About Odysee
Odysee is a decentralized video-sharing platform that emerged in late 2020 as a blockchain-based alternative to YouTube. Built atop the LBRY protocol, Odysee, described by The Guardian as an “extremist-friendly video platform,”1 quickly became a haven for creators banned from mainstream platforms2 for violating hate speech and misinformation policies. Odysee was created by Jeremy Kauffman and the team behind LBRY blockchain. Its permissive moderation policies3 have made it a magnet for far-right influencers, conspiracy theorists, extremist propagandists and others on the political right, including the Mises Caucus and the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. It’s now well known for hosting far-right content, conspiracy theories and extremist propaganda under the banner of “free speech.”
While Odysee markets itself as a champion of free expression4, its infrastructure and leadership have enabled the proliferation of white nationalist content, COVID-19 disinformation, antisemitic conspiracy theories and neo-Nazi propaganda.
The platform’s decentralized architecture, according to the site’s terms of service, “is stored in fragmented shards via a distributed network of third-party devices.”5 This is intended to make it difficult to remove content, and its ideological posture — rooted in radical libertarianism — has positioned it as a digital sanctuary for extremists.
Further, the platform’s content is not strictly extremist material which encourages people who do not necessarily hold these views to use the site both to host and consume the content. Many of the videos feature apolitical entertainment, including film reviews, video game playthroughs and hobby content similar to mainstream platforms like YouTube.
For more information on Odysee’s structure, terms of service, use of cryptocurrency, payment structure for creators and more, read the Data Lab’s Digital Threat Report.
In Their Own Words
“As a Senator, I promise to legalize lynching anyone who works for the IRS.” — Jeremy Kauffman, in response to then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s calls for an anti-lynching law, in an X post on March 29, 2022.6
“Two Ukrainian girls fled war, died by diversity in the West.” — Red Ice TV on Odysee, Sept. 4, 20257
“We can’t just be flooding millions of people from foreign nations that nothing in common with us and think it’s good for our society. And [it] seems all around the world, every white country, it’s like there’s a clear tact [sic] [of] just flooding all those third-world immigrants.”8 — Jake Shields in an interview with Australian Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell9 in a video posted to Odysee on June 11, 2025.
Background
Odysee was launched on Dec. 7, 2020, as a consumer-facing front end for the LBRY blockchain protocol that hoped to be a “successor” to YouTube.10 Kauffman told TechCrunch in 2020 that YouTube is “far too strict” in its content moderation policies.11
LBRY, which Kauffman founded, was originally pitched as a decentralized content-sharing network resistant to censorship. Odysee inherited this ethos and quickly attracted users who had been deplatformed elsewhere.12
Kauffman, the former CEO of Odysee, has been instrumental in shaping the platform’s ideological direction.13
Jeremy Kauffman, Odysee’s cocreator and first CEO
Jeremy Kauffman is Odysee’s creator and was the CEO of LBRY, a blockchain-based file-sharing platform founded in 2015 by a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
A vocal member of the Mises Caucus — a far-right faction within the Libertarian Party14 —Kauffman has used his influence to push the party toward a more extreme posture. Kauffman has described himself as a “dissident” and ran as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire in 2022.15
As a member of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s executive committee,16 Kauffman helped craft a series of inflammatory tweets advocating for child labor,17 repealing the Civil Rights Act and abolishing the FBI.18
He has publicly praised the Mises Caucus, of which he is a prominent member,19 for “taking over” the Libertarian Party, and he has described his political vision as “liberty or death.”
Kauffman’s dual role as a tech entrepreneur and political agitator has blurred the lines between digital infrastructure and ideological extremism.
Under Kauffman’s leadership, Odysee developed a reputation for minimal content moderation, with the SPLC’s Data Lab finding that the platform hosts neo-Nazi and far-right extremist content and provides a revenue stream for hate groups. Odysee became not just a platform for free speech but also a staging ground for far-right radicalization.
Kauffman has defended allowing controversial groups to broadcast on the platform, arguing they should have the right to reach willing audiences.
In July 2023, LBRY lost a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over unregistered securities offerings. The legal defeat led to the dissolution of LBRY Inc., and in June 2024, Odysee was acquired by Forward Research, a firm with ties to the original LBRY team.20
Despite the corporate reshuffling, Odysee’s ideological DNA remained intact, with Forward Research CEO Sam Williams reiterating the platform’s commitment to free speech.21 The platform continued to promote itself as a bulwark against “Big Tech censorship,” even as watchdog groups documented its role in amplifying hate speech and disinformation.
Userbase and content generation
A significant portion of Odysee’s content is not original to the platform. Instead, users frequently repost material from other sources, creating a decentralized archive of ideologically aligned media.
Perhaps the most glaring example is the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website banned from most mainstream platforms, which has its audio broadcasts and video segments mirrored on Odysee by unaffiliated users.22 At its height, the Daily Stormer was described as “a prime hub for neo-Nazism on the Web” with content intended to stir up antisemitism and white supremacy.23 Odysee has provided the Daily Stormer and others with a home for reposts including radio-style commentaries, interviews and propaganda segments, often stripped of metadata or rebranded to avoid detection. The result is a fragmented but persistent presence of extremist material that would otherwise be inaccessible.
This pattern extends beyond high-profile figures. Many Odysee channels function as repositories, not creators. They curate content from Telegram, BitChute, Rumble and banned YouTube archives. Titles and thumbnails are often unchanged, and descriptions may even retain original timestamps or links, underscoring the derivative nature of the uploads.
Odysee enables ideological continuity across bans and deplatforming, making it less a space for innovation and more a digital refuge for recycled narratives. This reposting culture reinforces echo chambers and complicates efforts to track the origin and spread of extremist content across the web.
White nationalist and antisemitic content
Odysee’s permissive content policies have enabled the spread of virulent antisemitism. The SPLC documented dozens of channels promoting Holocaust denial, Jewish conspiracy theories, and racial pseudoscience in its Digital Threat Report from 2023.
A channel called “Aryan Empire” promotes white nationalist ideology and calls for the creation of an ethnostate.24 The account glorifies Third Reich leader Adolf Hitler and images from the violent neo-Nazi accelerationist group Atomwaffen Division. Another video, “Holocaust Lies Exposed,” claims the Holocaust was a hoax and that Jews control global finance.25
Neo-Nazi propaganda from the Daily Stormer, whose founder, Andrew Anglin, has been banned from multiple platforms, is commonly posted across Odysee accounts.
Nick Fuentes, a known Holocaust denier, has used Odysee to stream his America First show after being banned from YouTube and other platforms.
The SPLC Data Lab’s Digital Threat Report found that Odysee’s algorithm actively promotes extremist content. Channels affiliated with hate groups often appear in recommended feeds, and the platform’s search function privileges conspiracy-laden videos over factual information.
Red Ice TV, a white nationalist media outlet banned from YouTube for hate speech, uses Odysee to post its programs. Red Ice continues to publish videos promoting racial separatism and antisemitic conspiracy theories on its Odysee page.
While these channels are explicit in their extremist views, many channels often use coded language and historical revisionism to evade detection. However, their ideological goals are clear: to normalize antisemitic beliefs and recruit new adherents to white nationalist movements.
COVID misinformation
During the pandemic, Odysee became a hub for anti-vaccine propaganda and COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Influencers banned from YouTube and Facebook migrated to Odysee, where they found an unmoderated space to spread false claims about the virus, vaccines and public health measures.26
Prominent anti-vaccine figures like Dr. Sherri Tenpenny and Del Bigtree are present across Odysee. Users host their interviews claiming that vaccines cause illness and death. These videos have garnered millions of views, despite being debunked by medical experts.
Tenpenny has falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines magnetize recipients and connect to 5G networks, assertions widely debunked by medical experts. Tenpenny’s rhetoric blends pseudoscience with conspiratorial narratives, often invoking religious and nationalist themes. Her appearances on fringe media platforms and alignment with far-right influencers have amplified her reach.
Bigtree is a prominent anti-vaccine activist and founder of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), known for spreading medical misinformation and conspiratorial narratives. He rose to prominence as a producer of the discredited film Vaxxed,27 and he has since used platforms like Odysee to amplify claims that vaccines cause widespread harm and that COVID-19 public health measures were part of a global control agenda.28 Bigtree has falsely asserted that vaccines are part of a “depopulation” scheme and has compared mask mandates to Nazi policies.29
The platform’s decentralized architecture makes it nearly impossible to remove such content. Even when videos are flagged or removed, they often reappear under different channel names or are mirrored across the still existing LBRY network.
Reach and influence
Odysee’s leadership and user base have deep ties to far-right political movements. Jeremy Kauffman’s involvement with the Mises Caucus and the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire exemplifies the platform’s ideological alignment.
The Mises Caucus, founded in 2017, seeks to purge the Libertarian Party of its socially liberal elements and replace them with “paleolibertarian” figures aligned with the “alt-right.” The caucus has endorsed candidates who oppose civil rights legislation, support secession and advocate for the abolition of public education.
Odysee has served as a media arm for these efforts, hosting campaign videos, political commentary and recruitment materials.30
While Odysee is based in the United States, its influence extends globally. The platform has been used to spread disinformation in Europe, Latin America and Asia. In some cases, extremist groups have used Odysee to circumvent national hate-speech laws.
In Germany, neo-Nazi groups banned from domestic platforms have migrated to Odysee to publish propaganda. In Brazil, far-right influencers have used the platform to promote election fraud narratives and attack LGBTQ+ rights.31
Research in the European Union has raised concerns about Odysee’s role in spreading harmful content. In response, some member states have implemented geoblocking measures to restrict access to the platform.32
Funding, monetization and resistance to reform
Odysee’s financial model was originally built around cryptocurrency. Users could earn LBRY Credits (LBC) for uploading content, engaging with videos and referring new users. This system incentivized high-volume posting, including extremist content that garners attention.
The platform has also enabled direct donations through crypto wallets, allowing hate groups and banned influencers to monetize their content without oversight. This financial infrastructure has made Odysee a lifeline for deplatformed extremists seeking revenue streams.
According to the Digital Threat Report, some white nationalist channels have used Odysee to raise funds for travel expenses and propaganda campaigns.33
Odysee will remove content for violating its terms of service. Such actions are rare and typically framed as exceptions. These are typically reactive, not proactive. Odysee’s decentralized infrastructure means that even when videos are removed from the main interface, they may persist on the LBRY blockchain.
Odysee has resisted calls for reform. The platform’s leadership has framed criticism as an attack on free speech and has refused to implement robust moderation policies.34
In public statements, Jeremy Kauffman has dismissed concerns about hate speech, arguing that censorship is not the answer.35 This libertarian posture has shielded the platform from accountability, even as it facilitates radicalization.
The platform maintains that it does not endorse the views expressed by its users and that open access to information, even controversial or offensive, is essential to a functioning democracy.
Ultimately, Odysee’s resistance to moderation reflects a broader ideological divide in the tech world: between those who see platforms as responsible gatekeepers of public discourse and those who view them as neutral conduits for speech.
As extremist content continues to migrate to decentralized platforms, Odysee’s posture will remain a flashpoint in debates over digital accountability and the limits of free expression.
1 Wilson, Jason. “Extremist-Friendly Tech Company Closes after Legal Fine.” The Guardian, July 16, 2023.
2 Ibid.
3 Wilson, Jason. “Video Platform Chief Says Nazi Posts on White Superiority Do Not Merit Removal.” The Guardian, May 14, 2021.
4 Marshall, Andrew R.C., and Joseph Tanfani. “SkewTube: New Video-Sharing Sites Thrives on Misinformation and Hate.” Reuters, August 22, 2022.
5 Anonymous. “Terms of Service.” Odysee, July 2, 2025.
6 Kauffman, Jeremy. “Jeremy Kauffman Tweet.” X (formerly Twitter), March 29, 2022.
7 Red Ice TV. “Two Ukrainian Girls Fled War, Died by Diversity in the West.” Odysee, September 4, 2025.
8 Respecter, Fasces. “Thomas Sewell Explains His White Nationalist Beliefs – Jake Shields on Fight Back EP. 79.” Odysee, June 11, 2025.
9 Yu, Andi. “Fourteen Face Court over Alleged Attack on Indigenous Protest Camp.” ABC News, February 10, 2026.
10 Ha, Anthony. “ODYSEE Aims to Build a More Freewheeling, Independent Video Platform.” TechCrunch, December 7, 2020.
11 Ibid.
12 Wilson, Jason. “Extremist-Friendly Tech Company Closes after Legal Fine.” The Guardian, July 16, 2023.
13 Kauffman, Jeremy. “Jeremy Kauffman – LBRY | LinkedIn.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 6, 2026.
14 Newton, Creede. “Mises Caucus: Could It Sway the Libertarian Party to the Hard Right?” Southern Poverty Law Center, December 3, 2024.
15 Fernandez-Aubert, Elias-John, Megan Squire and RJ Reinhart. “What Is Odysee?” Southern Poverty Law Center, April 4, 2025.
16 Doherty, Brian M. “Inside the Battle over the Soul of the Libertarian Party.” Reason.com, June 24, 2021.
17 Libertarian Party NH. “Libertarian Party NH Tweet.” X (formerly Twitter), June 7, 2021.
18 Libertarian Party NH. “Libertarian Party NH on Twitter.” Twitter, June 2, 2021.
19 Newton, Creede. “Mises Caucus: Could It Sway the Libertarian Party to the Hard Right?”
Southern Poverty Law Center, December 3, 2024.
20 Coinfomania. “Forward Research Acquires Odysee, Challenging YouTube With Free Speech Focus.” Binance, June 6, 2024.
21 Watson, RT. “Decentralized YouTube Alternative Odysee Acquired by Forward Research Despite Content Concerns | the Block.” The Block, June 6, 2024.
22 Anonymous. “‘daily%20stormer’ Search Results.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
23 Lavin, Talia. “The Neo-Nazis of the Daily Stormer Wander the Digital Wilderness.” The New Yorker, January 7, 2018.
24 Aryan Empire. “Aryan Empire.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
25 Anonymous. “‘Holocaust%20lies%20exposed’ Search Results.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
26 Parker, Tom. “YouTube Permanently Disables Independent Journalism Channel Press for Truth.” Reclaim The Net, July 17, 2020.
Press for Truth. “Press for Truth.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Anonymous. “The Amazing Polly Has Been Terminated from YouTube (Claim, World, Controversy) – Politics and Other Controversies -the Premier Community for US Politics, Elections, and Government Debate. Join Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to Discuss Congress, the President, and Current National Controversies. – City-Data Forum.” City-Data. Accessed April 6, 2026.
St. George, Polly. “Polly St. George Aka Amazing Polly.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Corbett, James. “Mission Accomplished: The Corbett Report Removed from YouTube.” The Corbett Report. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Corbett, James. “The Corbett Report Official LBRY Channel.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
27 Tenpenny, Sherri. “Sherri Tenpenny.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
BearlyThere. “Eye on the Sky – Del Bigtree & Jim Lee: Climate Viewer Interview with Del Bigtree.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
28 Coleman, Patrick. “The Anti-Vaccine Movement Was Never About Vaccines.” Fatherly, April 30, 2019.
29 Ibid.
30 LP Mises Caucus. “LP Mises Caucus.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Fite 4 Liberty. “#174 with Campaign Manager Michael Heise.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Lions of Liberty. “Michael Heise on the Mises Caucus and Decentralized Revolution.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Promote Liberty. “Maj Toure at the Mises Bash.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
31 Election Fraude. “Pt.1 Brazil Was Stolen! Fraudes Nas URNAS: Election Fraude.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
Archiv. “Archiv: Hörst Du Den Ruf – Die Artgemeinschaft in Bildern.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.
32 Gary Machado, Gary, Maria Giovanna Sessa, Rita Jonušaitė and Alexandre Alaphilippe. “Odysee: List of Geo-Blocking Requests Shows the EU and EU Member States Are Far from Doing Enough to Enforce the Law.” EU DisinfoLab. Accessed April 6, 2026.
33 Fernandez-Aubert, Elias-John, Megan Squire and RJ Reinhart. “What Is Odysee?” Southern
Poverty Law Center, April 4, 2025.
34 Wilson, Jason. “Video Platform Chief Says Nazi Posts on White Superiority Do Not Merit
Removal.” The Guardian, May 14, 2021.
35 Freedom Media Network. “Content Freedom in an Era of Censorship: Interview with Jeremy Kauffman, Founder, LBRY.” Odysee. Accessed April 6, 2026.