conduct didn’t remain online, as he attended the violent Unite The Right (UTR) riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, and later, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. He’s teamed up with far-right extremists such as Patrick Casey of Identity Evropa (previously the American Identity Movement) and hosted a series of white nationalist events called the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC). Fuentes accumulated political capital through political figures attending AFPAC, such as GOP Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ) and Marjorie-Taylor Greene (GA).
Podcasters Platform And Monetize Fuentes’ Hatred
The murder of Charlie Kirk in September 2025 left a vacuum within the right-wing influencer space, with many mainstream commentators claiming he could never be replaced. Fuentes clearly has other ideas.
Despite his history of antisemitic vitriol, Fuentes held back on his usual troll-like behavior after Kirk’s murder. His stream on Rumble, titled “The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,” in which he cautioned his viewers not to buy into antisemitic assassination conspiracy theories, reached over 200,000 concurrent viewers, higher than even the biggest Twitch, a video platform owned by Amazon, streamers. The archived video sits at over two and a half million views at the time of publishing. Podcaster Tim Pool, to his 2.4 million followers, called Nick Fuentes the “voice of reason” after he refused to immediately blame Jews for Kirk’s death. The same goes for Rebel News’ Ian Miles Cheong, who also shared a Fuentes clip to his 1.2 million followers. Fuentes’ decision not to immediately blame Israel and Jews for Kirk’s murder provided him with previously unimaginable goodwill from the mainstream right.
Podcaster Tim Pool shares a clip of Nick Fuentes denouncing Israel-related conspiracy theories related to Charlie Kirk’s murder, captioned “Nick Fuentes, voice of reason.” (Source: Twitter).
In September 2025, Fuentes apparently decided to cut down his use of the n-word, a complete departure from his usual method (although he still rants about the “Jewish Question” on his show, which he describes as “what is to be done” with Jews). On September 18, Fuentes hit the big time. He appeared on a podcast with Russell Brand, a former movie star turned-conspiratorial content creator with over eleven million followers on Twitter. On September 23, Fuentes appeared on the “PBD Podcast”, a podcast hosted by Patrick Bet-David, who has platformed antisemitism in the past, including reacting to Fuentes’ clips, with over two million subscribers on YouTube. The interview garnered over 1.5 million views in only a day (with another 1.2 million on Twitter), eclipsing Bet-David’s interview with British violent Islamophobe Tommy Robinson, which accumulated around 500,000 views after one week. According to Fuentes, Bet-David was open to having him back on the show.
Immediately following his appearance on the PBD Podcast, Fuentes was listed as an “expert” on Minnect, a platform founded by Patrick Bet-David and designed for users to pose questions and have conversations with self-described “experts.” The platform hosts people in podcasting, business, and crypto, but also bigots like Tommy Robinson, who has a history of violence and recently organized a racist anti-immigrant protest in London, England. Fuentes charges $100 for users to ask him a question about “education,” “government,” or “politics,” by text, $300 if the user would like a video response, and $350 per minute to have a video call with him (minimum 15 minutes). Fuentes’ “About Me” section is heavily sanitized, describing him as having “built a highly engaged following and community around his work,” and “connect[ing] with audiences seeking alternative perspectives on American politics.”
Fuentes’ profile on Minnect, a platform owned by Patrick Bet-David. (Source: Minnect)
According to the Minnect website, the platform takes 20 percent of each transaction, meaning Patrick Bet-David would profit from platforming Fuentes. Fuentes had 27 “consultations” through the platform in under 24 hours, meaning he has possibly pocketed a minimum of $2,160 ($2,700 gross, less the 20 percent Minnect fee) based on the available options. Therefore, Minnect has likely earned at least $640 off Fuentes.
What’s Next For The Groypers?
As Fuentes grows his political capital, he’s able to direct the Groypers in a new direction — establishing institutional power. In recent streams, Fuentes has been clear in his aspirations for the movement, saying “We want to build bridges, we want to get into the mainstream.” This includes being amicable with mainstream, right-wing commentators, whereas the Groyper movement in the past was mostly engaged in trolling campaigns such as the “Groyper Wars.”
This includes expanding their reach. In a livestream shortly after Donald Trump announced on September 17 his intention to designate “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization, fans asked how they can become more involved to enact institutional change.
“You must volunteer for your local school board, that’s probably the best thing you can do,” Fuentes said. “That’s something institutional you could do immediately.”
In a stream during the same week, regarding the Groyper movement’s “endgame,” Fuentes said “We want to control the United States government,” building upon his ideas of “indoctrinating” a new class of 1,000 or 5,000 Groypers who will become “party officials.”
And when Patrick Bet-David asked if Fuentes would consider running for office, he simply replied “Maybe.”
