Baked Alaska (activist)

Anthime "Tim" Gionet (born November 16, 1987), more commonly known as Baked Alaska, is an American neo-Nazi[1], anti-semitic conspiracy theorist, and social media personality who gained attention through his advocacy on behalf of alt-right and white supremacist ideology, and through his promotion of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories such as white genocide and Jewish control of the media.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Prior to his 2016 transformation into an alt right activist, Gionet was a commentator for Buzzfeed, where he supported libertarian and progressive political positions, and advocated for Black Lives Matter.

Anthime "Tim" Gionet
Born (1987-11-16) November 16, 1987
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Alma materAzusa Pacific University
OccupationWriter, activist
Known forAlt-right activism

In March 2019, Gionet attempted to rebrand himself as a reformed ex-racist, who had come to recognize that the alt-right and meme culture were hateful and led to terrorism and violence. He released an emotional video apologizing for his past participation in meme culture, and stated that “I was brainwashed, I felt like I was part of a cult.” Gionet also alleged a link between meme culture and the Christchurch mosque shootings.[8] Following the release of his video and his attempted rebranding, Gionet went on to claim in an interview with the Daily Beast that he was never serious about far-right politics, and thought that the alt right "was just fun memes and jokes and edgy 4Chan posting and all this stuff," until he "got to the end of this rabbit hole and [ ] realized these guys are serious."[9] In an interview with the Daily Dot, he stated that he intended to establish a non-profit organization, XALT, to steer young people away from the alt right and racism.

However, in November 2019 Gionet changed his politics again, professing far-right ideology and collaborating with the white supremacist "groyper" movement.[10] He subsequently deleted all his previous videos, in which he had apologized for his old views and condemned meme culture and the alt right.

Biography

Personal life

Gionet attended Azusa Pacific University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in marketing.[7]

Early career

While working at Warner Bros. Records, Gionet was social media and marketing intern for Warped Tour. Kevin Lyman gave him the stage-name Baked Alaska, a reference to the fact that he came from Alaska and was a marijuana user at the time, referencing the dessert, baked Alaska. In 2011, Gionet worked for Capitol Records for a short time, before pursuing his own career in rap music with a "wild, redneck, kick-ass" persona. While in Los Angeles, he got involved in the party scene and had issues with drugs and alcohol, leading him to seek professional help to get sober.[7]

Political activism

In the following years he started working as a commentator for Buzzfeed. He then identified as a libertarian, supporting Rand Paul's White House bid and the legalisation of marijuana, and participating in Black Lives Matter street demonstrations.[7] He claims to have left Buzzfeed and turned to Trump and the alt-right in rejection of "political correctness".[7] After leaving BuzzFeed in 2016, Gionet traveled as Milo Yiannopoulos' Dangerous Faggot Tour manager.[7][11]

Gionet is a supporter of Donald Trump. In May 2016, Gionet was introduced to Donald Trump and received the candidate's signature on his arm next to his Trump tattoo. Later that month, Gionet released "MAGA Anthem", which featured pro-Trump lyrics and amassed more than 100,000 views on YouTube. Mike Cernovich then hired Gionet to work on a project dedicated to gather Trump supporters.[11] Following the election, Gionet has continued his pro-Trump activism delivering speeches and participating in multiple rallies.[12][13][14]

Gionet was also largely responsible for spearheading the #DumpKellogs and #TrumpCup hashtag movements.[15] #TrumpCup was a Twitter trend in November 2016 on Twitter, following allegations that a Starbucks employee refused to write "Trump" on a cup. The Twitter hashtag trended with more than 27,000 tweets in the span of two days.[16][17][18][19]

In late 2016, following Trump's election, conflict arose between Cernovich and Gionet regarding Gionet's antisemitic remarks on Twitter. Gionet was disinvited from DeploraBall, an inaugural ball. Gionet later mended his relationship with Cernovich and said that he had been "heated" and that he had misspoken.[7][20][21][22][23][24]

In February 2017, Gionet called for a boycott of Netflix in response to the announcement of Dear White People. He claimed that the show was "anti-white" and promoted "white genocide".[25][26]

Gionet participated in an alt-right rally outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on June 25, 2017, and he was scheduled to address participants at the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11, 2017.[11] At the United the Right rally, he marched and chanted, "You will not replace us," and "I'm proud to be white!"[27]

On social media he has frequently promoted the Fourteen Words, a white supremacist slogan about preserving the white race.[28][29][30] He was permanently banned from Twitter after posting a photoshopped image of Laura Loomer, a Jewish far-right political commentator, inside a gas chamber.[7]

Baked Alaska wrote and self-published a book, Meme Magic Secrets Revealed, through Amazon.[7] The book was removed as a copyright violation due to its use of Pepe the Frog on the cover.[31][32]

At the turn of 2019, Baked Alaska had abandoned his support for President Trump and started promoting 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, such as with his music video Yang Gang Anthem.[9]

In March 2019, Gionet attempted to distance himself from the alt-right and meme culture, which he criticized as hateful and a source of terrorism and violence. He released a video in which he apologized for his past participation in meme culture and claimed that it was responsible for radicalizing people, also linking 8chan to the Christchurch mosque shootings.[9][8] However, in November 2019 Gionet changed his politics again, deleting his apology videos and collaborating with the white supremacist "Groyper" movement in its trolling of rallies held by Turning Point USA.[10]

References
  1. Gray, Rosie (August 14, 2017). "'Alt-Right' Leaders Won't Condemn Ramming Suspect". Retrieved June 3, 2020. The press conference was also supposed to include white nationalist social media personalities Baked Alaska...
  2. Kranish, Shoshana (August 8, 2017). "Airbnb bans white supremacist rally attendees". The Jerusalem Post.
  3. Schwartz, Drew (August 7, 2017). "Neo-Nazis Can't Find Airbnbs for Their Massive Rally". Vice. alt-right powerhouses Richard Spencer and Baked Alaska
  4. Novak, Matt. "Why Are Neo-Nazis on Twitter So Scared of Being Called Neo-Nazis?". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  5. Tognotti, Chris. "Pro-Trump internet comedian marched with white supremacists in Charlottesville". Dailydot. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  6. Colburn, Randall. "Let's check in on neo-Nazi troll Baked Alaska, who is hosting an extremely embarrassing talk show". AV Club. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  7. Darcy, Oliver. "The untold story of Baked Alaska, a rapper turned BuzzFeed personality turned alt-right troll". Business Insider.
  8. Martinez, Ignacio (May 22, 2019). "The atonement of an alt-right troll". Dailydot.
  9. Sommer, Will. "Baked Alaska denounces the alt-right". Daily Beast. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  10. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-donald-trump-jr-landed-smack-in-the-middle-of-a-right-wing-civil-war?source=articles&via=rss
  11. Porter, Tom. "Who are the Alt-Right Leaders Addressing the White Nationalist Rally in Charlottesville?". Newsweek. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  12. Montgomery, Blake. "Here's What Really Happened At Saturday's Berkeley Riot". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  13. Harkinson, Josh. "Meet Silicon Valley's Secretive Alt-Right Followers". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  14. Lamoureux, Mike. "Violent Protests Turned Berkeley into a Battleground". Vice. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  15. Lee, Bruce. "Food Fight: Breitbart News Asks Readers To Boycott Kellogg's Products". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  16. Earl, Jennifer. "Donald Trump supporters start #TrumpCup movement to protest Starbucks". CBS News. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  17. Holmes, Jack. "These Alt-Right Bros Certainly Are Spending a Lot of Money at Starbucks". Esquire. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  18. Leininger, Alex. "Trump supporters launch #TrumpCup as a protest against Starbucks". CNN.
  19. Phillips, Kristine. "A Starbucks barista refused to write 'Trump' on a cup. How his supporters are striking back". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  20. Smith, Allan. "Alt-right movement descends into civil war after leading figure is booted from Trump inauguration event". Business Insider. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  21. Gray, Rosie. "The 'New Right' and the 'Alt-Right' Party on a Fractious Night". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  22. Kearney, Laila. "Trump fans' 'Deploraball' party shows rift in alt-right movement". Reuters. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  23. Usborne, David. "'Islam is a threat to America': What the alt-right had to say at their rally after Portland's stabbings". Independent. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  24. Willis, Jay. "White Nationalist Twitter Melts Down Over Fancy Inauguration Party Guest List". GQ. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  25. Hamedy, Saba. "Guy who failed at Starbucks boycott fails at 'Dear White People' boycott". Mashable. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  26. "Dear White People trailer accused of, erm, racism". BBC Newsbeat. September 2, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPQScy9Z7M
  28. "Verified no more, Twitter drops blue check from white nationalists' accounts". Southern Poverty Law Center. November 16, 2017.
  29. "The 'Ironic Nazi' Is Coming to an End". New York. August 14, 2017.
  30. "Twitter Has Permanently Banned Alt-Right Troll Baked Alaska". BuzzFeed. November 15, 2017.
  31. "Is the alt-right's use of Pepe the Frog "fair use?"". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  32. "Pepe The Frog Creator Sues To Take His Meme Back From 'Alt-Right'". Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
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