Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Basil Molyneux (born September 24, 1966) is an Irish-born Canadian white nationalist podcaster and proponent of conspiracy theories, white supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement.

He is the founder of the Freedomain Radio website.

In 1991, at age 25, Molyneux received a B.A. degree in history from McGill University.

He received an M.A. degree in history from the University of Toronto in 1993.

In early 1995, Molyneux and his brother Hugh founded Caribou Systems Corporation, a Toronto-based provider of environmental database software.

The company was sold in 2000.

Molyneux began a podcast called Freedomain Radio (FDR) in 2004.

Over the next 13 years, he created over 1,000 podcasts and videos.

Meanwhile, Molyneux wrote nine articles for the personal website of Lew Rockwell in 2005 and was a narrator in 2011 and 2012 for the Mises Institute think tank, which Rockwell founded.

In 2010, Molyneux appeared on the Press TV program On the Edge hosted by Max Keiser, and first participated on Alex Jones' InfoWars show the following year.

In that year and 2012, he appeared on the RT program Adam vs. the Man, hosted by the libertarian Adam Kokesh.

In 2014, Molyneux, who has spoken out against copyright, used the DMCA to take down several videos from a YouTube channel that mocked Molyneux's actions and statements.

In July 2018, Molyneux and Canadian political activist Lauren Southern toured the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

Molyneux disparaged pre-colonisation Australian Aboriginal culture, calling it "very violent", and downplayed massacres perpetrated against Aboriginals, saying that the European takeover of Australia had been less violent than other such takeovers, and that the settlers "were trying to stop infanticide and mass rape".

In July 2018, Molyneux applied for a travel visa to visit New Zealand for a speaking tour with Southern.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway described their views as "repugnant", but said they met immigration character requirements and cleared their entry.

The pair had not secured a venue, as Auckland Council had cancelled their initial booking, citing health and safety concerns.

The pair briefly cancelled and then resumed the tour over difficulties with the venue.

The subsequent booking of a private venue was revoked by its owners.

In retaliation, their venue was vandalised.

The failure to find a venue was celebrated by around 1,000 protestors, who said the planned event had nothing to do with freedom of speech.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand is "hostile" to the views of the speakers and, "I think you'll see from the reaction they've had from New Zealanders that their views are not those that are shared by this country, and I'm quite proud of that".

In August 2018, the Mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, tweeted that Council venues should not be used to "stir up ethnic or religious tensions", and that "we've got no obligation at all" to provide a venue for hate speech.

For agreeing with the cancellation, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson received death threats.

Tāmaki Anti Fascist Action spokesperson Sina Brown-Davis said her group feared "dehumanising depictions of indigenous people" in New Zealand.

Molyneux had said that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are at "the lowest rung of civilisation".

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson added, "Aotearoa does not stand for your messages of racism, hatred and especially white supremacy".

Justice Minister Andrew Little said the speakers "clearly have misled people" in trying to secure the venue.

TV personality Te Hamua Nikora said the pair were against multiculturalism, unlike New Zealand.

The minimum ticket price for the cancelled Auckland event was $99.

Molyneux has frequently hosted white supremacists on his podcast, such as Peter Brimelow (founder of the white-nationalist website VDARE), and Jared Taylor (founder of the white-nationalist magazine American Renaissance).

As of September 2020, Molyneux has been permanently banned or suspended from PayPal, Mailchimp, YouTube, and SoundCloud, all for violating hate speech policies.

Molyneux is described as a leading figure of the alt-right movement by Politico and The Washington Post, and as far-right by The New York Times.

Tom Clements in The Independent describes Molyneux as "an alt-lite philosopher with a perverse fixation on race and IQ."

Molyneux describes himself as a philosopher and an anarcho-capitalist.

Multiple sources describe the Freedomain internet community as a cult, referring to the indoctrination techniques Molyneux has used as its leader.

Molyneux previously worked in the software industry, wrote nine articles for libertarian Lew Rockwell's personal website, and made appearances on Press TV, InfoWars, and RT.

Molyneux was born in Ireland and mostly raised in London before moving to Canada at age 11.

He attended Glendon College at York University in Toronto, acting at Theatre Glendon and being a member of the Debating Society.

He then attended the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.