Last Updated on February 12, 2022
Gab’s Andrew Torba has responded to Dan Bongino describing him as a “clown” and a “fraud,” after Torba criticized what he considers to be the anti-free speech terms of service for using Rumble, the video platform Bongino recently invested in.
Rumble, the video platform that is positing itself as a free speech alternative to YouTube, was criticized by Andrew Torba, for bringing “pro-free speech” high profile liberals like Tulsi Gabbard and Glenn Greenwald to the platform and then paying them hundreds of thousands of dollars for their content. He also noted that Rumble has a hate speech regulations, something that Greenwald himself confirmed in an interview with the Washington Post. “You can’t go on there and say racist stuff,” Greenwald said, failing to elaborate on what Rumble saw as “racist.”
On his show, Dan Bongino launched a series of emotional attacks against Torba for criticizing Rumble on their “great day,” calling him a “joker,” a “fraud,” and a “clown.” In a post on Facebook, Bongino added that Torba’s criticisms was a “childish temper-tantrum” because Rumble was successful, describing him as “pathetic,” saying that he only cares about himself. “It’s embarrassing,” Bongino wrote. “I’m sorry to do this but Torba clearly believes a circular firing squad is a successful strategy, and he chooses to make his emotional outbursts public. They require an honest response.”
Torba responded to Bongino’s claims in a video posted to Gab TV and in a written statement online. He argued that he has never once bashed other genuinely free speech sites, including YouTube competitors Bitchute and Odysee. He further added that Rumble is based in Canada, a country with stringent hate speech laws, and as such would be subject to their legal regulations. As National File reported, the speech regulations on Rumble, which specifically bans “anti-Semitism” as well as “hate speech,” were created on the day that President Donald Trump joined the platform.
“It’s not about competition for me, it’s about principle,” Torba said. “Having platforms that call themselves free speech, when they have the same terms of service and the same rules as Big Tech, is not acceptable,” Torba continued. “If you’re going to call yourself a ‘free speech’ platform then you better have a terms of service that reflects that claim. Otherwise: you’re a subversive at worst and a hypocrite at best.”
The Gab CEO confirmed that the site was also a safe haven for liberals to post without fear of censorship, including those like Greenwald and Gabbard, but that he takes issue with Bongino funding these high-profile liberals and not conservative content creators who may have been canceled by other social media and financial platforms. “There are now [conservative dissidents] who are banned from the financial sector… What are you doing here? You’re not propping up those people who are actually speaking truth to power, you’re propping up liberals,” Torba argued. “The issue is you’re paying these people six figures while our own people on our own side can’t even open a bank account.”
Torba further confirmed that he would happily work together with Bongino and others “against our shared enemies,” if Rumble removed the hate speech clause from their terms of service. “Until then, Gab and others will continue to be the tip of the spear for free speech on the internet and we will absolutely call out those who claim to be something they are not.”
This is not the first time that Torba and Bongino have butted heads. In February, Bongino falsely accused Torba of being behind a National File article which criticized the then CEO of Parler, Mark Meckler, who is tied to the Soros-supported Convention of States project, labeling the reporting as a “hoax” deliberately determined to undermine Parler’s success for Torba’s personal gain. Torba said it was a “shame” that Bongino made the “baseless” claims against him “because a media outlet reported something” Bongino didn’t like. “Bizarre behavior from a grown adult man,” Torba added at the time.
