Carl Benjamin (born September 1979), also known by his online pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, is a British right-wing YouTuber and political commentator.
[6][7][8] A former member of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), he was one of its unsuccessful candidates for the South West England constituency at the 2019 European Parliament election.
[15] At VidCon 2017, the media critic Anita Sarkeesian appeared on a panel discussing online harassment directed towards women.
He is one of several YouTubers who profit from the cottage industry of online harassment and antifeminism.Hank Green, the founder of VidCon, issued a statement that the group's actions were clear "intimidating behaviour" and apologised for the situation "which resulted in [Sarkeesian] being subjected to a hostile environment that she had not signed up for".
[16][17] Patreon also investigated the claims of harassment, but determined that although they considered his actions "distasteful", Benjamin had not violated their code of conduct.
[16] In March 2018, Antifa protesters broke into a scheduled discussion between Benjamin and Yaron Brook by King's College London's Libertarian Society at the school.
[9] According to Patreon, Benjamin violated the site's rules on hate speech by using "racial and homophobic slurs to degrade another individual".
"[29] In response, Benjamin said that his targets were not black or homosexual, and claimed that the epithet "nigger" is not offensive in Britain, as it is in the United States.
[31] In November 2020, Benjamin launched Lotus Eaters, a podcast platform, which takes its name from Lotus-eaters from Homer's Odyssey.
[38][39] In June 2018, Benjamin joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP), along with YouTuber Mark Meechan, better known by his online name Count Dankula, and far-right conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson.
[40] The trio's membership was described by political analysts as part of a shift to the far-right in UKIP under Gerard Batten's leadership.
[55][better source needed] In February 2020, Benjamin launched the group Hearts of Oak with the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson and former UKIP members.
Members of the group say that it is not a political party, but a "cultural movement" focused on "strong borders, immigration and national identity," "authorities privileging and protecting Islam alone", and "freedom of speech".
[37] Following the 2014 Isla Vista killings, Benjamin said that social justice feminism was a "disease of the modern age" that had disenfranchised and radicalised young men, causing a rise in the number of mass murders.
[14] In the 2016 United States presidential election, Benjamin initially supported Bernie Sanders, later saying that Donald Trump was the lesser of two evils, compared with Hillary Clinton.