Before we talk about Nick Fuentes, we need to talk about what happened to Charlie Kirk.

On Sept 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while talking to students at a Turning Point USA event in Utah. You likely already knew this…

You likely already know, as well, about the outpouring of hate that we saw on the internet in response to those memorializing CK. Countless politically-motivated posters began spreading anything they could find that might discredit the worthiness of Charlie Kirk. The most common accusations were “He was hateful/spread hate.” “He was a racist.” “He was a woman-hating misogynist.” “He hated black people and immigrants.” “He was a far-right wing Nazi/Fascist.”… While these types of comments have unfortunately become predictable, semantic bleachings in today’s politics, many found them particularly absurd in the case of Kirk. Charlie was a one of the more moderate conservative pundits , and while he received criticism from many on the political left, he was viewed as an outlier in terms of his tolerance, understanding, and compassion by the political right.

I found myself engaging in an online discussion with an individual during this time. She had posted a video of Charlie addressing Cenk Uygur and said “Look! He’s racist! He literally called this Chinese guy a ch*nk!” I informed her that the man was Turkish, not Chinese, and his name was Cenk (pronounced “Chank”). She followed with another video, which was also inaccurate, then another. Each time, I ignored her threats and ad hominem attacks, and attempted to explain the misleading videos she posted. Her response, in the end, was to lash out at me and inform me that if I didn’t agree with her, that makes me a racist and a misogynist. She did not dispute a single bit of substance I posted, just called me racist and told me she was glad that “racists” like Charlie Kirk are gone.

After Charlie died, a number of people claimed they would pick up where he left off. Milo Yiannopoulos immediately tweeted “You killed the nice guy, now you get me”. Knowing Milo as a provocateur who has lost relevance in recent years, I rolled my eyes. Nobody would take Charlie’s place. He was a once-in-a-generation person. The more relevant question was: Who would gain his enormous following now that he’s gone? It was during the discussion above that I first realized a logical outcome. I didn’t even feel like I intentionally thought about it; his name just suddenly came to the forefront of my mind…Nick Fuentes.

Who is Nick Fuentes?

I can’t refer to Nick Fuentes as a YouTuber, because he’s been banned from YouTube. As a matter of fact, he’s been banned from nearly every form of mainstream social media. He was banned from all relevant forms of online payment processing, banks, and political groups. He was even placed on the no-fly list after attending a rally outside the capitol building on Jan 6. The only way to view Nick’s online show is to find it on Rumble, the self-proclaimed “free speech” platform. The only way to send money to Nick is through bitcoin. He may be the most banned man (of any relevancy) on the internet. It’s clear that people did not want Nick to be heard. Yet, with all these attempts to silence him, Nick Fuentes has been gaining followers at an alarming rate of over 5,000 a day since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. As someone who was once blacklisted from virtually every show on YouTube, Fuentes has since been featured on a number of platforms, including his recent interview on Tucker Carlson, which in just two days has received 4.2 million views.

The notable thing here is that Nick and Charlie were not aligned. Nick criticized Charlie for receiving funding from Jewish lobbies, and Charlie accused Nick of spreading antisemitism. While Charlie made claims that the black community fell victim to Democratic policies, Nick argued that it wasn’t the policies that were to blame, it was the people. While Charlie suggested that we need more legal immigration and less illegal border crossings, Nick has a more nationalist view of keeping all new immigrants out in belief that their cultures will displace our own, and result in the downfall of the country. Where Charlie was a more moderate conservative, Nick readily accepts the moniker of “far-right”.

I’m not going to tell you how you should feel about Nick Fuentes. I’ll give him credit for the show he did after Charlie Kirk died, in which he said a lot of good things about the character of his one-time rival, and pleaded with his followers to fight the urge to retaliate in favor of prayer, and “being good Christians”. However, I’ll also point out that regardless of where your assessment of Nick falls, he is most certainly a closer representation of racism, nationalism, and far-right than Charlie Kirk was, by a long shot.

How does this happen?

To answer this question, I’ll point to the conversation I referenced earlier, where I was called a racist and a misogynist by a stranger who had absolutely no reason or evidence to make such a claim.

We’ve all had these conversations. People have become emboldened to accuse anyone of the worst things they can think of, just because that person doesn’t agree with them on some issue. I grew up in a generation where we were taught that people shouldn’t be judged by skin color, creed, gender, etc., but by their actions, and we bought it. We readily accepted this as truth, and most of us still believe it to our core. But, over time, something else happened. We started being told that we weren’t equal, after all. Books like White Fragility suggested that being white, in itself, was an original sin in which we could not deny. We began to experience hate and resentment for what we are, not who we are or what we do. We walked on eggshells in an effort to avoid being accused of being something we know we aren’t. Hateful. Racist. Misogynistic. Fill-in-the-blank-phobic. Some of us found ourselves in jeopardy of losing our jobs or societal status because someone weaponized language and false accusations of character against us. This makes people feel powerless.

When a man is judged by an intent that is assigned to him by an accuser, instead of what is within him, he is left with no options. It is impossible to validate or invalidate the act of a thought crime without the ability to read minds, so we must measure people by their actions, not how we think they may feel.

In response to this phenomenon, many will seek refuge. People want to hear from someone who represents them, perhaps stands up for them. For a lot of well-meaning people, this was Charlie Kirk. They saw Charlie as a representative of the idea that we should all be judged by what we do, not what we look like. A voice for those who find themselves fearing reprisal from speaking truth. Someone who believed that love doesn’t always mean agreement, but it does mean doing the right thing, even when it’s not popular. I’m not suggesting that Charlie was infallible; I will concede that he, of course, wasn’t. I do think he was, overall, a positive role model for people who were desperately searching for one, though.

Charlie’s death resulted in a vacuum among a crowd that felt underrepresented in politics. His college tour wasn’t cancelled, but it wasn’t the same without him. His death was widely politicized by opportunists, and his message was hard to decipher from what remained. People began to look for a new voice. Many found that voice in Nick Fuentes.

Where do we go from here?

While I’m not suggesting that Nick is Hitler reincarnate, I will still pose the following question, because it matters : If you call everyone you don’t agree with Hitler, what do you do when an actual Hitler shows up? How do you warn people about the real dangers of fascism when you’ve called half of the country fascists? Who will listen?

We need to take care when using descriptors against people. While it’s convenient to apply a negative label to those who we disagree with in an effort to invalidate their position, this is an act of insecurity and laziness that leads to further resentment and polarization. Seek to understand those who disagree with you. It will not only serve to humanize those who may seem inhumane, but it will also strengthen your understanding of yourself and your world view.

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