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Mark Dice | |
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 Dice in 2011 | |
| Born | Mark Shouldice December 21, 1977 |
| Other names | John Conner [1] |
| Known for |
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| Political party | Republican |
Mark Shouldice [2] (born December 21, 1977), [3] known as Mark Dice, is an American YouTuber, conservative political commentator, author, activist, and conspiracy theorist. [4] [5] [6]
Dice is the founder of a San Diegan Christian activist group called "The Resistance", described as being "known for its hardline stance on morality". [7] In late 2004, Dice published the website TheResistanceManifesto.com under the pseudonym John Conner. The Village Voice wrote that his pen-name was "presumably" taken from the 1984 sci-fi film The Terminator whose fictional protagonist was future Resistance leader John Connor. [8] A year later, Dice self-published his website writings in book form as The Resistance Manifesto under the John Conner name; an updated 2008 version of the book credited Mark Dice as the author. [9]
In 2008, in response to Starbucks' reintroduction of its original logo (featuring a topless siren), Dice led his group and its 3,000 members in boycotting the coffee chain: "The Starbucks logo has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute […] It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks." Starbucks had more than 6,000 locations in 2008. [7]
As the founder of The Resistance, Dice told KFSN-TV of his group's intention to disrupt theater showings of 2009's Angels & Demons because the film "is a fraud, aimed at covering up the existence of a secret society called the Illuminati." Dice contended that the Illuminati were instrumental in the September 11 attacks and the financial crisis of 2007–2008. [10]
Dice has been described as a right-wing, conservative conspiracy theorist [11] [4] who has provided the media with his input on a broad array of topics.
In May 2005 through his website, Dice advocated for the Georgia Guidestones monument to "be smashed into a million pieces, and then the rubble used for a construction project", claiming that the Guidestones "have a deep Satanic origin and message", that "the New World Order is written all over them.", and that R. C. Christian, the person who built the guidestones, belongs to "a Luciferian secret society" related to the New World Order. [1] [12]
In June 2008, Dice launched "Operation Inform the Soldiers", an effort to send DVDs, letters, and declassified government documents to U.S. service members in Iraq. Dice hoped these would prove 9/11 conspiracy theories and cause the recipients to "rethink why they’re fighting." [13] On June 10, syndicated talk show host Michael Reagan advocated on-air that Dice should be assassinated for having done so. Six days later, Reagan hosted Dice on his show and apologized for his comments. [14]
In June 2008, Fox News called Dice a "conspiracy theorist who believes that Freemasons worship Satan and that 'the United States military has built enormous underground cities for the political elite.'" [15]
Dice promoted the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy theories, claiming that the 2015 military exercises were preparation for a declaration of martial law in the United States. [16]
Conflating celebrities with the Illuminati and Satanism, Dice called musicians Jay-Z and Beyoncé "Illuminati puppets. I call them Satanic skanks". Dice described celebrities' connection to the Illuminati as the pursuit of power via message of materialism. [17]
Dice called Super Bowl halftime shows of the 2010s "elaborate Illuminati rituals hidden in plain sight". The Super Bowl XLVI and XLVII halftime shows allegedly featured "secret Illuminati hand signs", while musician Katy Perry—star of the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show—"promotes bisexuality and appears to be some kind of Satanic Witch". [18] Dice published a YouTube video denouncing the Super Bowl 50 halftime show as "gay Pride propaganda". Dice noted the show featured the rainbow-colored message "believe in love" and a platform with four ramps which Dice described as a "crucifix blasphemously placed in the centre." [19]
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Dice describes himself as a media analyst and author who exposes "the liberal lunatics and their manipulation of mainstream media." A false claim he made about the funeral of John Lewis was debunked by Agence France-Presse. [20]
Regarding the unrest after the September 2016 killing of Keith Lamont Scott, Dice decried the "black thugs who are rioting over this black thug." [21]
In October 2016, Dice helped uncover that YouTube prankster Joey Salads had staged a YouTube video which cast opponents of Donald Trump in a negative light. [22] Dice called the video from Salads "shameful" and posted a response video in which he showed behind-the-scenes footage from Salads that proved the video was staged. [22] Dice also expressed concern that the video would deflect attention away from actual instances of Trump supporters being attacked, citing the firebombing of a Republican office in North Carolina as an example. [22]
In November 2016, Dice attributed the rise of the alt-right to being "a direct consequence of social justice warriors trying to shut down conservatives on social media and ruin their careers by organizing cyber mobs to harass people's employers". [23] He also cited opposition towards political correctness as a reason for people gravitating toward the alt-right. [23] Also in November, after the Podesta emails were leaked, Dice noted an email from Marina Abramović to Tony Podesta and conflated the former's spiritualism with Satanism, tweeting, "I am now accepting apologies from everyone who said I was crazy for writing books about how the Establishment are Satanists". [24]
In late 2016, Dice helped organize an unsuccessful boycott of Rogue One , a Star Wars film he called "feminist propaganda" on Twitter. [25] Dice also encouraged his fans to boycott Grubhub in November 2016 after Grubhub’s CEO Matt Maloney released a letter that was interpreted as an attack against Trump supporters. [26]
After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, Dice tweeted a distortion of the events: "Someone tell Generation Z kids that in the event of a school shooting, they should call 911 instead of posting video of it on Snapchat." Student survivors, including Sarah Chadwick, pushed back against Dice's claims; Dice deleted the post and did not respond to media inquiries thereabout. [27] Also in February, Dice criticized the Green brothers for selling VidCon to Viacom, calling the acquisition an instance of the "YouTube community being sold out to big media again". [28]
In May 2018, Dice defended controversial tweets made by American actor Roseanne Barr that have been perceived as being racist, saying "Time to ban monkey bars from all school playgrounds, because they’re 'racist' too, I guess." [29]
In August 2018, after racist tweets by Sarah Jeong were published, Dice called her continued employment at The New York Times an "example […] of liberal hypocrisy". [30]
On July 11, 2019, Dice attended the White House social media summit alongside other extremist figures. [31]
In September 2019, Dice claimed in a tweet that "Liberals are now celebrating getting AIDS." in response to American hairstylist and television personality Jonathan Van Ness speaking about his HIV diagnosis in The Guardian and in The New York Times . [32] [33] Dice's tweet received backlash from Twitter users, including American actress Patricia Arquette, who called Dice a "soulless skin husk" and added that "I will use this stupid and heartless tweet of yours which is devoid of any humanity and use it as a honey trap to see all the fake religious mindless people I can mute and block. Thanks for sweeping them up like trash for me into one pile." [32] [33]
In 2019, Dice said that his achievements were being downplayed in his Wikipedia article. [34]
Dice has spread false claims of election fraud related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, resulting in his content on YouTube and Facebook being placed behind content warnings. [35]
In mid-January 2021, Dice equated the storming of the United States Capitol to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, saying that "By BLM standards, it would be what you call a 'mostly peaceful' protest". [35]
In February 2021, in response to Hasbro changing the Mr. Potato Head brand to be more gender-neutral, Dice made a series of tweets, including a tweet on February 25 advocating for Republican states to secede, a tweet claiming that "Mr. Potato Head has been canceled", and a tweet claiming that "Democrats believe there are dozens of genders." [36] [37] [38]
In early March 2021, in response to Burger King UK tweeting "Women belong in the kitchen", Dice replied "Isn't 'Burger King' inherently sexist? Why not 'Burger Royal' for more inclusiveness?" [39] On March 24, 2021, Dice responded to a tweet made by American filmmaker and author Michael Moore referencing the perpetrator of the Boulder shooting by telling him to "Turn off CNN." [40] In late March 2021, Dice alleged that American podcaster Joe Rogan had "lied" about Spotify censoring Rogan’s content. [41] Dice also misattributed a quote to Rogan that was actually made by American radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in September 2020 when the Spotify censorship controversy started. [41]
In March 2022, in response to conservative political commentator Dave Rubin announcing that he and his husband would have two children through surrogacy, Dice called it "horrifying", adding that "Any Christian or conservative congratulating them is just as bad as the Marxists." [42]
Dice has self-published a number of books. After having written The Resistance Manifesto in 2005, [43] in which the alleged Illuminati played a minor role, Dice devoted his entire next book—2009's Illuminati: Facts and Fiction—to them. [44] His book The Illuminati in Hollywood, explains Dice's belief that liberalism is promoted by films and television, [23] while his 2013 self-published book Illuminati in the Music Industry alleges Rick Ross and Christina Aguilera's membership in the group. [45] In November 2019, Dice self-published The Liberal Media Industrial Complex about social media, its political influence, and the "massive backslash from those wanting to regain the influence they once held." [46]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter described Dice as "best known for his YouTube videos" and a "rising online media star who considers himself mainstream conservative but is being called alt-right by his detractors." [23] Inspired by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sketch "Jaywalking", [47] Dice records videos in crowded locations where he asks passers-by to answer simple questions or to sign petitions. [23] Dice formulated one such petition in 2013 to repeal the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; by invoking the suggestion of supporting President Obama, Dice found people in Southern California willing to sign. [47] Dice's on-screen persona was described by a fan in The New York Times as a "goon". [16]
In November 2019, KUSI-TV averaged Dice's daily videos as having 250,000 views and enumerated his YouTube subscribers at "more than 1.5 million". [46]
In February 2021, Dice had more than 600,000 Twitter followers. [36]
Dice is a member of the Republican Party. [24] As of July 2019 [update] , he resided in Pacific Beach, San Diego. [48]
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American conservative political commentator and writer who hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was terminated, he has hosted Tucker on X. An advocate of the former U.S. president Donald Trump, Carlson has been described as "perhaps the highest-profile proponent of Trumpism", "the most influential voice in right-wing media, without a close second," and a leading voice of white grievance politics.
The Georgia Guidestones was a granite monument that stood in Elbert County, Georgia, United States, from 1980 to 2022. It was 19 feet 3 inches (5.87 m) tall and made from six granite slabs weighing a total of 237,746 pounds (107,840 kg). The structure was sometimes referred to as an "American Stonehenge". The monument's creators believed that there was going to be an upcoming social, nuclear, or economic calamity and they wanted the monument to serve as a guide for humanity in the world which would exist after it. Controversial from its time of construction, it ultimately became the subject of conspiracy theories which alleged that it was connected to Satanism.
QAnon is a far-right American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Their core belief is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against president Donald Trump. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many different conspiracy theories and unifies them into a larger interconnected conspiracy theory. QAnon has been described as a cult.
Founded by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria in 1776, the Illuminati have been referred to in popular culture, in books and comics, television and films, and games. A number of novelists, playwrights and composers are alleged to have been Illuminati members and to have reflected this in their work. Early conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati have inspired various creative works, and continue to do so.
Donald John Trump Jr., often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman. He is the eldest child of former U.S. president Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana Trump.
The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims. The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartered in San Diego, California, and operates news bureaus in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
8kun, previously called 8chan, Infinitechan or Infinitychan, is an imageboard website composed of user-created message boards. An owner moderates each board, with minimal interaction from site administration. The site has been linked to white supremacism, neo-Nazism, the alt-right, racism and antisemitism, hate crimes, and multiple mass shootings. The site has been known to host child pornography; as a result, it was filtered out from Google Search in 2015. Several of the site's boards played an active role in the Gamergate harassment campaign, encouraging Gamergate affiliates to frequent 8chan after 4chan banned the topic. 8chan is the origin and main center of activity of the discredited QAnon conspiracy theory.
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white nationalist conspiracy theory that claims there is a deliberate plot to cause the extinction of white people through forced assimilation, mass immigration, and/or violent genocide. It purports that this goal is advanced through the promotion of miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non-white immigration, racial integration, low fertility rates, abortion, pornography, LGBT identities, governmental land-confiscation from whites, organised violence, and eliminationism in majority white countries. Under some theories, Black people, Hispanics, and Muslims are blamed for the secret plot, but usually as more fertile immigrants, invaders, or violent aggressors, rather than as the masterminds. A related, but distinct, conspiracy theory is the Great Replacement theory.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has a history of speech and actions that have been viewed by scholars and the public as racist or sympathetic to White supremacy. Journalists, friends, family, and former employees have accused him of fueling racism in the United States. Trump has repeatedly denied accusations of racism. Conservative commentators point to the time he stated "whether you are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots" as an example of him not being a racist.
r/The_Donald was a subreddit where participants created discussions and Internet memes in support of U.S. president Donald Trump. Initially created in June 2015 following the announcement of Trump's presidential campaign, the community grew to over 790,000 subscribers who described themselves as "Patriots". The community was banned in June 2020 for violating Reddit rules on harassment and targeting. It was ranked as one of the most active communities on Reddit.
Paul Joseph Watson is a far-right British YouTuber, radio host, and conspiracy theorist. Until July 2016, Watson embraced the label "alt-right", but he now identifies as part of the New Right. In May 2019, Facebook and Instagram permanently banned Watson for violation of hate speech policies.
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
Donald Trump's use of social media attracted attention worldwide since he joined Twitter in May 2009. Over nearly twelve years, Trump tweeted around 57,000 times, including about 8,000 times during the 2016 election campaign and over 25,000 times during his presidency. The White House said the tweets should be considered official statements. When Twitter banned Trump from the platform in January 2021 during the final days of his term, his handle @realDonaldTrump had over 88.9 million followers. On November 19, 2022, Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, reinstated his account, although Trump had stated he would not use it in favor of his own social media platform, Truth Social. The first tweet since 2021 was made in August 2023 about his mugshot from Fulton County Jail, but the account remained inactive until he tweeted again in August 2024.
Jack Michael Posobiec III is an American alt-right political activist, television correspondent and presenter, conspiracy theorist, and former United States Navy intelligence officer.
Laura Elizabeth Loomer is an American far-right political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality. She was the Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, losing to Democrat Lois Frankel. She also ran in the Republican primary for Florida's 11th congressional district in 2022, losing to incumbent Daniel Webster.
The Great Replacement, also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a white nationalist far-right conspiracy theory espoused by French author Renaud Camus. The original theory states that, with the complicity or cooperation of "replacist" elites, the ethnic French and white European populations at large are being demographically and culturally replaced by non-white peoples—especially from Muslim-majority countries—through mass migration, demographic growth and a drop in the birth rate of white Europeans. Since then, similar claims have been advanced in other national contexts, notably in the United States. Mainstream scholars have dismissed these claims of a conspiracy of "replacist" elites as rooted in a misunderstanding of demographic statistics and premised upon an unscientific, racist worldview. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Great Replacement "has been widely ridiculed for its blatant absurdity."
Chanel Rion is an American broadcaster, political cartoonist, and children's book author. She was formerly the chief White House correspondent for One America News Network (OAN), a far-right American cable channel. She is known for promoting conspiracy theories.
The Reddit user who created the CNN wrestling gif adapted and shared by President Donald Trump has apologised for racist and anti-Semitic comments.
Starbucks is facing a boycott from a group of Christian activists in America who claim the coffee chain's new logo is vulgar.
Pop stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna have figured out how to set the Internet abuzz with Illuminati symbolism
'This is a victory for every American who has been wrongly smeared as racist, sexist or homophobic by the scolds and nannies of the progressive left,' Yiannopoulos said after Donald Trump prevailed on election day.
An email from the artist forwarded by Clinton's campaign chief has been seized on by the right as proof that the Democratic candidate has links with the occult
William Tapley, self-proclaimed 'Third Eagle of the Apocalypse' and 'Co-Prophet of the End Times,' thinks the guy who played the Penguin is going to bring about the Apocalypse.
Media critic Mark Dice told Brian Kilmeade this morning that he started the fake petitions as a social experiment.
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