Bristol student named in major Buzzfeed report into white nationalism at Breitbart

A final year Modern Languages student at the University of Bristol was named this week in an extensive Buzzfeed report into alleged racism at alt-right website Breitbart News Network.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Ben Kew, 22, has been a staff writer at the site since November 2015, following a meeting with former Breitbart Head of Tech Milo Yiannopoulos, whom he controversially invited to speak at Bristol University.

The Buzzfeed report notes how Yiannopoulos, who was filmed singing ​"America the Beautiful" to a crowd raising their arms in Nazi salutes, "tended to draw in ideologically sympathetic young men at conferences, campus speeches, and on social media".

Along with fellow writers Tom Ciccotta and Hunter Swogger, Kew was cultivated by Yiannopoulos, who dubbed these young men his "trufflehounds".

Although Yiannopoulos left the site in February 2017, Kew has continued to work for Breitbart in the capacity of "Politics and National Security reporter". This summer he attended White House press briefings and visited Venezuela to cover the worsening economic and political situation under President Maduro.

Despite the revelations contained in Buzzfeed's investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Kew participated in the alleged incidences of concern. When contacted by this publication, Mr Kew declined to speak to us.

Milo Yiannopoulos debated at the University of Bristol in November 2015

In the interests of full disclosure, it should be noted that Ben Kew wrote for The Tab in his first year at Bristol, with articles ranging from "The Wessex 16 is full of irritating stereotypes" to "You’re a fool if you don’t think Syndicate is the best nightclub in Bristol."