How Far-Right “Influencers” Will Shape GOP Primary

A grim yet fascinating analysis from Semafor:

It’s becoming clear that the voices that shape conservative conversation are increasingly outside what DeSantis calls “legacy media.” It’s an environment where an account named “CatTurd2” has the ear of the world’s richest man, and posts by Libs of TikTok about drag shows and transgender issues help drive real-world legislation.

The most-cited influencer, by far: Jack Posobiec [photo], who progressives mostly associate with the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and Republicans identify as a powerful, narrative-shaping voice. He has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, nearly six times as many as National Review, and more than 1 million on Truth Social.

Alex Bruesewitz has more than 307,000 followers on Twitter, more than 30,000 on Trump’s Truth Social network, and a full-time hobby of promoting the ex-president and dunking on supporters of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Most strategists cited Steve Bannon’s ability to drive stories, and to identify Trump’s enemies.

Read the full article. There’s much more.

Two operatives made the very same prediction, that Posobiec will matter as much to future GOP voters as Washington Post columnist George Will did to Republicans a generation ago. https://t.co/m9HLlOYPtM

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) March 17, 2023

Bumped into this guy and he invited me for dinner. He seems nice! pic.twitter.com/IgP0WdIpuY

— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) January 25, 2023

here’s rnc chairwoman ronna mcdaniel giving an interview to conspiracy theorist jack posobiec, who has ties to white supremacists and once held up a sign saying “rape melania” to try and blame it on democrats pic.twitter.com/cSUlOdN977

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) September 21, 2020

Good thing they’ve got Jack Posobiec on the case, he definitely knows where to find Nazis. pic.twitter.com/Y9OtAME7Ys

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) July 28, 2022