In the pilot episode of Seth MacFarlene’s hit cartoon, American Dad!, the main character, Stan, attempts to teach his socially inept son, Steve, how to get girls to like him. Stan takes Steve to a shopping mall where he states, “Now son, girls love a guy who can protect them. Now I’m gonna pretend I’m a thief and snatch her purse. Then you’ll chase me down, tackle me, and win her heart.” Stan then proceeds to grab an unsuspecting young woman’s purse and run away through the mall, knocking over obstacles and passersby while doing so. Meanwhile, Steve fails to keep up with his athletically-inclined father, allowing Stan to run out of the mall and actually steal the woman’s purse. All of this happens because Stan believes being blatantly impudent would win a woman’s affection. 

While Stan’s sentiments may seem silly— and at times, extreme— many actually unironically share his beliefs. Members of the alt-right, including YouTuber Paul Joseph Watson, express similar anti-feminist and misogynistic viewpoints. Nowhere is this made clearer than in one of Watson’s most popular videos, “The Truth About Chads.” As videos like these are boosted by YouTube’s notorious algorithm, the alt right’s agenda becomes increasingly appetizing to young and impressionable (mostly white) men and boys. And although Watson’s videos are couched behind “journalism,” it’s crucial to fact-check, dissect, and analyze many of the claims he makes. 

1. Paul Joseph Watson

Before discussing the video, the creator of the video himself needs to be examined. According to The Daily Beast, Watson has formerly been employed at InfoWars, the infamous far-right conspiracy theory organization run by Alex Jones. In fact, Watson worked as an editor for Jones and created many of InfoWars’ biggest stories. During his time there, Watson generated dozens of conspiracies, from chemtrails to the attacks of 9/11. While Watson no longer works for Jones, many of his views are still classified as far-right and extremist. The distorted rhetoric of Watson’s work at InfoWars clearly seeps into his newest outlet, his YouTube channel. What sets Watson apart from Jones, however, is that while many take Jones as a joke, Watson has been described by former colleagues as more savvy and more appealing to today’s youth. The insidious nature of his work creates a pipeline to the alt-right for young people, making it especially crucial to step back and examine his claims. 

2. “Women found 80% of men to be less than average in attractiveness” (0:30) 

Watson firstly cites this statistic, which he later uses in an attempt to further many misogynistic viewpoints. He also goes on to say that “on Tinder, the bottom 80% of men (in terms of attractiveness) are competing for the bottom 22% of women.” And according to Racked, this statistic is also commonly used within Incel (involunatry celibate) alt-right groups in order to justify a hatred for women. While the statistic seems to hold up, several caveats to the experiment should be noted. The experiment done by Worst-Online-Dater had an incredibly small sample size, as only 27 women were interviewed. 27 out of over 3.5 million female Tinder users (according to Bustle). Secondly, all of the data was self-reporting, leaving plenty of room for error out of self-reporting bias. Also, the data was measured by number of “likes,” and not actual attractiveness, which is entirely subjective. This faulty statistic is used to present women as shallow and manipulative while men are painted as the victims of an unjust feminist system. Watson continues to do exactly that throughout the video. 

3. “Is it any wonder that society’s increasing insistence that men behave [weakly] has coincided with male testosterone rates plummeting?” (1:03) 

In simplest terms, Watson is saying that the reason men’s testosterone levels are dropping is because of feminism treating men unfairly. Testosterone is, of course, the male sex hormone responsible for physically masculine traits. While it is true that on average, male testosterone levels have been decreasing by about 1% per year (according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism), the claim that this is caused by feminism is illogical. Several experts, including Soum Lokeshwar of the Yale School of Medicine, say the aging population and increasing obesity rates are to blame. Other reasons, such as dietary changes or environmental factors could be responsible. Nevertheless, Watson’s claim is blatantly false. It’s especially important to dissect statements of this manner, as they are partially based in truth. But if there’s one thing Watson is evidently good at, it’s being able to twist the truth to suit his own agenda. 

4. Jordan Peterson (3:05) 

Eventually, Watson shows a clip from a video of Jordan Peterson explaining how feminists have allegedly driven masculinity out of the west. Watson uses the video as if Peterson is an enlightened fountain of knowledge, but checking Peterson’s background is necessary before moving forward. 

Peterson, on his own website, says that he’s a psychology professor at the University of Toronto and a clinical psychologist. Neither of these are related to politics or misogyny. Peterson, however, remains very popular amongst conservatives, even stretching to alt-right members such as Watson. Kate Manne, a philosophy professor at Cornell University (a field that is undoubtedly steeped in politics), looked into Peterson to find what makes him appealing to his audience of young white men. Manne believes it stems from society’s increasing willingness to provide opportunities to a more diverse range of people. In turn, this has made said white men feel more competitive in areas they once believed they were entitled to, and Peterson appeals to this wholly. While Peterson is not outwardly alt-right, and may even be credible in some cases, Watson uses a video from Peterson here solely because he is a conservative and feeds into his beliefs. This can tie back into Watson’s apparent suave, as using a video from a professor would make him sound more erudite to many. 

5. “Yes, there’s a war on masculinity.” (3:50)

After going on for longer, Watson makes one of his biggest claims: that the left is trying to destroy traditional masculinity and neuter men from being what Watson believes is the pillar of manhood— strong, confident, and assertive, or what Watson defines as “Chads.” According to Nikhil Sonnad of Quartz, who effectively did a deep-dive into alt-right slang, “Chad” describes a man who is sexually dominant and successful in pursuing women. Though the term is mostly used mockingly within Incel (involuntary celibate) groups, Watson uses it endearingly. And while the word is paired with an amusing image, its usage has undeniable ties to conservative extremism. 

According to The Atlantic, the very claim that the left is trying to restrict men’s rights, is an outreach mechanism used as an entry point to the far-right. The idea is that if men believe their lives are not what they should have been because of feminism and the left, they will start to resent those things that they perceive as keeping them from their birthright. These thought-processes line up almost identically with that of mass shooters. So not only is Watson fueling an incredibly dangerous ideology, he is also wrong in his claim. Saying that the left wants to deprive men of an innate and positive masculine role in society is simply untrue. The challenge modern feminists face is not with masculinity, but toxic masculinity. The New York Times defines toxic masculinity as a set of beliefs and behaviors that coincide with patriarchal standards, including violence as an indicator of power. The problem lies in overwhelming numbers of violent crimes against women perpetrated by men (according to the World Health Organization), as well as other falsehoods perpetuated by toxic masculinity. According to the New York Times, an idolization in western culture that praises violence and hypersexuality in men (an exact description of a Chad) is the thinking that fuels the aforementioned violence against women. Using that to cry out that feminists want to destroy masculinity in all of its forms is, and will continue to be, false. 

In the end, Watson’s video is entirely exaggerated and full of outlandish claims. The dissection and analysis of the things he says is pivotal, as falling down the alt-right pipeline gradually grows more insidious, and members of the alt-right can easily present themselves as factual. While the claims alone may not seem subtle, Watson’s audience will gladly absorb anything he says. Videos like these are especially dangerous as they can swiftly fuel an ideology that leads to violence against women. So, Seth MacFarlene’s satirical character, Stan, may not be as obviously hyperbolic as one would suspect. His values— at best, doltish, and at worst, vicious— are more commonly held by many, lurking under the guise of journalism.