Courtesy of Philosophy Tube, Hbomberguy, and ContraPoints respectively.

Leftist Infighting Is Eating BreadTube Inside Out

The reactionary left continues to cannibalize its very own advocates.

A. Khaled
5 min readOct 20, 2019

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Rewind back past a couple of years ago, and the far-right was very much unrivaled in its ability to mobilize audiences online in the pursuit of a common political goal–one especially laced in xenophobia and racism in this case. But soon thereafter, BreadTube picked up the pace and became a powerful force in shaping political discussions online. What once was a field almost dominated by right-wing talking heads now had a semblance of resistance from the left, and all the spoils are to owe for BreadTube’s incredible ability to wield the right’s own rhetorical devices against them, and lure audiences to their side by pointing out the often-deceitful character of right-wing political messaging.

Right now however, a general feeling of unease seems to have beset on discussions surrounding the legitimacy of what BreadTube does–if it is the main mechanism by which the political battles of the future are won, isn’t it fairer to push for the most extreme interpretations of leftist doctrine instead of compromising with a liberal-majority audience?

The answer to that question is a complex net of interlocking questions that are even more complicated to answer independently. If BreadTube’s existence is solely there to satisfy the needs of a group, which group should it cater to? If the crushing majority of BreadTube’s audience doesn’t seem to share the same excitement about Marxist thought as do some of their devotees, is it then fair to impose that resolution to our current political problems in a world where democracy is now more-than-ever in peril? Where do the creative freedoms of BreadTube creators start and end? And is it fair to dub them seeders of revolutionary thought when their literature is a response to circumstances unique to their own rather than aspirational ideas about the relationship between populace and governance?

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A. Khaled

Internet culture scribe with an interest in the digital economy, content creators, media and politics.