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I originally began writing this article aiming to expose the silent danger posed by Joe Rogan in radicalising young men towards the far-right. However, the re-election of Donald Trump has made the threat of Rogan’s impact all too loud.
Joe Rogan is a former UFC commentator and comedian who is most known for hosting America and Britain’s leading podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE). The JRE boasts 14.5 million Spotify followers and 18.5 million YouTube subscribers. Among these viewers, almost 80% are men, with half aged between 18 and 34.
He is generally known for having an ambiguous political stance, although he has more liberal associations, such as his support for same-sex marriage, Peniel Joseph argues “his independent perspective has been argued to often skew far-right”, and pushes his young male audience in the same direction. With the rise of internet communities comes the rise of the manosphere, an umbrella term to describe interconnected misogynistic communities. This can range from opposing feminism to overt violence against women and is perhaps the most significant way in which Rogan radicalises young men.
In Western nations, a growing but often ignored masculinity crisis is forming; men are increasingly feeling victimised and “unrecognised” by modern society while failing to see the privileges that society claims they are in ownership of. This is the exact demographic that Rogan will appeal to.
Joe Rogan champions the idea of ‘traditional’ masculinity - from smoking cigars live on his podcast and interviewing UFC champions to interviewing famous anti-feminist figures. His podcast offers a vehement criticism of woke culture - a breeding ground for misogyny. Jordan Peterson (another idol in the manosphere) is a regular guest on JRE, and has, amongst a literary of other chauvinist comments, warned of the dangerous “radical” and “revolutionary” feminists who want to overturn the mythical patriarchy, all while Rogan nods along approvingly. Through such interviews, Rogan’s podcast is able to provide a sense of legitimacy to anti-feminists and anti-progressive politics through echoing an anti-establishment rhetoric of far-right populism. As research has repeatedly pointed to misogyny as a gateway to the far-right, the normalisation of misogyny on his podcasts has the potential to radicalise a large number of vulnerable young men who are struggling with their identity.
Moreover, Rogan’s perceived “political edginess” and reputation of offering an alternative viewpoint outside the traditional Democrat-Republican spectrum of American politics appeals to many young male independents. On the JRE podcast, no topic is off-limits (including conspiracy theories and highly controversial subjects), aligning with Rogan’s primary cultural stance: defending free speech while opposing wokeness and cancel culture. This is demonstrated (again) by Rogan’s platforming of extreme far-right individuals such as Gavin McIness, the founder of the far-right, white nationalist, chauvinist, religious militant hate group: Proud Boys. Even then, Rogan himself has often used anti-woke rhetoric ideas to defend his own racist, sexist, and transphobic comments - best evidenced through his complaints that “you can’t say [the word] tr–ny anymore.” Again, normalising a far-right rhetoric to his young-male viewers.
Some may argue that Joe Rogan is a symptom, not a cause, of the radicalisation of young men, as he reflects the broader movement of politics towards the far-right across Europe and the US. Rogan’s choice to platform guests who promote misogyny and other forms of bigotry, with the level of influence he has, is an active choice, as are the slurs he spews. And there is no better illustration of his role in driving cultural dynamics and pushing young men towards the far-right than his endorsement of Donald Trump for the 2024 US election.
When exploring Rogan’s role in the Presidential Election, despite cancelling interviews on more mainstream US media outlets, Donald Trump appeared in an extended interview on Rogan’s podcast. This episode has since reached over 50 million views and was a tactical move by Trump’s team to target the young male demographic of Rogan’s podcast since young men made up around 10% of the electorate in key swing states.
Not only did Rogan give Trump the opportunity to parrot his claims of a stolen, “crooked” election and whip up anti-establishment, populist fervour, Rogan actually gave Trump his endorsement the evening before the election.
In fact, Rogan has been heralded for winning Trump the election, with Rogan even receiving recognition from Dana White in Trump’s victory speech, with data also suggesting that Rogan had a decisive influence in the election results:
Trump slashed the Democrat lead in young votes - those aged 18-29 - by over 50%. Additionally, Trump’s share of female voters saw a very slight increase and there was a modest increase in male voters. Furthermore, despite Trump’s reputation, he also received a slight increase in the share of black voters, which was also driven largely by younger men. Thereby, highlighting how important the young male demographic and the pivotal role Rogan played in deciding the 2024 election results.
Rogan’s role in the manosphere and his facade of providing an alternative political viewpoint has allowed him to platform controversial figures and normalise far-right ideology to his millions of young male fans. If we weren’t already worried about Rogan’s influence in radicalising men further towards the far-right, his role in Donald Trump’s victory should be a clear indicator of the power and influence that this man has, and should be taken as a warning for the direction that politics is taking.
Words by Molly Lucas, she/her