Carl Benjamin

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This article is about the YouTube commentator. For the American abstract expressionist painter, see Karl Benjamin.

Carl Benjamin
File:Carl Benjamin 2018 (cropped).png
Benjamin in 2018
Personal information
BornSeptember 1979 (age 45)[1]
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)YouTuber, political commentator
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Subscribers
  • Sargon of Akkad: 875 thousand
  • The Thinkery: 367 thousand[2]
  • Akkad Daily: 311 thousand[3]
[4]
Total views
  • Sargon of Akkad: 5.2 million
  • The Thinkery: 136.9 million[2]
  • Akkad Daily: 3.1 million[3]
[4]
File:YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2015[5]
Last updated: 9 June 2024

Carl Benjamin (born September 1979), also known by his online pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, is a British right-wing YouTuber and political commentator.[6][7][8] A former member of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), he was one of its unsuccessful candidates for the South West England constituency at the 2019 European Parliament election. During the Gamergate harassment campaign, Benjamin promoted the conspiracy theory that feminists were infiltrating video game research groups to influence game development. Since Gamergate, he has focused on promoting Brexit and criticising feminism, Islam, identity politics, and what he views as political correctness in the media and other institutions. Benjamin has been described as politically right-wing and far-right by multiple outlets. He denies this description of his politics, instead calling himself a classical liberal and a sceptic.

YouTube career

Benjamin's YouTube channel drew attention during the Gamergate harassment campaign in 2014.[9][10] Inside Higher Ed said his videos on the topic advanced a conspiracy theory in which he argued members of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) were actively plotting to influence video game development, saying DiGRA "became co-opted by feminists to become a think tank by which gender ideologues can disseminate their ideology to the gaming press and ultimately to gamers".[11][12][13] He also posted content that was critical of feminist video game critics and academics and posted content that was critical of feminism in general.[14] That year, Benjamin said that he had named his channel Sargon of Akkad because he was "a lover of history and the lessons it can teach us".[15] At VidCon 2017, the media critic Anita Sarkeesian appeared on a panel discussing online harassment directed towards women. A group of YouTubers who had frequently criticised Sarkeesian in the past, including Benjamin, filled one half of the first three rows of the audience and filmed Sarkeesian as part of a targeted harassment campaign against her.[16][17][18][19] Sarkeesian singled out Benjamin as a serial harasser of hers, calling him a "garbage human".[19][20][21] The event went viral among both critics and supporters of Sarkeesian.[20] Benjamin accused Sarkeesian of abuse and cyberbullying and said that he would have wanted to know how she "would like to be approached"; in a blog post, Sarkeesian wrote:[17][19]

[Benjamin] makes over $5,000 a month on Patreon for creating YouTube videos that mock, insult and discredit myself and other women online, and he's not alone. He is one of several YouTubers who profit from the cottage industry of online harassment and antifeminism.

Hank Green, the founder of VidCon, issued a statement that the group's actions were clear "intimidating behaviour" and apologised for the situation "which resulted in [Sarkeesian] being subjected to a hostile environment that she had not signed up for".[16][17] Patreon also investigated the claims of harassment, but determined that although they considered his actions "distasteful", Benjamin had not violated their code of conduct.[16] In March 2018, Antifa protesters broke into a scheduled discussion between Benjamin and Yaron Brook by King's College London's Libertarian Society at the school. Masked protestors attacked security guards, set off smoke bombs, broke windows and set off a fire alarm. The event organisers called the police, cancelled the event and evacuated the building. The organiser reported that two security guards were hospitalised.[22][23] In May 2019, YouTube suspended Benjamin's Sargon of Akkad channel from the YouTube Partner Program.[8]

Lotus Eaters

In November 2020, Benjamin launched Lotus Eaters, a podcast platform, which takes its name from Homer's Odyssey. Benjamin "Beau" Dade, a content-creator for the site, was dropped as the Reform UK candidate for South Swindon, following an investigation by Hope not Hate in March 2024.[24] In May 2024, former prime minister Liz Truss appeared as a guest on Tomlinson Talks, a show hosted for the site by Connor Tomlinson.[25] In response, Labour MP Jess Phillips, about whom Benjamin had previously made a rape joke, urged Rishi Sunak, Truss's successor as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, to deselect Truss as a candidate.[26][27]

Political career

In response to Phillips' statement that rape threats are commonplace for her, Benjamin said in May 2016, "I wouldn't even rape you #AntiRapeThreats #FeminismIsCancer" in a YouTube video, and repeated this on Twitter.[23][28] He declined to apologise for the comment.[29] Benjamin was investigated by West Midlands Police for the comment, and a police spokesperson said he was "dealt with by way of words of advice".[30][31] In June 2018, Benjamin joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP), along with YouTuber Mark Meechan, better known by his online name Count Dankula, and far-right conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson.[32] The trio's membership was described by political analysts as part of a shift to the far-right in UKIP under Gerard Batten's leadership.[32][33][34][35] In the European Parliament's 2019 elections in the United Kingdom, Benjamin was second on UKIP's list for the South West England constituency.[36][37] Benjamin was not elected, with his party getting only 3.22% of the vote in his native South West England constituency (a drop of 29.1% from 2014), and losing both of its seats in the region, as well as all twenty-two of its seats across the rest of Britain.[38] At a UKIP press conference announcing his candidacy, Benjamin again declined to apologise for his comment about Phillips, saying "a decent person doesn't laugh about male suicide" and that he would apologise if Phillips apologised for her position on men.[39] Benjamin also stated that she was being a "giant bitch" for "laughing about male suicide", and so he was justified in being a "giant dick back".[40] Philips had earlier mocked the Conservative MP Philip Davies[41] when he had called for a debate for international men's day, citing increasing male suicides, lower life expectancy relative to women, and domestic violence. Phillips laughed and pulled faces while Davies spoke.[42][43] Phillips had critiqued the idea of a "men's day", but also said that male suicide is a serious issue.[40][44] In response to the controversy, the chairman of the Swindon branch of UKIP called for Benjamin to be deselected, which was rejected by Batten.[45] Later in the campaign, Benjamin made additional negative comments about Phillips, saying he might rape her, but "nobody's got that much beer".[31] He said this was a joke, and was empowering to victims of rape, because "it's a lot more empowering to not be controlled by jokes".[46][47] The University of the West of England cancelled a hustings event for fears of disturbances, and both Gloucester Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral banned him a few days later from a separate election event it was hosting.[48][49] In 2024, Benjamin apologised to Phillips for the joke, saying he had changed since he made it and did not want to be a corrosive force in British politics.[50][better source needed] In February 2020, Benjamin launched the group Hearts of Oak with the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson and former UKIP members. Members of the group say that it is not a political party, but a "cultural movement" focused on "strong borders, immigration and national identity," "authorities privileging and protecting Islam alone", and "freedom of speech".[51]

Political views

Benjamin is an anti-feminist.[9][14][52][53][54] He is also an advocate for Brexit and a critic of Islam,[55][56] and has argued for a reduction in immigration to the UK from majority Islamic countries.[57] He has opposed online feminist movements such as the British group Reclaim the Internet, which he called "social communism".[29] Following the 2014 Isla Vista killings, Benjamin said that social justice feminism was a "disease of the modern age" that had disenfranchised and radicalised young men, causing a rise in the number of mass murders.[58] While on a panel in New York City in 2018, he said: "Jewish people, unfortunately for them, have got to drop the identity politics. I'm sorry about the Holocaust but I don't give a shit. I'm sorry."[59] In May 2018, Benjamin was a speaker at a right-wing "Day of Freedom" rally in support of Tommy Robinson, after Robinson was banned from Twitter for hate speech. At the rally, Benjamin voiced opposition to "totalitarianism, identity politics and Islamism".[60][61] In May 2019, Benjamin was suspended from Twitter,[8] but was later reinstated.

Personal life

Benjamin lives with his family in Swindon.[29] As of October 2020, he was an atheist.[62] In 2023, Benjamin graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.[63]

References

  1. ↑ "Carl BENJAMIN personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About The Thinkery". YouTube.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "About Akkad Daily". YouTube.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "About Sargon of Akkad". YouTube.
  5. ↑ 100,000 Subscriber Vlog and Recommendations. Sargon of Akkad. 26 April 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Galpin
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Klein
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Stefano, Mark Di (10 May 2019). "YouTube Has Downgraded Carl Benjamin's Sargon Of Akkad Account After He Talked About Raping A British MP". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bowles
  10. ↑ Rozsa, Matthew (7 September 2016). "A Deep Dive into the Alt-right's Greatest YouTube Hits". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  11. ↑ Straumstein, Carl (11 November 2014). "#Gamergate and Games Research". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Sargon of Akkad, a YouTube user who regularly discusses "gaming, anti-feminism, history and fiction" on his channel, has fueled that conspiracy theory.
  12. ↑ Chess, Shira; Shaw, Adrienne (5 April 2016). "We Are All Fishes Now: DiGRA, Feminism, and GamerGate". Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. 2 (2): 21–30. doi:10.26503/todigra.v2i2.39. ISSN 2328-9422. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  13. ↑ Mortensen, Torill Elvira (13 April 2016). "Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate". Games and Culture. 13 (8): 787–806. doi:10.1177/1555412016640408. ISSN 1555-4120. S2CID 147383984.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lewis, Rebecca (18 September 2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube (PDF) (Report). Data & Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2019.
  15. ↑ Who I Am and What I Do. Sargon of Akkad. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Mulkerin, Tim (28 June 2017). "Exclusive: Patreon investigated YouTuber "Sargon of Akkad" over VidCon harassment". Mic. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Vasquez, Vanna (27 June 2017). "VidCon apologizes for panelist clash involving activist Anita Sarkeesian". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Lockett, Dee (29 December 2017). "The 10 Biggest YouTube Dramas of 2017". Vulture. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Marwick, Alice E.; Caplan, Robyn (26 March 2018). "Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment". Feminist Media Studies. 18 (4): 543–559. doi:10.1080/14680777.2018.1450568. ISSN 1468-0777. S2CID 149246142.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Aghazadeh, Sarah A.; Burns, Alison; Chu, Jun; Feigenblatt, Hazel; Laribee, Elizabeth; Maynard, Lucy; Meyers, Amy L. M.; O’Brien, Jessica L.; Rufus, Leah (2018). "GamerGate: A Case Study in Online Harassment". In Golbeck, Jennifer (ed.). Online Harassment. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. pp. 179–207. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-78583-7_8. ISBN 978-3319785820. LCCN 2018939005.
  21. ↑ Campbell, Colin (27 June 2017). "Anita Sarkeesian's astounding 'garbage human' moment". Polygon. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  22. ↑ Turner, Camilla; Horton, Helena (6 March 2018). "Violence breaks out as protesters storm King's College London event featuring controversial YouTuber". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Busby, Eleanor (6 March 2018). "Fights break out at King's College London as masked anti-fascist protesters storm talk". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  24. ↑ Gibbons, Amy; Penna, Dominic (29 May 2024). "Jess Phillips calls on Prime Minister to deselect Liz Truss over interview on 'hateful platform'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  25. ↑ O'Dell, Liam. "What is Lotus Eaters, and why is Liz Truss being interviewed for them?". indy100. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  26. ↑ Wingate, Sophie (29 May 2024). "Rishi Sunak urged to deselect Liz Truss over appearance on 'far-right' platform". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  27. ↑ "Liz Truss: Rishi Sunak facing call to de-select former PM over appearance on 'hateful platform'". Sky News. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  28. ↑ Macwhirter, Jamie (23 September 2018). "'Racist' troll who sent rape tweet addresses Ukip members". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Daubney, Martin (5 June 2016). "I set out to troll her – why all this fuss about 600 rape tweets?". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  30. ↑ Seaward, Tom (17 April 2019). "Wiltshire Police investigated MEP candidate over 'rape' tweet". Swindon Advertiser.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Gray, Jasmin; Demianyk, Graeme (7 May 2019). "Man Tells MP Jess Phillips 'People Should Be Able To Joke About Raping Her'". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Walker, Peter (25 June 2018). "Ukip welcomes social media activists linked to 'alt-right' into party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  33. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lemon
  34. ↑ Sommer, Will (26 June 2018). "Far-Right YouTube Stars Plan Takeover of UKIP". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  35. ↑ McTague, Tom (19 December 2018). "The rise of UKIP's YouTubers". Politico. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  36. ↑ Bloom, Dan; Milne, Oliver (12 April 2019). "Everything you need to know about European Parliament elections". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  37. ↑ Barnes, Tom (12 April 2019). "Anti-feminist YouTuber Sargon of Akkad selected as Ukip election candidate". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  38. ↑ Bloom, Dan (27 May 2019). "European election results in full as Tories suffer worst result for 200 years". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  39. ↑ Port, Samuel (29 April 2019). "Jess Phillips' childhood friend stands up to UKIP's Carl Benjamin". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Hossein-Pour, Anahita (18 April 2019). "Ukip candidate brands Labour MP Jess Phillips a 'b*tch' and doubles down on rape comments at chaotic campaign launch". PoliticsHome. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  41. ↑ Wheeler, Brian (19 November 2015). "Guide to International Men's Day". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  42. ↑ Dathan, Matt (11 November 2015). "Tory MP wins battle for International Men's Day debate in Parliament". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  43. ↑ "Philip Davies MP: 'Political correctness is damaging men'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  44. ↑ Syal, Rajeev (18 April 2019). "Ukip leader attacks Farage party at EU elections launch". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  45. ↑ "UKIP candidate not sorry for rape comments". BBC News. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  46. ↑ "British MP 'sick' at interview with Ukip candidate who joked about raping her". Irish Examiner. Press Association. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  47. ↑ Wells, Andy (16 May 2019). "Carl Benjamin claims survivors of sexual assault have thanked him for joking about raping MP Jess Phillips". Yahoo! News UK. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  48. ↑ Dalton, Jane (19 May 2019). "Carl Benjamin: Milkshake thrown at Ukip candidate for fourth time this week". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  49. ↑ Sherwood, Harriet (19 May 2019). "Exeter Cathedral bans Ukip's Carl Benjamin from hustings". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  50. ↑ Wild, Gabrielle (9 July 2024). "Carl Benjamin apologises to Jess Phillips over rape comments: 'I want to set a better example'". GB News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  51. ↑ "New Far-Right Group 'Going Nowhere' as London Protest Draws Small Crowd". Vice News. 2 August 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  52. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named gogginPatreon
  53. ↑ Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben (30 October 2018). "How a right-wing troll and a Russian Twitter account created 2016's biggest voter fraud story". NBC News. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  54. ↑ Bromwich, Jonah Engel (3 March 2018). "YouTube Cracks Down on Far-Right Videos as Conspiracy Theories Spread". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  55. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :2
  56. ↑ Busby, Eleanor (6 March 2018). "Fights break out at King's College London as masked anti-fascist protesters storm talk". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  57. ↑ Miller, Eva (2022). "Making Sargon Great Again: Reuse and Reappropriation of Ancient Mesopotamian Imagery in Fan-Art of the Online Right". In Kamash, Zena; Soar, Katy; Van Broak, Leen (eds.). Comics and Archaeology. Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 75–96. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-98919-4_4. ISBN 978-3-030-98918-7.
  58. ↑ Walker, Peter (22 April 2019). "Ukip MEP candidate blamed feminists for rise in misogyny". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  59. ↑ "Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin accused Jewish people of 'identity politics' over the Holocaust". The Jewish Chronicle. 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  60. ↑ Gayle, Damien (6 May 2018). "Thousands march in 'free speech' protest led by rightwing figures". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  61. ↑ Coulter, Martin (6 May 2018). "Milo Yiannopoulos expected to speak at controversial far-right rally in central London". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  62. ↑ Macron vs Islam. Akkad Daily. 27 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  63. ↑ "Humanities". stories.london.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2024.

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