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The Rise of Clickbait Conservatives and the Fall of Influence

If it wasn’t for the America First movement, conservative ‘influencers’ and pundits would be deflatformed, dehumanized and censored

By Katy Grimes and Megan Barth, November 7, 2025 1:30 pm

07 Nov 2025 1:30 pm

Lately, conservative podcasters, pundits, and influencers are seemingly more focused on clickbait – Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, to name a few. Podcasting is the “Wild Wild West,” and many pundits have no guardrails as they did when they, in Kelly and Carlson’s case as seasoned news professionals, were once responsible to station owners, producers and editors. Now, they are provocateurs.

Are we advocating for guardrails? No. Freedom of speech and association is paramount. The more voices, the more exposure.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with the highly controversial white nationalist Nick Fuentes, made clear that the battle is between Conservative influencers and actual Conservatives. Carlson has been widely criticized for the interview.

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro “blasted Carlson for lavishing attention on Fuentes while allegedly cozying up to dictators and conspiracy theorists,” the NY Post reported. “Tucker excuses [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s murderous and barbarous reign,” Shapiro said, citing Carlson’s praise of Moscow as “so much cleaner and safer and prettier … than any city in the United States.”

Shapiro “accused Carlson of acting as ‘an ideological launderer,’ softening the hate-filled rhetoric of figures like Fuentes and making their talking points acceptable within the GOP.”

“He also quoted Carlson calling ‘Christian Zionists’ — evangelical supporters of Israel — heretics.”

Why?

Fuentes, who has been removed from many platforms, said on one of his podcasts: “A lot of women want to be raped … there’s like a lot of women that really want a guy to beat the s–t out of them, but part of it is they have to pretend that they don’t.”

Fuentes mocked Holocaust victims, called Jews “responsible for every war in the world” and urged that “those people … need to be given the death penalty straight up.” He added: “They must be absolutely annihilated when we take power.”

He’s a curious character to want to interview.

We are not alone in our observations over conservative influencers and political conservatives.

“It’s not about ideology or Israel. This is a battle between those who want votes and those who want views,” Batya Ungar-Sargon said Thursday at The Free Press. “There’s a fight being waged for the soul of the right. It has taken the form of a reckoning over podcaster Tucker Carlson’s cozy interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes last week. Carlson, an able debater, gave basically no pushback to Fuentes, a man with avowedly pro–Adolf Hitler, proudly antisemitic, racist, segregationist views, and instead raved about how Christian Zionists disgust him.”

“It’s a turf war between conservatives and content creators, between those who want votes and those who want views. And you have to choose. The online right has been pushing the Vance view that the real enemy is the left, and there should be “no enemies to my right.” But the racist poison being allowed in through the backdoor by the online right’s thirst for engagement is incompatible with the multiracial coalition built by President Donald Trump.”

Tucker Carlson told Megyn Kelly to “buzz off” in her critique of his controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. “Nick Fuentes has said a long line of very vile things…,” Kelly says. Tucker responds, “Do your own interview. You’re not my editor, buzz off.”

Watch:

Yet, if they are using their respective platforms to grow their audience through controversy, while bitching about Democrats and protecting something called “hate speech,” the likelihood of growing their audience (and their bank accounts) depends on growing the America First majority through open debate, exposing those in power, and winning elections.

If Marxists, formerly known as Democrats, regain power in D.C., their gravy train of freedom and success will come to a screeching halt under the fist of Marxist censorship commandeered by government.

Just ask any doctor, nurse, influencer, pundit, podcaster, serious journalist, or, more notably, Robert Kennedy Jr, who tried to warn the world about the dangers of the Covid vaccine, or who dared to challenge the false, government-driven narrative that masks worked and Covid was more deadly for children and healthy adults than the common flu. The Biden administration had these “deniers” deplatformed, dehumanized, and censored.

In fact, we as editors were told to not include the word COVID or COVID-19 in our coverage of the “pandemic” because our respective Globe websites would be downgraded by “NewsGuard,” and we were. As professionals with a combined 30 years in political journalism, this was the first we learned that the news needed a guard.

Politics is a long game and a business. The campaign for 2026 started in 2024, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the “influencers” who make a living off of politics. This recent circular firing squad and political litmus tests among leading conservative voices is clickbait and it is tedious.

Again, we are not alone in our critique of Clickbait Conservatives. Ryan Saavedra posted this week:

“They could have used their platforms to energize conservatives and Republicans to turn out and vote in the elections. Instead, every day was about Israel, Jews, and crazy demented conspiratorial nonsense. Remember that going forward.”

“No more voting until we learn the truth about Charlie?” When is that? Owens’ words may have influenced Republicans or Independents to stay home on Tuesday as rabid New York, New Jersey and Virgina Democrats handed New York City to a Muslim communist and Virginia to an Attorney General who wished for the death of his political opponents and their children – while California was carved like a Thanksgiving turkey, gerrymandered against the very few elected California Republicans to “get Trump.”

How did “no more voting” turn out for the America First movement on Tuesday? It doesn’t seem to matter. Owens announced this week that she was ranked as the top podcast for downloads and views. Congratulations, Candace, you won. Meanwhile, the losing Virginian Republicans and their kids have targets on their chests by the top law enforcement officer in the state, and over a million people are fleeing New York – many of them are Jewish.

Until the FBI investigation into Charlie’s assassination is complete, Candace won’t lift a finger, unless she or someone proves her theory at sometime, or maybe never?

If Owens doesn’t trust the FBI under Director Kash Patel’s leadership, then she can easily use her #1 platform to call for his removal, instead of calling for her audience to boycott voting. Yet, the continuous drip of personal vendettas or never-ending conspiracy discussions pay handsomely, obviously. That cash will come in handy when lawsuits are filed and they’re dragged through the courts–like Alex Jones and, now, Candace Owens. If Brigitte Macron is a man, let the French sort it out.

Clickbait conservatives, or “influencers,” are driven by a very real financial incentive, Ungar-Sargon says. “Many content creators make their money on social media. Here’s how it works: The algorithm feeds people content that’s similar to what they already like. It finds you an audience and then rewards you immensely for giving that audience exactly what they want.”

Meanwhile, as they cash in, Republicans, Independents, MAGA and MAHA voters will have to show up and vote in the midterms like our republic depends on it – because it does. Democrats don’t vote to uphold the Republic, they vote to “save democracy.” To know the difference is to know thy enemy.

We get the shtick, it obviously has an audience, but we simply prefer actual journalism from the likes of Ungar-Sargon, Michael Shellenberger, Bill Melugin, so we can make informed decisions when it comes to our own reporting that holds those in power accountable. Everything else is just noise, but it is costly noise.

While the Republican trait of individualism is laudable, Clickbait Conservatives push away Republicans and independent voters in their quest for personal success. They pursue stories and controversial people who aren’t moving the political needle to restore what was lost under decades of Uniparty control that enriched the entrenched establishment while putting America and Americans last.

After the blue states electoral successes on Tuesday, Sean Davis, CEO and Founder of the Federalist, chastised social media influencers who performed idealogical litmus tests for clicks: “Congrats to everyone who spent the last month crying about podcast hosts and group chats. The top law enforcement officer in Virginia wants to murder your children because of your political views, but at least you racked up some solid social media purity points.”

Bill Jacobsen of Legal Insurrection reminded Megyn Kelly of her silence over Tucker Carlson and Candace Owen’s obsession over Israel and Jews:

“Then why didn’t you have the guts to speak out about your two big podcaster friends who have spent the past several months, but particularly since Charlie’s murder, in a non-stop attack on Israel and Jews instead of turning out the vote. You are not fooling anyone.”

Ouch.

Robby Starbuck who is moving the needly by launching one of the most successful anti-woke corporate DEI campaigns, reminded Republicans to “get to work.”

Conservatives, Republicans, and observers shouldn’t blame a clown for acting like a clown, but blame themselves for going to the circus.

UPDATE: This just dropped late Friday:

According to @LawrenceMuscant on X, this was a “Masterclass by @benshapiro.

@megynkelly telling Ben that she wasn’t aware of the nonsense Candace has been spewing is complete bullshit. With the amount of people who have asked her to comment on this, still saying “I haven’t heard anything” is ridiculous. She also knows exactly what @TuckerCarlson is doing, but clearly wants to capture his audience for clicks.”
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15 thoughts on “The Rise of Clickbait Conservatives and the Fall of Influence”

  1. Good article, KG & MB. I don’t follow any of the three stooges…….Carlson, Kelly, and Owens. They don’t get any clicks from me.

    Reply

    1. These two dingbat Biden supporters facts love to skip Reality. Phuck sake.
      Prove them wrong. Darn we can’t.
      We have to remove them. Not debate their ideas.
      If you were ok with the 2020 Election and Cov-a-Con.

      Then you need a Booster. Traitors.
      Meet my dear friend Karma. She’s at your door.

      Reply

  2. First and foremost it’s not clickbait; rather the assertion is an assault on inquiring minds that are fatigued by the unrelenting drone of the party line. Americans are cognizant of the fact they’re being deceived and forced fed data and conditioned information intended to induce euphoria and prevent the natives from becoming restless. Countries do and have done anything and everything to quell and asset that becomes a liability: Edify yourself regarding the vast number of individuals America has assasinated solely because they morphed from an asset to a hinderance.

    Allow people’s minds to wander and wonder or is the issue of this writing containment of free though for fear a valid catalyst my imerge? What is there to fear?

    The underlying issue and genesis of all the rancor may and should be if it is not is the Trump administration’s ignored but morally mandated objectivity on a hot issue and the one Charlie Kirk was developing.

    Donald Trump took a $100 million pivotal campaign donation from Miriam Adleson, an Israeli citizen whose position on Gaza is as follows per Wikipedia.

    Adelson has consistently advocated for the US government to adopt pro-Israel policies, including supporting Israel’s annexation of the West Bank.

    Politics aside, and clearly the cited advocacy of Miriam Adleson precludes Donald Trump’s objectivity relevant to the matter (lawyers term it conflict of interest), ie committing US forces or money to the Gaza matter.

    Donald Trump represents all the people therefore he clearly can’t  be considered objective regarding Israel and the associated Gaza issues: Thus Carlson and the balance of the pundants should focus on the issues only.

    For an elected official to accept a  campaign success critical donation to then embroil in this case American resources and personnel in such an issues is unethical and illegal.

    Much of the bitterness regarding antisemitism may be ill-founded and articulated as follows: My business partner of twenty five plus years who is Jewish repeats over and over, “Why the hell are the Jews of and living in America Israelis first and Americans second, why”.

    Reply

    1. “First and foremost it’s not clickbait; rather the assertion is an assault on inquiring minds that are fatigued by the unrelenting drone of the party line.”

      Really? Eye***? Candace Owens has adopted just about every kind of conspiracy theory including “the moon landing was staged” on her podcast. She will be promoting the next sighting of “Bigfoot” to her audience of your “inquiring minds”. Also, Trump has said that he WILL NOT support annexation of the West Bank thereby pushing back against certain factions of the Israeli parliament. So, Adleson’s contributions to Trump’s AMERICA FIRST campaign had zero effect on that issue. Trump’s Abraham Accords continues to gain support from regional countries – Kazakhstan being the latest to join. It makes zero sense that Arab countries who joined the accords, would have done so if annexation of the West Bank would be allowed or even considered. I would like to know what your Jewish partner believes on his/her own… instead of what YOU say he/she believes, since your TDS has apparently metastasized into full grown neurosis.

      Reply

      1. Allow people to express themselves. You’re advocating a “slippery slope” as are the authors of the lead article therefore proposing the curtailment of free speech. Slander statues are on the books should anyone violate you.

        My partner’s name is Dave and he’s a second amendment zealot. We both have concealed carry permits. Dave is extremely critical of Israel’s denial of it’s citizenry’s right to keep and bear arms. He’s boldly stated position is given the Nazi atrocities against humanity and the Third Reich’s staunch denial of the said rights Israel’s position on the issues is hypocritical. He like many Israelis is strongly opposed to Netanyahu’s grip on the Israeli government.

        Dave is a financial guy and he’s extremely critical of Donald Trump’s policies. Under Trump’s reign our costs of operation have increased dramatically:  Dave reiterates almost daily, watch the price of gold and beans: “If these numbers don’t concern you, you’re facilitating  you own destruction: Trump’s expansion of the debt a blatant disregard for the well-being of the American people; he’s (Trump) is disingenuous and inflicting harm on America. Debt is never good and when irreconcilable it becomes financially terminal to America and it’s populace”. His words, not mine.

        Reply

        1. @Eye***. No one is denying those people (including Fuentes) their free speech rights. Cancel culture was invented by the Left with their woke agenda. I agree that it’s too bad if some on the Right are embracing cancel culture as well. Why have your costs of doing business increased? Do you employ illegals? From tariffs? Are your products made in China? Do you understand America FIRST? Yes, President Trump has increased the national debt as have ALL previous presidents going back to FDR in the 1930s-40s. The worst was OBAMA/BIDEN. If you would cure yourself of your TDS, you might be able to deal with your business problems better; by watching what Trump DOES and pay less attention to what he SAYS:

          Under which presidential administration did the national debt increase the most?
          Grok:
          The U.S. national debt has increased under every presidential administration since the early 1980s, but the largest absolute dollar increase occurred during Barack Obama’s two terms (2009–2017), when the gross federal debt rose by approximately $8.6 trillion (from about $11.9 trillion to $20.5 trillion). This was driven primarily by responses to the Great Recession (including the $831 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus and extensions of tax cuts), ongoing costs from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Affordable Care Act.

          Reply

    2. Perhaps, if you tried harder to actually articulate your point rather than attempting to sound intelligent, somebody might have a shot at understanding whatever the f*ck it was that you just said.

      Reply

  3. I stopped listening to Owens, Kelly, and Carlson long ago after I realized that they were click bait conservatives. Add lesser known Emily Wilson to the list. Here is an easy test to ferret out the fake conservatives: Ask them what they think of women who stay home raising kids and making a nice home for their husband, rather than pursuing a career.

    Reply

  4. “Democrats don’t vote to uphold the Republic, they vote to “save democracy”.
    You forgot the OUR Democracy(TM) in that statement….

    But otherwise, a spot on assessment of those that are becoming addicted to the algorithm, rather than taking a leadership position in the fight against the creeping Communism of the left.
    Notice that none of these influences said a peep about NO on 50…
    THAT would have been leadership….

    Reply

  6. This intense conflict is destructive to MAGA. It seems to have blistered since the assassination of Charlie Kirk and centered at the foot of Israel. It’s excalated to name calling . . .
    After watching the whole interview of Nick Fuentes with Tucker, I concluded he is as opinionated as Ben Shapiro. If he were ignored, he wouldn’t be an issue. My first knowledge of Nick Fuentes was when he showed up at the White House with KenYE West. My impression was formed that he is as big of an attention seeker as Ye who needs contact with big names and controversy to foster an audience. Ben Shapiro has a much bigger platform. Mark Levin is on radio and Fox News. Why are they threatened by this pip squeak?
    Tucker gave Nick an interview revealing his background and perspective, not in the most vile or contemptible shades, but not dehumanizing as his enemies like to paint.
    Candice Owens is the champion of click bait because her reporting is sensational journalism. Ben and Candice think each is the super hero against the arch villain. In the end you are alienating your followers.
    Charlie Kirk was the balanced one. A lone assassin with a profile as suspicious as the event in Butler, PA made him a martyr? Or mysterious evidence was planted to deflect that a sophisticated operation took him out? A beautiful tribute from both sides of the country drew amazing crowds and a spiritual connection throughout the nation (of MAGA) But if this contention fomenting anger and disillusion continues, it will dismantle Trump’s agenda and MAGA. Boys and girls of the platforms (sandbox), it’s about America First.

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  7. Your still not READING THE ROOM Katy. If this is how the CA GOP wants to go down…more worried about what Zi*nists think than their own voters in California then they will lose AGAIN. I don’t want that…I have been trying to hold the fort down since 1992. However it is also clear you have not actually watched Nick Fuentes, rather you just watched the curated Nick clips and opinions of others that do not like him. He was a 18 year old gamer when the well to do shut him down. He was a gamer. Do you understand how these gamers talk with sarcasm and insults? That is just pretty much NORMAL.

    Now I understand that he might not be your cup of tea even if you did watch him longform. That is fine. What is not fine is when young people really do “Just ask questions” and express an opinion like “I really don’t want to send money and weapons to Israel with all this debt we have and enough of the GWOT.”. Let me tell you something…my dad is not from the USA. He was born in 1928 Berlin. He spent two years in an anti-aircraft “high school” and ended up in the Battle of Berlin as a friggin 17 year old. His mom was Polish. Hid dad, who had been drafted into ANOTHER world war, died in a bombing raid helping CIVILIANS get off a train. My dad witness the INTENTIONAL carpet bombing of the entire civilian population. He was also painfully aware of the ethnic cleansing of East Germans…in particular in the are of Poland that used to be part of Germany. I learned many things when I was 12. In 1980 we moved to West Berlin for a year. I saw a lot of cool stuff like Ancient Greek Ruins, Pompeii, Cologne cathedral, etc. We also took a very unusual family “vacation” to East Germany and Poland. It went from grim to grimmer. That is when I learned a lot of this stuff. My dad was also a California Professor…a Republican in a a job that almost DEMANDS DNC loyalty or Marxism. He fought the good fight against the Global Boilers in his field. You think he wanted to talk about the “Naz*s” considering he is already being painted as a “fascist” just because he was a Republican? But my dad knew propaganda. I also remember so many boomers really make me feel like DOO DOO must for describing my dad’s “lived experience”. Like he was the one that was some kind of “genetic Evil”. That or the topic quickly got changed to the weather. He new about the relationship between MIC and Israel of course and called out the Iraq War from day one. Even back in the 60s he thought conservatives that pushed the Vietnam War were bonkers considering that he was ONCE AGAIN surround by Communists in the University. “They wanted to fight them over in Vietnam and yet no one is here ON CAMPUS trying to make the case for the Constitutional Republic.” The more the GOP got in bed with Israel…the more they turned into a neocons instead of America First. Why would you push this agenda? Is there a financial relationship between California Globe and Zionists? Simple question.

    Now I am not so myopic to think Israel is the root of ALL our problems but I spent 20 years in the USA military. Started in the 80s when I thought it was the good fight against the Soviet Union. I watched it morph into something else entirely by the time I retired. That angle ALONE made me rethink things. I also had a very close West Bank Palestinian friend in college and he had some things to say himself. I remember reading “Death of the West” by Pat Buchannan in 2002. He warned about the Israel Lobby, amongst other things, then surprise, surprise, surprise…he stared to get sidelined. Now I personally think the “City of London” is the mothership of a lot of our problems…who have funded both Zionist factions as well as Muslim Brotherhood. Very esoteric stuff…that involves things like LIBOR rates and things that put most people to sleep but I think much more important than most people realize. What is not working is screaming at people for watching Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes. Rather it is better to engage with them and acknowledge that there IS UNDUE INFLUENCE BY FOREIGN MONEY…and that includes Israel. Then move try to get them on the City of London so the Js are not taking ALL THE HEAT. That would be the same Israel that gets a “special exception” when you do a SF86 background check. Not me though. I had a German Citizenship and this set of some kind RED ALERT and I had to renounce it. Fine…I renounced it, I am an American. You would think this rule would apply to Congress? State Department? How about all our Federal Government with NO EXCEPTIONS?

    If your still with me I recommend checking out Promethean Updates. They are not big Tucker fans themselves but AT LEAST they clearly and concisely explain The Spider Web. Stop telling us what you think we should not watch and ENGAGE with the individuals and the ideas. Stop LECTURING us on and on for watching Tucker, Candace, and Nick. Don’t you understand….this tactic has FAILED and we have midterms coming up. I would hate to see the entire America First movement imploded on behalf of Israel First. As you know we have some serious problems to SOLVE RIGHT IN CALIFORNIA.

    Reply

    1. WW2 was unfinished business from WW1. The nazi party was born from street fights between communist and fascist thugs during the failures of the weimar republic, opposing ideologies with identical methods, with a charismatic and cunning former corporal from austria at the top. Night of the long knives, Kristallnacht, the einsatzgruppen, total war, Hitler refusing to give up after every indication the war was lost, the literal rape of berlin. In 1945 Patton said germany was like looking down on hell from the top, utterly destroyed. The marshal plan rebuilt west germany. Axis POWs worked on farms in america and england while playing baseball, allied POWs starved in german camps. As for warring, the russians, chinese and islamic terrorists will just kill you, the US is probably the only country on earth since the korean war with lawyers running the show with what the military can or can’t do. Respecfully, what does any of that have to do with american republicans in 2025 clown slapping each other?

      Reply

  8. I just don’t get the circular firing squad that is politicaly right with the moniker of “Republican.” It reminds me of the Three Stooges with all the eye poking, nose twisting and cheek slapping slapstick nonsense they were famous for. The communists masquerading as “Democrats” have had an easy time pushing their agenda during the majority of my life because of the back stabbing fratricide, and I’m not young. In the meantime, we haven’t a snowball’s chance in hell for a Republican governor in California because of the jungle primary and it seems somehow necesary to dilute the Republican vote with a couple dozen candidates running. The CAGOP is essentially worthless and organizations like the tea party evolve into grifters mainly interested in signing both sides of their payroll checks – all the while using spyware google products to organize, and spymaster google hates us. I don’t pharquing get it, I almost feel like selling everything and go fishing while I can before I’m hauled off to reeducation camp.

    Reply

    1. I agree @Stop The Insanity. People need to give it a rest and take a deep breadth (sic). Imo, the controversy over Nick Fuentes on Tucker Carlson’s podcast is just a rehashing of a long-standing split between the Neocons (the William F. Buckley wing) and the Paleocons (the Pat Buchanan wing) of conservatives in the Republican Party. Tucker Carlson became a talk-show star on Pat Buchanan’s Crossfire program. William F. Buckley started the National Review.

      On the other hand, if you look at actual policies that President Trump has implemented with respect to foreign policy in the Middle East and Israel, he doesn’t follow either Buckley or Buchanan. He uses a little of both and implements his own pragmatic policy. For example, he has both supported Israel and opposed Israel; depending on whether the policy/action was or was not in line with HIS America First agenda. Trump is not a Zionist or a Globalist…..He’s DIFFERENT and he gets RESULTS.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism_and_paleoconservatism

      Reply

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