Jubilee & the ethics of "platforming"

It's Been a Minute

NPR

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4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jubilee has become one of the go-to open forums for debate in the digital age. Videos like: "Flat Earthers vs Scientists," "1 Conservative vs. 20 Feminists," and, "What Makes a Real Man?" are just some of the few topics they cover.

It's what caused The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to write his article, "Jubilee is Like Gen-Z's 'Jerry Springer Show'".

But their most recent video, "1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives," has gone viral for what some feel is a dangerous platforming of fascist ideals. Brittany is joined by The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to get into the state of public discourse, and how traditional media may led us to this moment.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from the podcast IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.
0:05.1	From relationships to family to faith, Michelle and her big brother Craig offer their takes
0:10.6	on everyday questions shaping people's lives with plenty of laughs. Find IMO wherever you get
0:17.0	your podcasts.
0:25.8	Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR,
0:30.7	a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. When a lot of people hear the word Jubilee, they think of a nice cherry dessert.
0:44.7	But to those of us who are chronically online like me, you probably think of a video like this.
0:51.0	We have six guys in a room, and they all have to figure out which one is the gay guy.
0:55.8	And to me, that sounds like a terrifying memory from middle school.
0:59.4	That is staff writer at the Atlantic, Spencer Cornhaber.
1:02.8	He, like everyone else, noticed how powerful online content was during the 2024 presidential
1:08.6	election.
1:09.5	It felt like the election was being waged through all these means that felt kind of
1:13.5	new, these different mediums, whether it was podcasts or TikTok, or these really bizarre and
1:20.5	baffling videos.
1:21.5	But it was a video from the YouTube channel Jubilee that stopped him in his tracks.
1:26.7	Titles like one woke teen versus 20 MAGA voters.
1:31.2	Just the title alone, I remember seeing it and being like, what?
1:35.9	These debate videos usually feature one person representing an ideological perspective
1:40.4	in conversation with maybe 20 people with the exact opposite point of view. Like,
1:46.1	can one woke teen survive 20 Trump supporters or Dr. Mike versus 20 anti-vaxxers? As you can imagine,
1:54.1	these debates get pretty heated. I think that fighting for the freedoms of all 170 million
	...

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