Carl Benjamin

Carl Benjamin (born 1979)[2] is a British anti-feminist YouTuber also known by his online pseudonym Sargon of Akkad. A former member of the Eurosceptic right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP), he was one of its unsuccessful candidates for the South West England constituency in the 2019 European Parliament election.

This article is about the YouTube commentator. For the American abstract expressionist painter, see Karl Benjamin. For the ruler of the Akkadian Empire, see Sargon of Akkad.

Carl Benjamin
Benjamin in 2018
Personal information
Born1979 (age 41–42)
NationalityBritish
OccupationYouTuber
YouTube information
Also known asSargon of Akkad
Channels
Years active2013–present
Subscribers
  • Sargon of Akkad: 951,000
  • The Thinkery: 426,000
  • Akkad Daily: 343,000
Total views
  • Sargon of Akkad: 305 million
  • The Thinkery: 137 million
  • Akkad Daily: 100 million
100,000 subscribers 2015[1]
Updated: 14 August 2020

During the Gamergate controversy, Benjamin accused feminists of 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".

In 2016, in response to politician Jess Phillips's complaint that she frequently received rape threats from men online, Benjamin tweeted to her: "I wouldn't even rape you." Criticism of this comment—and a later remark in which Benjamin said he might rape Phillips but for the fact that "nobody's got that much beer"—dominated press coverage of his European Parliament candidacy.

YouTube career

Benjamin's YouTube channel drew attention during the Gamergate controversy in 2014.[3][4] 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."[5][6][7]

In June 2015, YouTube took down one of Benjamin's videos when it received a copyright claim from The Guardian.[8] Benjamin contested the claim against the video which used substantial portions of The Guardian's video. The Guardian said it was offering "advice on how to engage with Guardian content without breaching copyright." The video was restored later the same day.[8] One Los Angeles Times opinion columnist called the incident "alarming to see copyright law used to stifle debate in the public square".[8]

At VidCon 2017, 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.[9][10][11][12] Sarkeesian singled out Benjamin as a serial harasser of hers, calling him a "garbage human."[12][13][14] VidCon founder Hank Green 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."[9][10] Benjamin later said he was not present with the intention of harassing Sarkeesian, stating he would like to know how she "would like to be approached."[10] Patreon also investigated the claims of harassment, but determined that although they considered his actions "distasteful", Benjamin had not violated their code of conduct.[9]

In 2017, comedian and YouTuber Akilah Hughes filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Benjamin for using of portions of her video We Thought She Would Win in his video SJW Levels of Awareness. In February 2020, the case was dismissed with prejudice and Hughes was later ordered to pay Benjamin's legal fees after her claims were found to be "objectively unreasonable".[15][16]

Patreon banned Benjamin in December 2018, when he was earning over US$12,000 a month.[3] According to Patreon, Benjamin violated the site's rules on hate speech by using "racial and homophobic slurs to degrade another individual."[17][18] A number of users, including Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, and Dave Rubin left the platform following the ban of Benjamin,[19] with Benjamin and Rubin moving over to Peterson's Thinkspot.[20][21] Harris stated that he did not "share the politics of the banned members," but objected to what he described as "political bias" on Patreon. As part of their explanation for why they dropped Benjamin, Patreon published a transcript of a YouTube video in which Benjamin stated that members of the alt-right were "acting like white niggers" because "[e]xactly how you describe black people acting is the impression I get dealing with the Alt-Right." He added that: "White people are meant to be polite and respectful to one another."[19] Later in the video, Benjamin stated: "don’t expect me to have a debate with one of your faggots."[22] In response, Benjamin has said that his targets were not black or homosexual, and he claimed that the word "nigger" is not offensive in Britain as it is in the United States.[22] Benjamin also claimed that the comments had been taken out of context.[23]

Political career

In March 2018, North London 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, set off a fire alarm, and allegedly attacked other attendees. The event organisers called the police, cancelled the event and evacuated the building. The organiser reported that two security guards were hospitalised.[24][25]

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.[26][27]

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.[28] The trio's membership has been described by political analysts as part of a shift to the far-right in UKIP under Gerard Batten's leadership.[28][29][30][31] In the European Parliament's 2019 elections in the United Kingdom, Benjamin was second on UKIP's list for the South West England constituency.[32][33] 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.[34]

Comments about Jess Phillips

In response to Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament Jess 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.[25][35] He has since declined to apologise for the comment.[36] He was investigated by West Midlands Police for the comment and a police spokesperson said he was "dealt with by way of words of advice".[37][38]

At a UKIP press conference announcing his candidacy for the 2019 European Parliament election, Benjamin once again refused to retract his comments about Phillips, saying "a decent person doesn't laugh about male suicide" and that he would apologise if Jess apologizes for her position on men.[39]

Philips had earlier mocked MP Philip Davies[40] when he called for a debate for international men's day, citing increasing male suicides, lower life expectancy relative to women, and domestic violence. Phillips openly laughed and pulled faces while Davies spoke, which caused a social media outrage.[41][42] 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."[43]

Phillips had critiqued the idea of a "men's day" but said that male suicide is a serious issue.[43][44] The chairman of the Swindon branch of UKIP called for Benjamin to be deselected, which was rejected by Batten.[45] Later in the campaign, he made additional negative comments about Phillips, saying he might rape her but "nobody's got that much beer".[38] 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 Exeter Cathedral banned him a few days later from a separate election event it was hosting.[48]

Political views

Benjamin is an anti-feminist[3][19][49] and a critic of identity politics.[3][19][49][50] He has opposed online feminist movements such as the British group Reclaim the Internet, which he called "social communism."[36] 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.[51] 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."[52] Vice criticised Benjamin for a "sense of purist thinking and a logic-before-all attitude" that ignores the complexity of topics related to race and gender.[53]

News outlets and journalists have described Benjamin as right-wing[54][55][56] and far-right.[57][48][58][59] Vox has described him as anti-progressive.[60] He has been described as alt-right by The Times and The Jewish Chronicle[52][61] and has been linked to the alt-right by news media and researchers, including Newsweek, Salon, The Guardian, Vice, and Data & Society.[29][62][59][63][64] The Daily Dot compared Benjamin to the alt-right due to his anti-feminism and criticisms of Islam and Black Lives Matter, frequent subjects for criticism by the alt-right.[4] Vice and PC Magazine have described him as a conspiracy theorist.[65][66] The Spectator has described him as a "leftist libertarian whose schtick is simply to question the received wisdoms of our time."[67] Benjamin has described himself as a "classical liberal"[68] and has said that he opposes the alt-right.[19][69] He has argued that the alt-right's authoritarian and collectivist thinking is a reaction to comparable racism against white people from the left.[4] He is an advocate for Brexit.[23][25]

Personal life

Benjamin is married and has two children. He lives with his family in Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.[36] He has stated that he is an atheist.[70]

References
  1. Benjamin, Carl (25 April 2015). "100,000 Subscriber Vlog and Recommendations". Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via YouTube.
  2. Benjamin, Carl (27 May 2019). Exactly as Expected. Event occurs at 4:25. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via YouTube. This graph from the BBC shows you how the Conservative and Labour vote share has fallen since the year of my birth until now.
  3. Bowles, Nellie (24 December 2018). "Patreon Bars Anti-Feminist for Racist Speech, Inciting Revolt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Healey, Jon (11 June 2015). "The Guardian uses copyright to shush a critic of its cultural criticism". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Sargon used seemingly every frame from Anyangwe's 3-minute, 49-second video. He found fault with most of the points she made, as well as the way she made them. After watching his piece, it's clear that there's no point in going to the Guardian's site to see the original because he's just shown you the whole thing.
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