In a swift reversal that underscores the perils of platform reinstatement for controversial figures, Spotify banned Nick Fuentes’ “America First” podcast on October 14, 2025, just days after it briefly returned to the service and skyrocketed to the #1 spot on the charts, surpassing even Joe Rogan. The show, hosted by the far-right commentator known for white supremacist rhetoric, antisemitic tropes, and calls for political violence, was reinstated amid broader debates on free speech but quickly violated Spotify’s hate speech policies prohibiting content that incites hatred based on race, religion, or other protected characteristics. Fuentes, who has a history of deplatforming across major sites like YouTube and Twitter (now X), celebrated the temporary surge as a win for dissident voices, only for the ban to reignite accusations of selective censorship in conservative circles. As Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson hovered at #4 and #5, the episode highlights Spotify’s inconsistent moderation, where viral extremism briefly thrives before inevitable takedown.

Parallel to this digital purge, a explosive scandal erupted within the Republican youth ranks when over 2,900 pages of leaked Telegram chats from the “RESTOREYR WAR ROOM” group—spanning seven months among leaders from New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont Young Republican chapters—revealed a toxic underbelly of racism, antisemitism, and violent fantasies. Messages included slurs against Black, gay, Latino, and Asian people (over 250 instances), praise for Hitler (“I love Hitler”), jokes about gas chambers and slavery, and even rape fantasies labeled “epic,” prompting swift backlash: jobs lost, offers rescinded, and the Kansas Young Republicans disbanded as inactive. Participants like Peter Giunta, former New York State Young Republicans chair, and William Hendrix, Kansas vice chair, issued apologies while alleging the leak was doctored or manipulated, but the raw exchanges—obtained by Politico—ignited condemnations from GOP heavyweights like Rep. Elise Stefanik, who demanded immediate resignations and decried the “heinous, antisemitic, racist” content as unacceptable.

At the scandal’s epicenter stands Gavin Wax, the New York Young Republican Club president and Trump State Department staffer, accused of orchestrating the leak in a vicious intraparty feud that goes far beyond mere infighting into outright betrayal. NYGOP insiders claim Wax pressured Mike Bartels via phone threats to his career and potential NDA breaches to hand over the full logs, succeeding before personally delivering them to Politico—complete with extended cooperation on article framing, sourcing contacts, and introductions—while failing alongside reporters to flip other chat members. The White House, despite opportunities, offered Wax no shield, distancing itself entirely; this mirrors his past, including a brief stint as marketing director at the American Jewish Congress (from which he departed amid ties to white nationalist events) and longstanding whispers in NYGOP circles of him tolerating or enabling drugs, prostitution at club events, and wielding NDAs for blackmail. Critics, including Fuentes himself in fiery rebukes, brand Wax a “traitor” who weaponized hostile media to torch fellow conservatives’ reputations, exposing a rift where personal vendettas eclipse party unity and raising alarms about infiltration in Trump’s orbit.