_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
A viral thread on X recently accused The Daily Wire (DW) of facing a financial “implosion” amid recent leadership changes and internal restructuring. Though the rumors of financial ruin have been refuted by DW insiders, including the company’s top host, Ben Shapiro, there have reportedly been layoffs at Bentkey — the division producing kids’ content.
The company’s harshest critics often come from the right, accusing the company of being, as they put it, “Israel First.” Accelerated since former DW host Candace Owens’ departure, the online right has splintered between those who support Israel and those who oppose them and their war against Hamas. The latter group is currently leading the charge against The Daily Wire.
_THE FACTS_
Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing stepped down recently, leading to speculation that he was forced out.
Ben Shapiro clarified that Boreing is still with the company and stepped down to spend more time producing the company’s adaptation of the fantasy story The Pendragon Cycle.
The viral X thread also stated that Alyssa Cordova, DW’s Vice President of Public Relations, was fired by Boreing. Cordova responded by saying she voluntarily resigned and is still in good standing with the company.
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has a longstanding feud with Ben Shapiro, accusing Shapiro and those like him back in February of supporting Israel “intentionally killing” women and children in Gaza.
Those who take Tucker’s side in the feud often align with figures like Candace Owens, who last year left DW after espousing anti-Israel and conspiratorial views.
Daily Wire hosts Michael Knowles and Matt Walsh often receive relentless comments online telling them to leave the company. As the only Catholic hosts, the anti-DW faction intentionally pits them against Ben Shapiro, a Jew.
After a recent speech at Yale University, Michael Knowles was confronted by an audience member who told him that The Daily Wire had become “an Israel First organization.”
Knowles responded by noting that while some critics dislike Ben Shapiro because he’s Jewish and supports Israel, the platform features a range of views among its hosts.
_INSIGHTS_
In recent years, The Daily Wire has become one of the most influential media institutions on the right, shaping the narrative on major political issues with films like What Is a Woman and Am I Racist? Despite its impact, the company has come under fire from a small but vocal segment of the right who fiercely demand opposition to Israel. They view the company’s top talent, Ben Shapiro, as a Zionist force to be toppled.
These detractors are focused on undermining one of the few major media institutions the right has successfully built in recent years. When such vast hatred for Israel becomes part of an ideological purity test for the fringe right, they risk unraveling the success achieved by conservative media and weakening the broader coalition that has effectively challenged the left.
