I find it very interesting that in this current stage of the internet, engagement around matters like the culture war and politics is at an all-time high. People aren't tuning out like they used to, and I have to wonder if it's because the bread and circuses of the past just don't hold the appeal they once did. This is likely because the legacy media doesn't control the flow of info and entertainment quite like it used to, and the result is people finding other things to tune into outside of their purview.
But despite this increased engagement in the news and cultural matters, one thing that seems to be increasingly taking a backseat is partisan preferences in terms of where that news comes from. The youth seem to be drifting more toward the center than to either corners.
Case in point, two of the Western world's largest commentators don't actually seem to belong to either side of the aisle.
Probably the most popular one is Joe Rogan. As I wrote on Tuesday, Rogan's popularity is such that he's become a cultural force, and he did it all with a podcast that simply features guests that he lets talk.
Rogan is perceived as right-leaning by the left, and Democrat Party donors are spending millions and millions of dollars in order to find his left-wing equivalent, but as I wrote on Tuesday, they don't understand that the left wing Joe Rogan... is Joe Rogan. The man doesn't consider himself right-leaning at all, but he's more than happy to have right-leaning people on his podcast and without an agenda except to have a good conversation. He's not shooting them down and interrupting them every five seconds so they can't make a point he doesn't like.
Rogan is willing to be wrong and learn from those who think differently from him, even ideologically, and as a result he's become more center of the aisle than not. This doesn't compute for hard-leftists, because their rigidity doesn't allow them to adopt any other ideas but those that assist with the empowerment of the hard left.
(READ: Why the Wealthy Left's Attempts to Find the Next Joe Rogan Will Fail)
But another interesting development happened. Dexerto posted the top 10 YouTube searches. While music, Donald Trump, ASMR, and Kendrick Lamar were among the top ten, at number eight was a commentator named Asmongold.
‘Asmongold’ is one of the top 10 most searched terms on YouTube this year
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 20, 2025
He ranks higher than Kendrick Lamar, IShowSpeed, WWE, NBA, etc pic.twitter.com/Dv1mtk3t45
What's massive about this is that Asmongold is, like Rogan, not a right-leaning person, but the left sees him as right-leaning because he actually lives more in the center. He's willing to hear out both sides, and is willing to call out anyone for doing something stupid. However, Asmongold is highly critical of things like woke culture, which he sees as inherently flawed and a corrupting influence on society, which it is.
He's not saying this from a right-leaning perspective, he's just saying it because it's true, and I think that's what draws so many people to his commentary. It's very honest and balanced. Tomorrow, Asmongold may very well come down on a Republican for something stupid they did or said.
Once again, the left can't seem to wrap their heads around this concept as you can see by the reaction by Hasan Piker, a radical leftist Twitch streamer who obsesses over Asmongold's success because, despite his best efforts, he can't seem to replicate it.
right wing commentary has devolved to further depths than you can even imagine. the face of the modern right is a gamergate sweat lord who proudly doesn’t shower and lives in his own rot. incredibly easy grift. it’ll never not be funny that ben shapiro is losing to this! https://t.co/h3mDKZLEqT
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) May 21, 2025
But I think it's going to be increasingly difficult for hyper-partisanship to truly find its feet in the upcoming age. One of the reasons partisanship developed to the extent it did in the commentary and news space was because the legacy media wasn't allowing for anything other than a left-leaning perspective that bubbled itself ideologically until it became radicalized.
The natural response to that was for right-leaning news organizations to spring up to counter it, and that divide would only deepen as the attacks against one and the other increased.
But with information traveling more freely than before, the partisanship is becoming more like noise, especially to the youth. Now they just want an honest opinion or conversation given in good faith.
It will be interesting to see how this develops, but it seems that if you're more radical on either side, you're going to start seeing your audience dwindle. You can already see it happening to the legacy media, especially to CNN and MSNBC. You can see it happening to Hasan Piker too.
