Mike Cernovich
Michael Cernovich (born November 17, 1977) is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spencer became its public face. Cernovich describes himself as part of the new right and some have described him as part of the alt-lite.
Mike Cernovich
Cernovich became a blogger in the 2000s, focusing on anti-feminist themes. He gained notice within the manosphere, and made a number of inflammatory comments about dating and sexual assault, including the claim that date rape is "liberal fiction".[1] He created a website, Danger and Play, in 2011; it was first known for his postings about men's rights and mindset techniques. In 2014, Cernovich became a prominent figure in the Gamergate harassment campaign against several women in the video game industry, and through this built a following among the alt-right. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he adapted his website to a political blog. He was an early supporter of Republican candidate Donald Trump, and promoted conspiracy theories about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.[2] Since 2018, he has become increasingly critical of Trump, and now opposes him in the 2024 election.
Cernovich is known for his promotion of fake news, conspiracy theories, and smear campaigns. He helped spread the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which falsely claimed that John Podesta and other high-ranking Democratic Party officials were involved in a child-sex ring.[3] Cernovich has frequently made false accusations about political opponents of being pedophiles.[1] He unearthed old tweets by Sam Seder and James Gunn joking about pedophilia, and initially succeeded in pressuring to get them fired, but both were reinstated after public outcry.
Early life
Cernovich was born on November 17, 1977, in the farming town of Kewanee, Illinois.[2] His family was poor, and his parents were both devout Christians.[4]
Cernovich graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2001.[5] He graduated with a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2004.[4]
Writings and films
Blogs
In 2004, Cernovich started a legal blog entitled Crime & Federalism, where he wrote about law from a libertarian perspective.[6]
Shortly after his divorce in 2011, he created the blog Danger & Play, where he wrote about men's rights, fitness, and self-help topics.[6] The title of Danger & Play came from a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche: "The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything."[7]
In an October 2016 blog post, Cernovich wrote that date rape is "liberal fiction" that is "harmful ... for men and women" and leads to false rape accusations, claiming that: "Lying about being in love to sleep with someone isn't rape [...] Getting played isn't rape. Regret isn't rape. Thinking, 'I might have been date raped,' means you weren't raped." His comments received sustained criticism.[1]
Books
In 2015, Cernovich self-published Gorilla Mindset: How to Control Your Thoughts and Emotions, Improve Your Health and Fitness, Make More Money and Live Life on Your Terms, which became a bestseller in the motivational self-help category on Amazon.[7]
In 2016, Cernovich published Danger & Play: Essays on Embracing Masculinity.[8] In October 2016, he published MAGA Mindset: Making YOU and America Great Again through Castalia House, a Finnish publishing house founded by Vox Day which primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy.[8]
Films
In 2016, Cernovich was an associate producer[9] for Cassie Jaye's documentary The Red Pill, which discusses the men's rights movement, and issues like male suicide, child custody, and educational inequality.
In 2018, Cernovich produced a documentary called Hoaxed: Everything They Told You Is a Lie, with associate producers Scooter Downey and Jon Du Toit. The Hollywood Reporter described it as "a right-wing take on corporate malfeasance and media bias".[10] The movie interviewed a wide range of conservative figures, including Anthony Scaramucci, Jordan Peterson, Scott Adams, James O'Keefe, and Alex Jones.[11] Hoaxed was also made into a book of the same name. The documentary was listed on the Amazon platform before being removed without comment in 2020.[12]
Legal activities
Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit
In 2015, Virginia Giuffre sued Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging that Maxwell sexually trafficked her for Jeffrey Epstein while she was a minor. Maxwell settled the suit[83]
In January 2017, Cernovich filed a motion to unseal evidence and depositions from Giuffre's lawsuit.[84] He told Politico he was "astonished" by the amount of redactions the judge allowed, with some documents "largely or entirely redacted".[85] Alan Dershowitz later filed a similar motion,[86] and the Miami Herald filed a third in April 2018.[87] The motions were denied by the trial court, and Cernovich and the Herald appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.[88] The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (which includes the Associated Press) filed an amicus brief to support the appeal.[89] In July 2019, the Court of Appeals ordered the documents unsealed.[88]
Other lawsuits
In February 2020, Cernovich filed a third-party motion in Roger Stone's criminal case, calling for the release of the jury foreperson's questionnaire answers.[90] This motion too was supported by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.[91] It was later backed by Roger Stone,[92] who filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied.[93]
Personal life
Cernovich was arrested and charged with rape in 2003. The rape charges were dismissed, but he was ordered to perform community service for misdemeanor battery. His record was later expunged.[2]
Cernovich married his first wife when he was a law student in 2003. He later said the marriage was "ruined by feminist indoctrination".[2] An attorney for a Silicon Valley firm, his first wife earned millions of dollars from an initial public offering (IPO). She filed for divorce in 2011, and Cernovich received what he has described as a "seven-figure sum" in the settlement.[2][6] He later married his second wife, Shauna.[2] The couple has three children together.