How Patreon Supports Neo-Nazis

I’ve written before about Patreon allowing white nationalists to earn money on its platform by hosting The Unz Review, a website run by California businessman and Holocaust denier Ron Unz. In the 19 months since I published that piece, The Unz Review has hosted an even wider selection of white nationalist and neo-Nazi articles, all while proudly displaying Patreon’s logo inviting like-minded readers to become patrons.

Within the past couple of weeks, Unz has taken to republishing articles by Andrew Anglin, the neo-Nazi publisher of The Daily Stormer. Anglin, known for his caustic rhetoric and his direction of damaging harassment campaigns, had struggled to find a permanent home online after several internet service providers declined to do business with him in the wake of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

In addition to Anglin, Unz continues to publish several articles a week by white supremacists such as Eric Striker (real name: Joseph Jordan), Peter Brimelow and Gregory Hood. Not only have these authors sought to promote hatred and fear of minorities in their articles, they have also cheered on the January 6th Capitol riots. Meanwhile, the readers at The Unz Review offer commentary steeped in hatred and often threatening violence.

The white nationalism on display at The Unz Review is by no means the only troubling topic. The website publishes and popularizes all manner of conspiracy theories, from lies about COVID-19 vaccines to support of “pizzagate” and 9/11 conspiracy theories.

It’s unclear why Patreon continues to allow itself to be associated with such topics. They are aware of the activities of The Unz Review and seem to be perfectly okay with them as long as they get their cut.