How Candace Owens Happened, pt. 1: Social Autopsy
Before Candace Owens became an overnight right-wing media star, she wanted to rid the internet of trolls with her anti-bullying startup, Social Autopsy. But then, it collided with Gamergate, and a red-pilled conspiracy theorist was born.
In Part 1 of this miniseries, Cristen traces the overlooked origin story Candace never stops rewriting: a high school racism scandal, a controversial Kickstarter and her uncanny path to becoming the far-right’s most useful convert. Until she wasn’t.
It’s the story of how conspiracy thinking becomes ideological performance – where criticism confirms belief, enemies create audiences, and personal grievance transforms political identity. Because the real conspiracy isn't what Candace says. It's how she got here and who helped make it happen.
sources:
Beaumont, Thomas. How a right-wing provocateur is using race to reach Gen Z. WHYY. Nov 17, 2021.
Cuda, Amanda. “We were children. I wasn’t the only victim.” The Connecticut Post. Mar 5, 2016.
Harper, Randi Lee. An Open Letter to Social Autopsy. Medium. Apr 15, 2016.
Malone, Clare. The Gospel of Candace Owens. The New Yorker. Apr 22, 2023.
News-Times. Racist threats case filed by Stamford High student settled for $37,500. The Connecticut News-Times.
Owens, Candace. An open letter from Candace Owens. Stamford Advocate. Mar 5, 2016.
Owens, Candace. How a Torpedoed Kickstarter Campaign Unintentionally Revealed an Unlikely Unit of Cyber-Terrorists. Degree180. Apr 18, 2016.
Ralph, Evan. Social Autopsy Creator Suggests Zoe Quinn to Blame for Racist Abuse Against Her. The Ralph Retort. Apr 16, 2016.
Ralph, Evan. Huge Exclusive Coming Tomorrow with the Founder of Social Autopsy. The Ralph Retort. Apr 16, 2016.
Rosseinsky, Katie. Meet Candace Owens – the woman who spread the vicious lies that Brigitte Macron was a man. The Independent. Jan 5, 2026.
Rott, Nathan. #Gamergate Controversy Fuels Debate On Women And Video Games. All Tech Considered. NPR. Sep 24, 2014.
Transcript. Annie Taylor Award: Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk. Front Page Magazine. Dec 5, 2018.
Singal, Jesse. The Strange Tale of Social Autopsy, the Anti-Harassment Start-up That Descended Into Gamergate Trutherism. New York. Apr 18, 2016.
Watkins, D. Candace Owens of Red Pill Black, the toxic right’s newest African-American star. Salon. Sep 25, 2017.
Zadronzny, Brandy. YouTube tested, Trump approved: How Candace Owens suddenly became the loudest voice on the far right. NBC News. Jun 23, 2018.
