So, uh, has anyone checked in with the people behind Jubilee? In the past year or so, the YouTube platform (which currently boasts a whopping 10.2 million subscribers) is known for its popular “find the mole” and “middle ground” videos, but it has become increasingly inflammatory in the past year. On July 20, Jubilee posted what might be its most controversial video yet, titled “1 Progressive vs. 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan).” The most striking clips inevitably made their way to TikTok in the days following, leading to discourse around how people are getting such dangerous ideas expressed in the video, and to what extent Jubilee is to blame for them.
In just the opening clips of the video, one man openly admits to being a fascist, to which a few other members of the crowd applaud. Someone else makes the claim that “whites are Native American.” And finally, Hasan — the lone progressive of the group — makes note of the fact that he’s an immigrant, to which someone responds, “get the hell out.” As you can imagine, the rest of the nearly two-hour video is full of similar sentiments.
The controversy surrounding Jubilee’s video choices aren’t new. Many have noted Jubilee’s pattern of platforming people with ideas ranging from questionable to plain racist, sexist, and xenophobic; this latest video is just a clear case study for how the brand has morphed into something far more sinister than it once was. On social media, critics are not only demanding to know why Jubilee would publish this kind of content — they’re suggesting that the media brand is part of the reason people feel emboldened to say these things in the first place. And TBH, I agree.
i will not be watching jubilee videos because i like myself
— daisy “dan goose” tackett (@fatstevebuscemi) July 21, 2025
Democracies thrive on debate and discourse, so the concept of platforming people with different ideas seems like a great idea. But it becomes hollow when Jubilee gives a platform to people with such harmful ideas. To me, it’s clear that the goal of lively debate has left the chat at Jubilee headquarters. What was once a genuine opportunity for people to connect has fallen victim to engagement farming — in this case, creating content that is so inflammatory, it’s bound to go viral. Debate hinges on respect for the person you’re debating with, so when one side doesn’t believe in the other’s right to exist — or believes that they’re inherently better than their opponent — there can never be a genuine debate.
And it’s not just the loss of intelligent conversation that goes out the window when this happens. When someone says something factually incorrect — or downright dangerous — on a mainstream platform without being fact-checked or called out, those ideas become normalized. Lies become the truth. And hate speech becomes… well, just speech.
watching jubilee let greed destroy their company is an insane train wreck to witness
— belak🌪️ (@kalebjackson00) July 21, 2025
Americans have seen this play out on the most macro of scales — namely, with President Donald Trump’s rise to power. As media outlets continued to platform Trump and practiced increasing amounts of leniency in what he got away with saying, what he said became more and more normalized — even when he was spreading misinformation and hateful ideas. This, in turn, gave implicit permission to many people in the country to follow Trump’s lead. His victory in 2016, and again in 2024, showed the country that being “politically correct” (or even just correct) doesn’t matter. You can openly admit to assaulting women and call for the arrest of political opponents and still become the president — twice. And now fast-forward to what the U.S. has become: a country where people feel comfortable enough to openly admit to being pro-fascism.
Defenders of Jubilee will say that by sharing content like its July 20 video, the platform is simply letting the rest of the world see what already exists. But to me — and many others who can see the bigger picture — Jubilee is emboldening people and groups to be louder and prouder about their rhetoric. Yes, debate should be encouraged, and free speech rights are imperative in this country, but what we’re seeing infiltrate mainstream media now isn’t merely thought-sharing from people who see the world differently — it’s extremism that we’re being asked to pretend is normal. I, for one, refuse to do so. And companies like Jubilee should do better.