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| Mike Cernovich | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Cernovich (1977-11-17) November 17, 1977 (age 47) Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Alimony recipient |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois Pepperdine University School of Law |
| Website | |
| dangerandplay | |
Mike Cernovich (born November 17, 1977) is an American social media personality and author. Usually described as part of the alt-right, he describes himself as "new right."
Cernovich's website Danger & Play started in 2012 and was originally known mainly for self-improvement content. However, during the 2016 US presidential election campaign, it focused mainly on pro-Donald Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton commentary. During September 2016, when Cernovich alleged that Clinton had health problems making her unfit to serve as president and that those health problems were being suppressed by the mainstream media, Cernovich's tweets were seen more than 100 million times.
Early life
Cernovich was born on November 17, 1977. He grew up in a conservative Christian family in Kewanee, a farming town in Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois and later attended the Pepperdine University School of Law.
Personal life
Cernovich married his first wife as a law student in 2003. Cernovich has stated that his "first marriage was ruined by feminist indoctrination." His wife became an attorney in Silicon Valley and "earned millions of dollars in stock from an I.P.O." She filed for divorce in 2011, and Cernovich received over $999,999 in the divorce settlement. Cernovich met his second wife shortly thereafter. She comes from a secular Muslim Persian background.
Cernovich states that he was falsely accused of raping a woman in 2003. According to The New Yorker magazine, the charge was later dropped, but a judge ordered him to do community service for misdemeanor battery and his record has since been expunged.
Cernovich lives outside of Los Angeles, California.
Writing career
In 2012, he launched the website, Danger & Play, a blog focused on politics, men's issues, and self-improvement. The title comes from a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, "The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything."
In 2014, Cernovich was a self-proclaimed "champion" of Gamergate, the campaign against feminists in the video-game industry, goading opponents with tweets such as "Who cares about breast cancer and rape? Not me."
In 2015, Cernovich self-published the self-help book Gorilla Mindset: Timeless Strategies to Unleash the Animal Within You. With the appearance of Donald Trump, he recognized a "kindred spirit" and began to make political commentary.
In 2016, Cernovich wrote the self-help book MAGA Mindset: Making YOU and America Great Again, based on the Donald Trump presidential campaign. The book was published by Castalia House, a Finnish publishing house started and run by author Vox Day which specializes in science fiction and fantasy.
Media and views
Cernovich has emphasized the importance of simplicity in social media commentary, noting that when he made his posts "too complex", none of it got "through to people". He gives as an example of "more visceral" and successful posts, #HillarysHealth, which commented on the health of Trump opponent Hillary Clinton during the 2016 United States presidential election—alleging among other things that Clinton had "both a seizure disorder and Parkinson's disease". By September this hashtag had got 240,000 page views and had become a national trending topic on Twitter. During the month of September, Cernovich's tweets were seen more than 100 million times. According to Scott Greer, of The Daily Caller, "Cernovich memed #SickHillary into reality. Never doubt the power of memes".
The New Yorker quotes a statement on Cernovich's website: "To beat a person, you lower his or her social status. Logic is pointless," in relation to Cernovich's frequent references to adversaries as "cucks" (cuckolds and "cuckservatives"). While Cernovich admits to sometimes being an Internet troll, he has stated, "I use trolling tactics to build my brand" and not for his own amusement.
Cernovich advocates IQ-testing for all immigrants and ending federal funding of universities.
Cernovich opposes the two-party system and his support for Trump is not based on public policy. "What are Trump's policies? I don't particularly care". In another post on his website he stated, "If Trump offends you, it's because you live in a cucked world where no one speaks their minds".
Cernovich helped popularize the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory through his blog posts and believes that child sex rings run rampant in Washington D.C. He has accused his opponents of being pedophiles on multiple occasions.
In an October 2016 interview with The New Yorker, Cernovich was quoted:
"The left likes to talk about power structures, right? Well, the media still thinks of itself as speaking truth to power. What they don't realize is that someone like me is perceived as the new Fourth Estate. Maybe they should check their structural privilege." The "paternalistic" media, he said, was giving way to a more democratic one. "It makes journalists crazy, because they used to be in control. They can't control people anymore. Everyone has a voice now."
Following an August 2016 appearance on Fox News Channel's Red Eye, the show's producers felt compelled afterwards to say that they had made a mistake in booking him when later learning of Cernovich's history of online disputes.
Cernovich has accused the Democratic Party of attempting to assassinate him. In 2016, Cernovich criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for speaking at a gender-segregated mosque. In August 2016, Lloyd Grove, an editor for The Daily Beast, referred to Cernovich as a "date rape apologist" because of Cernovich's comments on Twitter in August 2012 when Cernovich tweeted, "Have you guys ever tried 'raping' a girl without using force? Try it. It's basically impossible. Date rape does not exist".
References
- Kaczynski, Andrew; McDermott, Nathan. "Michael Flynn's son and chief of staff pushed conspiracy theories, obscene memes online". CNN.
- Park, Andrea (November 8, 2016). Lady Gaga's jacket draws Nazi comparisons from alt-right. CBS News. Retrieved: December 6, 2016.
- Smith, Allan (December 27, 2016). Alt-right movement descends into civil war after leading figure is booted from Trump inauguration event. Business Insider UK. Retrieved: December 28, 2016.
- "SPLC Analysis: Small Community of Extremists on Twitter Responsible for Majority of Message". Southern Poverty Law Center.
- "Alt-right movement descends into civil war after leading figure is booted from Trump inauguration event". Business Insider.
- Jensen, K. Thor. "Inside Donald Trump's Twitter-Bot Fan Club". New York.
- ^ Schreckinger, Ben (January/February 2017). The Alt-Right Comes to Washington. Politico Magazine. Retrieved: February 21, 2017.
- ^ Marantz, Andrew (October 31, 2016). "Trolls for Trump". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Legum, Gary (August 10, 2016). "From fringe to mainstream: Conspiracies, baseless accusations and lunacy is the new normal for Republicans". Salon.
- Neyfakh, Leon (March 15, 2016). "They Totally Knew: The People Who Foresaw the Rise of Donald Trump". Slate.
- Rosen, Armin (May 4, 2016). "What Fuels Trump-Supporting Twitter Trolls?". Tablet.
- Stockton, Dustin (July 29, 2016). "Breitbart News Interviews Mike Cernovich in Middle of Commie Protest". Breitbart News.
- Ching, Frank (October 4, 2016). "Did Trump leak his own tax returns?". The New Zealand Herald.
- Cernovich, Mike. "Mike Cernovich on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- Cernovich, Mike. "Mike Cernovich on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ^ Greenfield, Scott (February 24, 2016). "Cross: Mike Cernovich, The 800 lb. Gorilla Lawyer". Mimeis Law.
- ^ Grove, Lloyd (August 9, 2016). "Why Did Fox News Welcome Date Rape Apologist Mike Cernovich?". The Daily Beast.
- Holiday, Ryan (October 27, 2016). "Exclusive Interview: How This Right-Wing 'Troll' Reaches 100M People a Month". Observer.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- Greer, Scott (September 11, 2016). "Scott Greer @ScottMGreer Sep 11". Retrieved November 4, 2016 – via Twitter.
- Cernovich, Mike. "How We are Changing the Culture and Destroying SJWs [Social Justice Warriors]". Danger & Play. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Singal, Jesse. "How Mike Cernovich Is Pizzagating His Latest Victim".
- Rutenberg, Jim (November 6, 2016). "Media's Next Challenge: Overcoming the Threat of Fake News". The New York Times.
- Legum, Gary (August 10, 2016). "From fringe to mainstream: Conspiracies, baseless accusations and lunacy is the new normal for Republicans". Salon (website).
- della Cava, Marco; Molina, Brett (September 27, 2016). "Facebook millionaire Luckey aligns himself with alt-right, but only if you squint". USA Today.
- "Mike Cernovich". Twitter. September 13, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.