From Fringe to Front Page: Why Nick Fuentes Is at the Top of Your Feed. Again.

When a 27-year-old streamer outruns the Church and spooks the political class, it’s worth asking how we got here.

Nick Fuentes was supposed to be a fringe character—the kind of online provocateur national leaders could shrug off with “I don’t really know him.” But after a sympathetic Tucker Carlson interview and a wave of explosive backlash, Fuentes is suddenly unavoidable. He’s amassed a massive following of young men who see his Catholic branding as a moral compass, even as he pushes openly antisemitic, racist, and authoritarian views. And institutions—from the Heritage Foundation to the U.S. Catholic hierarchy—are scrambling to respond. In this episode, RNS reporter Fiona Murphy walks us through what’s actually happening: the Groyper movement, the collapse of traditional religious authority online, and why a livestreamer can now speak more directly, and more powerfully, than the Church itself. It’s a revealing look at faith, digital culture, and the new politics shaping a generation.

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