It doesn’t matter whether you like, hate, or are indifferent to Russell Brand. What’s currently being done to him is unprecedented. No, not even Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or Brett Kavanaugh can compare their experiences with state-funded cancellations to what Brand is experiencing now.
As a quick recap, here’s what has happened so far. Brand was accused by four anonymous women in a British media hit piece of sexually assaulting them over a decade ago. His YouTube account was demonetized. The British government was caught pressuring other platforms to do the same. Now, a concerted effort is underway to suppress messages of support while amplifying condemnation, both on social media and in the news.
There have been no criminal complaints made nor charges filed.
This has nothing to do with sexual assault allegations in the press. In fact, this doesn’t really have anything to do with Russell Brand on a individual level. He’s simply a vessel through which the powers-that-be are accomplishing two things.
First, they’re sending the message to others who may challenge the prescribed globalist/leftist/authoritarian narratives on topics like the Covid “vaccines,” the war in Ukraine, and government censorship. The message is this: “We will destroy you if you get big enough to become a nuisance.”
Second, this is a trial balloon to see how the general public responds. You and I don’t matter. They know that freedom-lovers will denounce the efforts against Brand whether we like him or not, whether we believe him or not, because he is being destroyed without trial or even rebuttal. What the powers-that-be want to know is if the indoctrinated masses can be made to accept this type of government overreach.
As Off-Guardian pointed out, it’s ironic that the British government is leading the charge because this type of government behavior has been condemned since the Magna Carta:
No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or disseised, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any other way ruined, nor will we go against him or send against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
Clearly, they are trying to ruin Russell Brand.
Unfortunately, it seems that both of their tests are proving to be successful. While freedom scored a minor win when video platform Rumble told the British Government to shove it, it’s crystal clear that he will feel financial pain from this. More importantly, his reputation is getting trashed and that’s pretty much all he has left to drive his populist message. Anyone who starts spreading a message like Brand’s as it pertains to freedom is now aware they could be targeted as well.
As for testing the reaction of the masses, it’s been abysmal. Most in “conservative” and even alternative media are taking a hard pass on the issue. For some, it’s due to Brand’s history and politics. After all, he may be espousing freedom-loving rhetoric today but he’s still a leftist at heart. He’s still a socialist even if he’s red-pilled on some issues.
But those who could and should oppose the treatment of Brand (as compared to actually supporting him, which is not required in order to recognize the nefarious plot against him) are mostly silent for one reason and one reason only: They don’t want to get cancelled with him. One editor that I spoke to off the record told me her conservative outlet wouldn’t touch the story because “it’s a bad look to support him now if it comes out later that he’s a rapist.”
It doesn’t matter if you believe Brand’s vehement denials or not. At this point he has been accused in the press of crimes and should not be under attack by at least one government as a result. If a platform like YouTube wants to ban him, that’s a private issue. But the fact that governments are getting involved in his cancelation tells us that this is part of a larger plan.
By no means am I calling on anyone to support him. Personally, I’m not a fan even though I agree with a few of his recent stances. But I do believe it behooves those who are opposed to tyranny to call out the fact that governments are trying to cancel him. They generally don’t do that to anyone who’s been accused in the press of a crime. The fact that they’re doing it to Brand means this has nothing to do with what he allegedly did and everything to do with what he represents to them today.
He’s a threat to the narrative and the agenda, so they decided he needs to be neutralized. But getting rid of Russell Brand today is less important to them than preventing types of Russell Brands from emerging in the future.
Sound off about the plot against Russell Brand on my Substack.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
