Is Breadtube a Psyop?
Breadtube is a collection of Youtubers who originally were known for their content pushing back against right-wing arguments on Youtube. Many of them identify as socialist, communist, and anarchist but many have questioned this given that many of the channels associated with “bread tube” push a more hawkish stance of foreign policy and are loyal to the democratic party and hostile to those on the left who want to organize outside of it. Recently some of the left have argued they are given talking points from nefarious outside influencers. This hypothesis started when Caleb Maupin, a socialist activist wrote a book titled “Breadtube Serves Imperialism” where he compares Breadtube to COINTELPRO where FBI agents infiltrated the left to turn left-wing activists against targets of American imperialism such a Vietnam and the Soviet Union. This theory was further developed in a recent article published in the Grayzone that found Abigail Thorne a popular British bread tube personality was covertly working with the British Government. The piece speculated that other American “Breadtube” personalities are being fed talking points from outside actors as well. While there is no evidence other American “bread tube” personalities are working for nefarious actors there is no question based on their content they are doing the bidding of the American Empire and Democratic Party.
Does Breadtube Serve imperialism?
There is no doubt that many of the most popular “Breadtube” hosts on youtube are pushing a pro-imperialist message. Take for example Vaush, a Beverly Hills-based YouTuber and political commentator whose channel that started in 2019 has grown to have 386 thousand subscribers. Vaush began his channel debating alt-right and far-right personalities but eventually started debating anti-imperialists as well who he labels “tankies”. In his first debate in this genre against the previously mentioned Caleb Maupin, he called China a “fascist” country and compared it to Nazi Germany. He later compared Maupin to a Holocaust Denier because he questioned the U.S. government’s narrative on the scale of human rights abuses in China. He later repeated this technique when he debated fellow streamer, Jackson Hinke, on the OPCW whistleblowers where he called Hinkle a conspiracy theorist and likened him to a holocaust and sandy hook denier for defending the censored OPCW report. In this debate, Vaush used the website “belling cat” to back up his claims which is funded by the U.S. governments’ National Endowment for Democracy and whose founder, Elliot Higgins is a fellow at the pro-war think tank “Atlantic Council”.
Vaush has also parroted the establishment’s narrative on Jullian Assange who he said “hates America” and “is basically just a Russian asset”. In a later video, vaush “joked” that Assange should be tortured in a C.I.A. blacksite because it would anger people he does not like on Twitter.
In a recent debate, Vaush elaborated further on his view on Assange calling him “RTs baby boy” and saying “he destabilizes the United States”. In another stream, Vaush said the anti-imperialist outlet the Grayzone was a “disingenuous effort to destabilize the United States by supporting Russia’s geopolitical interests”. In another recent video, Vaush said if Russia attacked Ukraine the United States and NATO “should be able to mount some sort of defense”. In the same stream, he said “eventually we are going to have to deal with the Russia problem” that the country is a “shit-pit filled with oligarchs” and that “regime change might be a viable option”. In his most recent video, he admitted he is for war with China when he said he disagreed with his fellow streamer Hassan Piker on Tiwian because “he dosne’t think America should intervene”. In another recent video, he fearmongered about China saying “China is a fascist state with a geopolitical aim as bad as ours and they capable of acting on it soon”. On Afghanistan, vaush opposed the withdrawal of troops because he said it will become a “Chinese vassal state”. Vaush has spawned a number of much smaller rip-off youtube channels that push the same hawkish line on foreign policy such as former MAGA youtube Hunter Avallone who recently defended the C.I.A. or “Xanderhal” a youtube channel that argued the United States should stay in Afghanistan. While not all those affiliated with “Breadtube” have the foreign policy takes of Vaush many do and figures like Vaush are leading their impressionable audiences to support a neo-conservative worldview.
Breadtubes view of grassroots activism and the democratic party
Another bad element of BreadTube that is often overlooked by its critics who focus on their foreign policy takes is their love of the democratic party and hatred of grassroots activism. The common theme amongst all these personalities is their opposition to any activism outside of the democratic party. Take the Force the Vote movement where progressive activists argued the left flank of the democratic party should withhold their vote for Nancy Pelosi in exchange for a floor vote on Medicare for All. This movement was attacked by almost every big “bread tube” personality such as Vaush, Hassan Piker, Lance from the Serfs. This attack was also levied by the same personalities against the Meidcare for all Marches and General Strike Summit. Almost every Breadtube personality told their audiences to vote for Joe Biden and shamed anyone who refused to. They all worship so-called “progressives” within the democratic party like AOC with many personalities like Hasan Piker streaming on Twitch with her. The message sent out by breadtube is clear: always vote Democrat, love “progressives” withtin the democratic party and attack any grassroots activists working outside of it.
Closing thoughts
Whether Breadtube is a psyop or not is irrelevant in my opinion as they are serving elite interests either way. These personalities are pushing talking points leading their audience to repeat state department talking points, support the democratic party and demonize grassroots activists who are working outside of it. There is a reason mainstream outlets such as The New York Times have written glowing profiles of “bread tube” because they know these channels will repeat the establishment line and sheepdog a generation of leftists into the democratic party and into a neo-conservative worldview.