I built an AI system to extract data on Nick Fuentes’s earnings from donors, shown on-screen, to understand his supporters.

The rise of far-right Gen Z streamer Nick Fuentes was always worrying, but some said his support was thin. Drew Harwell and I set out to measure his support, by transcribing the messages his supporters pay him to show on screen. We added up the total payment amounts – nearly a million dollars – and focused on one of the biggest givers.