Ben Shapiro

Biography

Ben Shapiro is a conservative American political commentator, host of the Ben Shapiro talk show and editor of the right-wing Daily Wire publication. Shapiro was also a former editor of the far-right Breitbart news website that has in the past peddled in conspiracy theories on a variety of topics ranging from Muslims, the background of former U.S President Barack Obama. In leaked emails, Breitbart was also accused of advancing the ideas of neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups.

Shapiro has a significant social media presence and following. He currently has millions of followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, including millions of subscribers on his YouTube channel. Despite being an Orthodox Jew, he has attacked liberal Jews who voted for former U.S. President Obama as “Jews in Name Only - JINO’s” for electing a president who was perceived to be critical of Israel. His other conservative views regarding Arabs, particularly Palestinian Arabs, and the LGBTQ+ community stems from his ultra-Zionist and socially conservative stances respectively.

Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

May 2019: In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neill, Shapiro was questioned multiple times on his extreme views and statements he made in the past regarding abortion, transgender people, and comments about how “Israel likes to build, while Arabs like to bomb crap and live in sewage”. In his aggressive reply to the interviewer, Shapiro proceeded to state that he only meant Palestinians, not Arabs in general.

April 2019: In a tweet, Shapiro stated that western civilisation is superior to other civilisations. Although not considered hate-speech in and off-itself, this particular tweet needs to be looked at in the context of Shapiro’s comments about Islam and Muslims, including his constant messages about upholding “Judeo-Christian” values - a term most often insinuating an intolerance for Muslims and Islam.

October 2014: In a YouTube video with approximately 4.5M views, Shapiro stated that the majority of the world’s Muslims are actually radicals, and that there is “no tiny radical minority”, but rather at least half of the global Muslim population.

May 2011: In an article written by Shapiro in TownHall, he states that “Jews in Name Only - JINO’s” who voted for Barack Obama “do not care about Israel. Or if they do, they care about it less than abortion, gay marriage and climate change”. In the same article, Shapiro states that “Simply put, Obama is an enemy of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. And any Jew who votes for him betrays his or her brothers and sisters at home and abroad. By definition, a vote for Obama is a vote against the truly Jewish part of Jewish identity.”

Video Links:

Ben Shapiro: US commentator clashes with BBC's Andrew Neil - BBC News

Ben Shapiro: The Myth of the Tiny Radical Muslim Minority

Social Media:

I wasn't tacitly saying Western civilization is superior to other civilizations. I openly say it, because I believe Western civilization is superior to other civilizations. In fact, I wrote an entire book on the topic, in which I explain why. https://t.co/5xxT67KKj6 https://t.co/u02Ju84WmH
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 16, 2019