Rumble, the fringe video hosting alternative to YouTube backed by billionaire right-wing megadonor Peter Thiel and Republican Ohio Senate nominee J.D. Vance, is profiting off of ads running on QAnon conspiracy theory, extremist, and white nationalist content on its platform. A review of pre-roll advertisements displayed before videos on Rumble demonstrates the wide scope of extremist-aligned videos that are lining the pockets of the website.
A recent Media Matters analysis found that Google’s ad network is monetizing and driving new users and traffic to Rumble. Google is ultimately assisting a website to make money as a cesspool of extremist conspiracy theories and a safe haven for users banned from mainstream social media sites.
Rumble reportedly “reached 78 million monthly average users in August, with 63 million of these being in the U.S. and Canada,” and it now has “more than 10 times the traffic of Trump’s Truth Social and close to 100 times the traffic of Parler.” Additionally, The New York Times reports the website “generated more than $6.5 million in revenue, most of it from advertising,” in the first nine months of 2021.
QAnon conspiracy theory content is being monetized on Rumble
Rumble is chock full of QAnon conspiracy theory content that reportedly “ranks among the most popular on the site.” The conspiracy theory has been labeled as a domestic terror threat by the FBI and has led to multiple instances of real-world violence, including kidnapping and murder cases.
Multiple QAnon-supporting shows on Rumble are monetized and assist the website in generating revenue. Media Matters has identified multiple QAnon and QAnon-supporting shows that are running advertisements before videos:
