‘Subscribe to PewDiePie.’The rallying call of internet edgelords and unwitting bystanders everywhere. Innocuous enough. Support an independent creator as opposed to a corporation. As Indian record label T-Series threatened to beat Felix Kjellberg as the most subscribed YouTube channel, a campaign was started to put him back on top. It’s hard to quantify the impact of this campaign. Kickstarted by youtuber Mr Beast, it’s become more widespread than anyone could’ve imagined. You see the phrase in the comments of YouTube videos, Twitter threads, and billboards. It’s a cultural phenomenon.

‘Subscribe to PewDiePie.’ The words uttered by a white supremacist terrorist before murdering 49 Muslims in two mosques in the beautiful city of Christchurch, New Zealand. ‘Subscribe to PewDiePie.’ How did this happen? How did an internet meme become a terrorist’s battlecry? It starts with online fandom.

PewDiePie has been a huge figure in the online community for years now. From screaming at the top of his voice in an exaggerated manner at video games, he has emerged as the man who rules YouTube. Their biggest star, he’s obviously got a lot of diehard fans. So when his stardom was threatened, they rose in support of him. YouTube stars like Markiplier, JackSepticEye and more voiced their support for the Swedish star, despite his numerous and egregious controversies.

PewDiePie is the symbol of ‘new media.’ Back when his network dropped him for using racial slurs and paying freelancers on Fiverr to hold a sign up saying ‘Death to all Jews,’ the news was reported in the likes of the Wall Street Journal. Instead of learning the lesson that maybe using your online clout to normalise anti-semitic rhetoric, Kjellberg instead took this to mean ‘mainstream media is out to get me.’ Online personalities see themselves as the important replacement of the old guard, and that’s not necessarily a lie. Surely you can find a better ambassador than a grown man who thinks that ‘ironic’ racism is a substitute for comedy. But no, fellow online stars remained supportive of him, from h3h3 to Philip DeFranco. It doesn’t matter whether or not what Kjellberg did was taken out of context if it emboldens disgusting and racist rhetoric.

No, he didn’t start the whole ‘Subscribe to PewDiePie’ debacle. He didn’t stop it either. He allowed the infection to fester creating controversy after controversy until nazi outlets like The Daily Stormer began to praise Kjellberg. When the same people saying ‘subscribe to PewDiePie’ are committing terrorist atrocities, we have to look at it with the same scrutiny as we’d look at any terrorist’s battlecry. Mass murder doesn’t just happen. He was radicalised. And radicalisation can have the most humble beginnings.

Many have criticised the YouTube algorithm for directing people to increasingly right-wing content. Starting with gaming youtube, you can quickly be autoplayed through Jordan Peterson’s videos where he misapplies aspects of psychology to the realm of sociology, then you get InfoWars’ conspiracy nonsense. YouTube takes you on a journey along the right wing, all the way through to a Lauren Southern video about ‘the great replacement’ a conspiracy theory that falsely claims that white people are at risk due to immigration and mixed-race relationships. This theory was directly quoted in the terrorist’s manifesto. He was radicalised online, and acted upon it.

‘Subscribe to PewDiePie.’ What does this have to do with anything?

The terrorist had a manifesto. Lauren Southern, Stefan Molyneux and the like popularised the ‘great replacement’ myth, and it was quoted in that very manifesto. Somehow though, this man remained comfortable in PewDiePie’s fanbase. Only one person is responsible for that. You can say you don’t want to appeal to white supremacists, but when you continue to gain their support, your argument holds no water. Alienate your fanbase. Get the racists out. It’s been done before.

While not perfect by any means, YouTube personality Quinton Reviews has made changes to his content upon realising his audience was full of bigots. Nothing major. He’s commented on how Donald Trump is dangerous. He’s supported trans rights. This has led to bigots whining and complaining, but ultimately leaving his fanbase. The bar is low, but still so many online stars fail to clear it. I’m sure it feels horrible to be named in a live streamed massacre, but the victims are the ones killed and their loved ones, as well as the global Muslim community. You have to ask why the perpetrator said those words.

Many have criticised the ‘subscribe to PewDiePie’ movement for being steeped in racist rhetoric, being as it is a backlash against an Indian channel being top of the charts. Kjellberg has failed to distance himself from this so far, and has even been fanning the flames, retweeting aggressive references to the ‘subscriber war.’ PewDiePie has continued his ‘edgy’ persona past the anti-semitism and racial slur controversies. He is part of a long chain of online radicalisation, and is not stemming the flow. You can remove yourself from that chain. Some people just don’t want to. It’s never ‘just a joke’ when some of your fans take it seriously.

This all leads to an environment that coddles racism and white supremacy in a way that fosters an environment for these kinds of atrocities. Start with edgy youtube comedians. Move on to Joe Rogan repeatedly and uncritically giving a voice to Ben Shapiro, Steven Crowder, and Gavin McInnes. Pretty soon you’re consuming racist and islamophobic conspiracy theories that fuel your hatred and tacitly endorse the idea that something should be done about this ‘great replacement.’ And then: ‘subscribe to PewDiePie.’ 49 killed. Streamed online. It has to start somewhere.