Public attention has turned to the controversial conviction of President Donald Trump after he was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an alleged scheme to “influence the 2016 presidential election” through payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. But where people go to check in with major news gives a revealing insight into the state of the current mainstream media and its growing independent alternatives.
In the online space, about President Trump’s response to the verdict, Rumble has surged ahead of its censored competitor YouTube over the weekend, as streamers on the platform easily secured all top five spots for live streams in the US during a press conference held by President Trump about his guilty verdict. YouTube was nowhere to be seen in the top 5 streams.
This milestone was celebrated by Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski, who shared the news on X. Pavlovski proudly announced, “Earlier today Rumble dethroned YouTube from being in the top 5 livestreams. We wiped the floor clean and took all 5 spots ourselves. Best part, we’re only getting started.”
Supporting this claim, data from Streams Charts revealed that the leading streams were dominated by online voices. Dan Bongino led with 204,000 live viewers, followed by Trump’s official channel, Right Side Broadcasting Network, Bannon’s War Room hosted by former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, and conservative commentator Steven Crowder.
As the landscape of online media continues to evolve, many individuals have turned to Rumble to hear from figures like President Trump, particularly due to the increasing censorship on platforms like YouTube. YouTube, known for its stringent content moderation policies, has often flagged, restricted, or removed content that includes certain political statements, especially those deemed controversial or against community guidelines. This environment has made it challenging for many voices and political figures like Trump to communicate freely with their audiences as the content can be pulled at any time.
