Conspiracy theorist and self-described “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer has launched an exclusive show on Rumble, with the company’s CEO Chris Pavlovski supposedly “super excited to add” a program that “fits in perfectly” on Rumble.
Loomer’s show launch, which started off with an anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rant, came just a day after the Republican National Committee announced that the platform would exclusively livestream the third GOP primary debate.
On October 9, Loomer announced that she would be launching “Loomer Unleashed” — a “LIVE studio show EXCLUSIVELY” on Rumble that would air twice a week starting October 17.
The far-right conspiracy theorist is a failed Florida GOP congressional candidate who has previously described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and expressed support for a “white ethnostate” and is known for various far-right stunts. Loomer has also been banned from several social media platforms.
Loomer seems to be the latest “Rumble Exclusives” creator. The mostly right-wing creators are seemingly paid to produce content exclusively for the platform and purport to offer unique perspectives on politics and culture, but they ultimately traffic in conspiracy theories and bigoted rhetoric. On October 17, the day that the show officially launched, Loomer attributed the following statement to Pavlovski, claiming on her substack that he was “super excited to add” a show that “fits in perfectly” on Rumble.
Rumble welcomes deranged Islamophobe Laura Loomer to its Rumble Exclusives stable.
In a new study, Media Matters analyzed Rumble’s “Battle Leaderboard Top 50” — a prominently displayed ranking of the 50 most-liked videos fr
Natalie Mathes at MMFA:
In a new study, Media Matters analyzed Rumble’s “Battle Leaderboard Top 50” — a prominently displayed ranking of the 50 most-liked videos from the previous 24 hours — once per day from February 1, 2023, through July 31, 2023. The overwhelming majority (nearly 95%) belong to right-wing or conspiracy theorist channels.
Key findings include:
57% of all videos on the leaderboard were from right-wing media outlets, personalities, and politicians
37% of all videos on the leaderboard were from channels that amplify right-wing conspiracy theories, including the QAnon conspiracy theory
13% of all videos on the leaderboard were from “Rumble Exclusives” creators
Videos from QAnon channels appeared more frequently on the leaderboard than videos from Rumble Exclusives creators, with at least 1,655 videos (18%) and at least 1,198 videos (13%) from QAnon channels and exclusive creators, respectively
Additionally, multiple videos from QAnon channels appeared on the leaderboard every day during the time frame studied
While only 3% of videos on the leaderboard were from channels associated with the “manosphere” — a far-right online community that pushes outdated, extremist gender politics repackaged for the internet age — videos from these channels have appeared more frequently in recent months, increasing from just 27 appearances in February to 94 in July
7 of the 10 videos with the most likes that appeared on the leaderboard were from QAnon channels.
On April 12, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced on Fox & Friends that Fox News would be hosting the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 presidential election, while the debate will also be exclusively livestreamed on Rumble because the RNC is “getting away from Big Tech.” On August 9, McDaniel tweeted that the second primary debate will also be in partnership with Rumble. The platform reportedly will feature the debate on its home page and “make the stream available for viewers around the world on the RNC’s Rumble channel.”
Rumble is an extreme right-wing video-sharing platform that markets itself as a defender of “free speech” in supposed contrast to other social media sites (even though partisan claims of censorship by Big Tech companies are false). The company has big ambitions to compete with a range of other tech companies and to be “immune” to so-called “cancel culture.” Rumble is also reportedly backed by various high-profile right-wing figures, including biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be one of the candidates on the GOP presidential primary debate stage on August 23.
The site serves as a dumping ground for right-wing fearmongering, falsehoods, and bigotry — despite its policies against “racism, anti-semitism and hatred” and content that “promotes, supports, or incites violence.” Media Matters has repeatedly demonstrated the plethora of right-wing misinformation and hate on the platform: For instance, in May, we found that videos from QAnon-supporting channels appeared on Rumble’s leaderboard every day between February 1 and April 30 — a total of 603 times. Our latest study, which analyzed Rumble’s “Battle Leaderboard Top 50” once per day from February 1 to July 31, shows that this trend has continued, with right-wing and conspiracy theorist channels overrunning the platform, even as Rumble tries to present itself as a diverse platform with its cadre of “Rumble Exclusives” creators paid to produce content exclusively for the platform.
Rumble, the GOP Debate's streaming partner, has had 95% of its content that showed up on the Rumble Leaderboard Top 50 from February 1st to July 31st belonging to far-right content.
