Distrust towards conventional media has generated a toxic online culture whose victims do not understand gender, class, or money. Candace Owens (36), the YouTuber and right-wing Catholic commentator from the United States, has by her own merits become the voice that destroys reputations.
With 5.9 million followers on YouTube providing a monthly income of about $15,000, according to various studies, and another 6 million followers on Instagram, Candace gained prominence last year when she spread the rumor that Brigitte Macron (72) was actually a man, specifically her older brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux. The Macrons sued her for defamation in Delaware, where the conspiracy theorist has her companies registered, and the case is currently in litigation. Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte did have some success in France.
Ten French individuals who spread that rumor were sentenced to between four and eight months in prison, jointly ordered to pay the first lady ¤10,000 in moral damages and ¤600 for legal costs. But on the other side of the Atlantic, Owens not only refuses to retract but has already threatened to release new information by the end of the year.
The French president and first lady also accuse her of falsely claiming that they are blood relatives and that Macron was placed in power through a secret CIA plot.
This week, the conspiracy theorist has once again aimed her ammunition at another victim, Erika Kirk (37), the widow of the conservative political activist and influencer who was murdered on September 10 at the age of 31. On February 25, the black sheep of the right released the first episode of another series titled Charlie's Bride: an investigative series, alluding to the horror movie Bride of Chucky (1998). In her new narrative, she aims to dethrone the new widow of America.
After her husband's death, Erika took on the role of CEO of Turning Point USA, the largest non-profit student organization in the country that Charlie founded in 2012 at the age of 18.
Based on a montage of morbid images that enhance a sinister perception, Candace Owens claims that behind the angelic blonde image lies someone shady. The conspirator has stated that Erika, in order to hold onto power, has maintained certain ties with a Romanian organization that is associated with human trafficking. Additionally, she insinuates that Erika spoke with a teenager via chat.
As expected, reactions boiled over on social media. The most forceful came from Ben Shapiro, founder of The Daily Wire, the conservative media outlet where Owens worked until two years ago, who labeled Owens as a "twisted and evil human being."
Critic Michelle Goldberg wrote in The New York Times that Owens is the "Frankenstein monster of the conservative movement" and podcaster Natalie Jean Beisner stated that the series is "offensive to both Erika and Charlie."
Owens also touches on the alleged silence pact surrounding Charlie Kirk's death and Erika's invented past in which she weaves the story of being raised by a single mother when, according to the influencer, her biological father was present in her childhood and her mother married four times.
Throughout, Donald Trump has supported the Kirks, and in his State of the Union address on February 24, the president paid tribute to them: "In memory of Charlie, we must all come together to reaffirm that the United States is a nation under God's power," he declared.