Ethan Ralph

Ethan Oliver Ralph (born 1985 or 1986),[2] also known by his pen name The Ralph Retort, is an alt-right[2] American podcaster who came to prominence as a "leader" of the GamerGate controversy,[3][4] during which he doxed and harassed game developer Brianna Wu.[5] His primary platform is the #Killstream, a current events podcast that is sympathetic to white supremacists.[6] Among the Killstream's guests have been Red Ice co-founder Henrik Palmgren[7] and Lana Lokteff.[8] Ralph self-identifies as a "right-wing conservative".[9]

Ethan Ralph
Ralph in 2020
Born1985/1986 (age 34–35)
Memphis, Tennessee[1]
Other namesThe Ralph Retort
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationPodcaster, alt-right internet personality
Years active2014–present
Known for​#Killstream

Ralph has been deplatformed from many services, including YouTube,[10] where he used to host his show. As of January 2021, the Killstream was hosted on Trovo Live, after receiving a month-long suspension from the alt-tech streaming service DLive earlier in January.[11][12]

Career

Ralph hosts a podcast called the Killstream, which is a current events podcast that is sympathetic to white supremacists.[6] Among the Killstream's guests have been Red Ice co-founder Henrik Palmgren[7] and Lana Lokteff.[8] According to Washingtonian, the Killstream "frequently shares extremist propaganda".[13] Originally hosted on YouTube, the show was distributed on the alt-tech platform DLive after YouTube banned the account in November 2018.[14] In the period of April–October 2020, the Killstream earned Ralph US$24,346 on DLive.[11] On December 8, 2020, after the suicide of a developer with far-right beliefs, Ralph received a donation of ≈0.5BTC, then worth US$9,595.[9] In January 2021, DLive suspended Ralph's account for a month and Ralph began broadcasting on Trovo Live.[15]

Controversies

GamerGate controversy

Ralph came to prominence as a "leader" of the GamerGate controversy,[16][17] during which he doxed and harassed game developer Brianna Wu.[18]

#Healstream

After accepting donations via YouTube's "Super Chats"[note 1][14] feature to be donated to St. Jude's Children Hospital, some of which had attached messages written by Ralph's fans which denied the Holocaust or which celebrated the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting,[19] St. Jude's refunded all of the donations from YouTube that came from the Killstream.[10] After a report in the Wall Street Journal on the incident, YouTube terminated Ralph's account in November 2018.[14]

Footnotes

Notes
  1. The Killstream is a podcast which was simulcast over YouTube. "Super Chats" are a YouTube feature where users can pay to make the message they write stick around longer than other messages which appear in the chat section of a livestream. Ralph would also read super chats aloud, taking time out of the stream, to encourage more donations.

References
  1. @TheRalphRetort (May 18, 2020). "I was born in Memphis, but I lived across the bridge in West Memphis until I was 21" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Moyer, Justin Wm (September 9, 2016). "Gamergate activist charged with assault on officers, public intoxication in Virginia". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 1, 2021. "If you want to call me alt-right, that's probably fair," Ralph said.
  3. Gilbert, Ben (September 7, 2016). "A prominent leader of Gamergate was just arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer". Business Insider. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  4. Florentine, Sharon (September 15, 2016). "Gamergate leader's arrest doesn't signal change". CIO. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  5. Wu, Brianna (September 7, 2016). "Gamergate Leader Arrested on Two Felony Counts of Assaulting a Police Officer". The Daily Dot. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  6. Nguyen, Tina (November 11, 2020). "MAGA nation tries to rally around Trump with MAGApalooza". Politico. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  7. Gais, Hannah (October 23, 2019). "YouTube Yanks Second Red Ice Channel". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  8. Holt, Jared (August 21, 2018). "'Alt-Right' Radio Host: Alex Jones Is A 'Gateway Drug' To 'Our Side'". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. Kharif, Olga; Mehrotra, Kartikay (January 19, 2021). "Far Right Groups Get Bitcoin Windfall Weeks Before Capitol Riot". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  10. Koh, Yoree (November 3, 2018). "Hate Speech on Live 'Super Chats' Tests YouTube". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  11. Gais, Hannah; Hayden, Michael Edison (November 17, 2020). "Extremists Are Cashing in on a Youth-Targeted Gaming Website". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  12. Ethan Ralph [@TheRalphRetort] (January 13, 2021). "DLive has suspended me for one month. The rest of this week's Killstreams will be broadcast on Trovo. We'll see how that pans out going forward. I have reason to think it might go well! Time will tell! Please follow me there!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Twitter.
  13. Beaujon, Andrew (November 12, 2021). "There's a Very Real Potential for Violence at Saturday's MAGA Events in DC, Say Extremism-Watchers". Washingtonian. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  14. "YouTube's Super Chat hijacked for hate speech". CNET. November 3, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  15. Ethan Ralph [@TheRalphRetort] (January 13, 2021). "DLive has suspended me for one month. The rest of this week's Killstreams will be broadcast on Trovo. We'll see how that pans out going forward. I have reason to think it might go well! Time will tell! Please follow me there!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. Gilbert, Ben (September 7, 2016). "A prominent leader of Gamergate was just arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer". Business Insider. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  17. Florentine, Sharon (September 15, 2016). "Gamergate leader's arrest doesn't signal change". CIO. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  18. Wu, Brianna (September 7, 2016). "Gamergate Leader Arrested on Two Felony Counts of Assaulting a Police Officer". The Daily Dot. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  19. Alexander, Julia (November 5, 2019). "YouTube live streams get even more Twitch-like with Super Stickers launch". The Verge. Retrieved January 1, 2021.

[[Category:American YouTubers]

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