The Wyoming Republican Party recently told followers that “Gab is an awesome platform … Head over to Gab and follow us.” Gab is a social media site that caters to white nationalists and antisemites and is led by an antisemite who has said he wants to exclude Jewish people from political life.
Gab is a haven for far-right users, including many who have been banned from other platforms. The site has been an echo chamber for users who post violent threats. One of its users was the gunman who allegedly killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.
A June 1 report by the Stanford Internet Observatory analyzed content on Gab and concluded that “extreme anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic content is rife, with open praise of Nazism, encouragement of violence against minorities, and ‘Great Replacement’ narratives.”
Gab CEO Andrew Torba has said that he supports a political movement which doesn’t include Jewish people and other non-Christians. He said on July 22: “We don't want people who are Jewish.” He also stated that “we're not bending the knee to the 2% anymore” and won’t be “told what we're allowed to do in our own country by a 2% minority.” There has been widespread media coverage of Torba's antisemitism in recent months.
On September 2, the Wyoming Republican Party praised Gab on Facebook and its website, writing: “The Wyoming Republican Party uses more than just Instagram and Facebook to communicate digitally. Gab is an awesome platform where Republican censorship is not evident. Head over to Gab and follow us @WYGOP.”
The political organization’s posts on Gab include repeated requests for donations and volunteers. The organization has posted over 150 times, but has only 15 followers. Its Gab posts appear to also be cross-posted on Facebook.
The Wyoming GOP’s chair is Frank Eathorne, who is a January 6 insurrectionist and a member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia.
Numerous Republicans are tied to Gab:
- Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano paid Gab $5,000 in “consulting” fees and praised Torba in an early May interview. After weeks of criticism, he eventually removed his Gab account and issued a statement that didn’t criticize Torba or Gab for their extremism.
- Maryland gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox recently removed his Gab account but did not respond to questions from The Washington Post about Gab.
- Ohio congressional nominee J.R. Majewski uses Gab and has praised Torba as one of “America’s Greatest Patriots.” He has reaffirmed his support for Gab following criticism.
- North Carolina congressional nominee Sandy Smith has a Gab account that has over 130 posts.
- Far-right Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have active Gab accounts. (Torba has referred to them as “the Gab Caucus.”)
- Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers are active Gab users. They both said that they are “honored” to have Torba’s campaign endorsements.
- Several candidates have run ads on Gab, including Greene, Gosar, and Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
