Dirty Delete is a weekly column that goes deep into the social media history of politicians that runs on Thursdays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
Analysis
Ben Shapiro is the king of the self-own.
There was the time he implied that he’s bad at sex, when he didn’t understand population density, and when he came out as pro-baby Hitler.
Let us not forget the full-body cringe Shapiro inspired by wondering why Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers hadn’t described his genitalia.
The Daily Wire editor emeritus’ skill for owning himself is so unparalleled that people still believe a fake tweet about his incestuous fantasies.
Like many conservative pundits, Shapiro’s online presence is a festering stream of seethe. His brand is sanctimoniousness disguised as logic.
Shapiro’s been in the hate game since way back. In 2010, he tweeted, “Israelis like to build. Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage. This is not a difficult issue. #settlementsrock.”
In 2009, he referred to comedian Wanda Sykes as the “world’s biggest shill.” In a since-deleted column in Brietbart, he laid into the “militant lesbian” for not taking then-President Barack Obama to task for opposing same-sex marriage.
That’s a pretty interesting coming from a man who has likened same-sex marriage to incest and called Miley Cyrus an “idiot” for supporting it.
Shapiro masquerades as a principled conservative—and he does at times go after his own. For example, he didn’t take too kindly to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) comparing COVID-19 restrictions to the Holocaust.
But he’s also fine with working with Candace Owens, who once said Hitler’s only mistake was setting his sights outside Germany.
Shapiro holds himself out to be an intellectual. Yet he didn’t understand how stupid it was to snipe, “And we all know he would never have said this had the reverse verdict been reached,” at Don Lemon for commenting, “Justice has been served,” when George Floyd’s murderer was convicted.
Maybe in Ben Shapiro’s world, people celebrate killers walking free.
Come to think of it, Shapiro actually did that when Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted.
These days Shapiro spends a lot of time spreading transphobia with the occasional “gotcha” mixed in. He recently clapped back on someone pointing out that sugar is unhealthy by tweeting, “Everyone who has ever eaten broccoli will die.”
Sick burn, my dude.
Shapiro is on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Rumble.
Dirtiest Delete
There are lots of rumors about Shapiro deleting tweets, and while he has reportedly undone some retweets, he seems to stand by his posts no matter how stupid they are.
People enjoy photoshopped fake Shapiro tweets for sport. One fake tweet has been pinging around the internet for years.
It is indeed hilarious and disgusting, but that tweet about Shapiro fantasizing about his sister is 100% fake.