Lauren Southern facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lauren Southern
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Southern in 2016
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Lauren Cherie Southern
16 June 1995 Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
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| Occupation | Political activist |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Children | 1 |
| YouTube information | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Subscribers | 716,000 |
| Total views | 63 million |
| Subscriber and view counts updated as of June 11, 2023. | |
Lauren Cherie Southern (born 16 June 1995) is a Canadian YouTuber, political activist, and commentator. She shares her opinions on social and political topics online. In 2015, Southern ran as a candidate for the Libertarian Party of Canada in a Canadian federal election. She worked for a media company called Rebel Media until March 2017. After that, she started working independently.
In May 2017, Southern supported a group called Defend Europe. This group tried to stop ships that were rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. Southern was briefly held by the Italian Coast Guard for blocking a rescue ship. Because of this, the website Patreon removed her from their platform. They said her actions could cause harm. She was also stopped from earning money on YouTube and banned from GoFundMe.
Some experts and reporters have described Southern as a white nationalist. This is because she has promoted ideas about changes in population. She has denied being a white nationalist. Southern promoted these ideas in her YouTube video from July 2017. This video was seen by over 600,000 people by March 2019. She also made a documentary called Farmlands (2018). In this film, she talked about conflicts in South Africa.
In July 2018, she visited Australia for a speaking tour. The next month, she and another speaker were banned from speaking in New Zealand. Southern announced she was leaving political activism on 2 June 2019. However, she returned to YouTube on 19 June 2020. As of 2021, she writes for Sky News Australia. She has said she is not racist and prefers to be called a conservative.
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Early Life and Politics
Southern was born in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. She studied political science at the University of the Fraser Valley. She left the university after two years.
On 18 October 2015, Southern ran as a candidate for the Libertarian Party of Canada. She ran in the district of Langley–Aldergrove. She was briefly removed as a candidate by her party. But she was put back on the list with support from Breitbart News and The Rebel Media. She finished last in the election, getting 535 votes.
Views and Activism
Southern has been described as a right-wing activist. Some experts and reporters have called her a white nationalist, but she denies this. She also does not like being called "far-right." She prefers to be described as a conservative. The Southern Poverty Law Center has said her videos are "anti-feminist" and "xenophobic."
Media Work
Before she left university, The Rebel Media founder Ezra Levant met Southern. He was impressed by her questions at a conference. He asked her to try out for a job. She moved to Toronto to work for the website. Her first video, "Why I Am Not A Feminist," was released in April 2015. She often worked with Milo Yiannopoulos and Faith Goldy at Rebel Media.
In December 2016, Southern published a short book called Barbarians: How Baby Boomers, Immigrants, and Islam Screwed My Generation. In March 2017, Southern announced she was leaving The Rebel Media. She has also appeared on Lana Lokteff's program Radio 3Fourteen.
Race and Society
Southern is against multiculturalism. She has called the Black Lives Matter movement a "divisive, violent movement." She has said that multicultural societies will fail unless many people believe in Western culture.
She is known for promoting the idea of a "Great Replacement." This idea suggests that non-white immigration could lead to a loss of white European culture. She made a YouTube video about this in July 2017. Southern has said this idea means "You have one people and in the space of one generation you have a different people."
Southern has also talked about the idea of a "white genocide." In 2018, she made a documentary called Farmlands. This film suggested that attacks on farms in South Africa could lead to a race war. While making the film, Southern worked with Simon Roche. He is a spokesperson for an organization that predicts a race war.
Views on Migration
In May 2017, Southern tried to block a ship that was rescuing refugees and migrants. This ship, the Aquarius, was leaving Sicily. Southern was briefly held by the Italian Coast Guard. She said her goal was to stop empty boats from picking up migrants. Southern stated: "if the politicians won't stop the boats, we'll stop the boats."
Southern supported similar actions by Defend Europe. This group rented a ship to track and stop what they called cooperation between aid groups and human traffickers. In July 2017, Southern reported that Patreon had closed her account. They said she was raising money for activities that could cause harm. Southern denied these claims.
In November 2018, Southern released a video. It seemed to show an aid worker admitting to coaching asylum seekers. This coaching would help them gain refugee status. In May 2019, Southern released a YouTube documentary called Borderless. This film was about the refugee and migrant situation. YouTube temporarily took the film down.
Gender and Feminism
Southern has said that transgender people have a "genuine delusion." She believes it is a mental illness. She has also criticized legal recognition for changing one's gender.
Southern is against feminism. She has said that women are "not psychologically developed to hold leadership positions." She also believes women are "not going to be as great being CEOs." In a November 2017 YouTube video, Southern said that women should be able to choose their own life path.
In a 2017 YouTube video titled "How Feminism Made Women Unhappy," Southern said: "Traditionalism offers a lot of stability in people's life. It offers a guide for how to lead them to the happiest life."
Travel and Bans
In April 2017, Southern was a speaker at a rally in Berkeley, California. This rally led to a conflict between supporters of Donald Trump and counter-protesters.
In June 2018, she visited Moscow, Russia. There, she met Aleksandr Dugin, a political philosopher. Southern and Brittany Pettibone interviewed Dugin. The interview was published on YouTube.
Websites for crowdfunding, like GoFundMe and Patreon, have banned Southern from using their services. YouTube stopped her from earning money on her channel by June 2017.
Ban from the United Kingdom
In March 2018, Southern was not allowed to enter the United Kingdom. She was questioned under a law called the Terrorism Act 2000. Her entry was denied because of her plans during her visit.
2018 Australian Tour
Southern planned a speaking tour of Australia in July 2018. Australia's Department of Home Affairs first denied her a visa. They said it was "not a working visa." She planned to charge money for tickets to her events. The Australian government allowed her to enter once she had the correct visa. When she arrived in Brisbane, she wore a shirt that said "It's OK to be white."
A speaking event in Melbourne was met with protests from over 100 people. There were no protesters at her event in Sydney. Ticket holders were told the venue by text message on the day of the event.
In Brisbane, Southern talked about bombing the city of Melbourne. She said: "We did find a few hundred good ones there—there is a silent majority I believe in Melbourne so we can’t nuke it yet guys I’m sorry." Around 60 protesters opposed her speech.
2018 New Zealand Tour
In July 2018, Southern applied for a visa to visit New Zealand. She planned a speaking tour with another YouTuber, Stefan Molyneux. New Zealand's Immigration Minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, said their views were "repugnant." However, he said they met the requirements to enter the country.
The pair could not find a venue for their events. The Auckland Council canceled their first booking. They said it was due to health and safety concerns. The pair briefly canceled their tour, then resumed it. But a private venue also canceled their booking. The failure to find a venue was celebrated by about 1,000 protesters. They said the event had nothing to do with freedom of speech.
New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said New Zealand is "hostile" to the speakers' views. She added, "I think you'll see from the reaction they've had from New Zealanders that their views are not those that are shared by this country, and I'm quite proud of that." The Mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, tweeted that Council venues should not be used to "stir up ethnic or religious tensions."
Personal Life
Brief Retirement
On 2 June 2019, Southern announced she was leaving political activism. She said she needed to find fulfillment in a more private way. On 19 June 2020, Southern announced her return in a YouTube video. She expressed some regret for her past strong opinions.
See also
In Spanish: Lauren Southern para niños
