Meet the pro-Trump YouTuber from Sheffield who’s impacting the U.S. Election

Meet Paul Joseph Watson, the Sheffield born internet sensation whose YouTube videos are gaining massive traction in the U.S. election.

A self-described “contrarian polemicist” and supporter of Donald Trump, Paul has over 300,000 Twitter followers. He dishes out divisive views at the drop of a hat, but you can’t deny the influence he’s had on the U.S. election; his video about Hillary’s health went viral and was the most watched video in America for seven days. As he says: “I knew before I even made that video that it would be a game changer, and it was.”

Regardless of what he’s talking about, his Sheffield accent is remarkably endearing and his videos are funny and factual. It’s no wonder he gains over 500,000 views per video.

However, the main reason we should be paying attention to Watson is that it shows how the media is changing. After the Editor of The Spectator tweeted him and described him as a “sweary Alan Partridge”, he tweeted back and told him that his videos gain more viewers than The Spectator has readers.

It shows how with this election, the mass media are no longer being listened to, and people are searching elsewhere for unbiased news without an agenda. As Paul says: “Why do my YouTube videos get millions of views even though it’s just some ranty Northerner sat in front of a world map behind a webcam? It’s because people are desperately searching for an alternative. They instinctively know the BBC is bullshitting them.”

But who is Paul Joseph Watson? Brought up on a council estate in Sheffield, he describes his adolescence as “not particularly conventional”, spending three hours a day exercising, being tee-total and not trying to be “cool” and fit in. He was driven from the start to make enough money to live on, which then entrenched itself in a passion for the world to notice him.

He now lives in Battersea, London, but what does he miss most about Sheffield? “The ability to isolate yourself and truly be alone. I miss the general sense of stillness that you still get up North – it doesn’t exist down here and that’s why there are more mad people and stabbings.” He also misses going to see his beloved Sheffield Wednesday play.

He has controversial views. For instance, he was pro-Brexit and is a fan of Donald Trump, but he has no fear for the repercussions of his words. He received in the region of 300 death threats after Brexit, but now publishes any hate mail he receives on Twitter.

With over 300,000 Twitter followers, I ask him what would happen if they banned him like they banned Milo Yiannopoulos? “Banning Milo was like Barcelona sacking Messi – he was their most entertaining brand and they sacrificed him to please shrieking, joyless social justice warriors. ” So, does he self-censor his messages? “I tactically self-censor.”

Gaining more retweets than some celebrities with over 10 million followers, he’s adamant that even if Twitter, Facebook or YouTube did ban him, they’d have to throw him in prison to shut him up as he’ll always have a platform on which to speak – infowars.com, owned by Alex Jones, of which he is the Editor, will always give him access to millions of viewers and listeners.

So, if he could send one message to uni students, what would it be? “Drop out of university, it’s totally pointless and a colossal waste of money.”

So what’s next for Paul Joseph Watson? “To fuck the world and make it cum hard. If Trump wins, I’m moving to America.”

Read the full interview with Paul here.