Megyn Kelly Accuses Ben Shapiro of Buying YouTube Views in Escalating Feud
A media firestorm has erupted between Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro as the SiriusXM host accuses the Daily Wire co-founder of using bots to inflate his YouTube views. Despite Kelly’s claims of "tiny audiences," channel analytics tell a different story,
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly has publicly clashed with Ben Shapiro, accusing the Daily Wire co-founder of artificially inflating his YouTube view counts, in a dispute that highlights deepening fractures within right-leaning media circles.
The feud erupted this week after Kelly, during a SiriusXM broadcast, mocked the audience sizes of prominent conservative voices including Shapiro and Mark Levin. She claimed Shapiro’s videos were drawing “tiny audiences” and suggested he was “going out of business.” Kelly later escalated on social media, pointing to what she described as suspiciously high view counts paired with low comment activity on Shapiro’s videos, implying the use of bots or purchased views.
Data shared widely in response appeared to undermine the claim. Recent episodes of Shapiro’s flagship show have averaged approximately 494,000 views, along with more than 2,100 comments and nearly 7,000 likes per video. For comparison, Kelly’s recent content has averaged around 97,000 views with lower engagement metrics. Shapiro’s YouTube channel boasts 7.05 million subscribers, significantly outpacing Kelly’s 4.15 million.
Shapiro and his supporters pushed back sharply, posting side-by-side analytics and dismissing Kelly’s accusations as baseless. The exchange quickly moved beyond audience metrics into broader personal and ideological tensions.
The two have sparred before over issues including Israel policy, foreign aid, and conservative movement “loyalty tests.” Shapiro, a staunch defender of Israel, has criticized Kelly and others for what he sees as insufficient pushback against anti-Israel voices on the right. Kelly has accused Shapiro of attempting to dictate terms to fellow conservatives and engaging in personal attacks.
The latest flare-up comes amid shifting audience dynamics in conservative media following the 2024 election cycle, with some personalities gaining traction on “America First” isolationist messaging while others maintain traditional hawkish foreign policy stances.
Neither Kelly nor Shapiro had issued formal statements as of Saturday morning, but the public back-and-forth has drawn significant attention across X, YouTube, and conservative forums. Observers describe the spat as emblematic of competition for listeners and subscribers in a crowded, post-election media landscape.
Unfortunately, Kelly has lost many listeners by refusing to condemn Candace Owens' truly shocking statement about Erika Kirk, among other things.
Where she used to be a voice of reason, she is now a hotbed of curse words and fury, and it's not a pretty sight at all.