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‘Memeification of Politics’: What to Know About Jubilee Media’s Viral Debate Show Surrounded

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In 2023, Intelligence Squared recognized Mehdi Hasan as one of the top debaters and interviewers currently active. This British-American journalist gained popularity on both sides of the Atlantic due to his challenging interviews with political figures and public personalities. On various platforms like Al Jazeera, BBC, The Intercept, MSNBC, and now his own Substack site Zeteo, he has consistently presented opinions leaning towards the left side of the spectrum.

However, the author of the book “Win Every Argument” also acknowledges that there are instances when it’s better not to engage in a debate. In his words from 2023, he stated, “There are some individuals who it’s futile to argue with,” emphasizing those who act dishonestly. He further explained, “It’s a waste of time. It leads nowhere.

In the recent episode of Jubilee Media’s “Surrounded”, it might have been unexpected for many of Hasan’s followers to witness him debating less about alternative facts and more against self-declared fascists instead.

In a discussion on Jubilee’s ‘Surrounded’, I faced off against 20 strongly conservative individuals with extreme viewpoints. Here are some key moments where they struggled to address my straightforward queries or counter my most basic arguments. It left me unsure whether to laugh or shed a tear.

Here’s the complete, eye-opening exchange: [insert debate details here]

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 20, 2025

The debate web series titled “One-versus-many” has consistently gained widespread popularity since its launch in September, encompassing episodes such as “Can Twenty Liberal College Students Outwit One Conservative?”, “Can One Aware Teen Last Among Twenty Trump Supporters?”, and “Can One Officer Fend Off Twenty Criminals Alone?”.

In a 100-minute YouTube video titled “1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives,” Hasan emerged as the central progressive figure. The video, initially uploaded on Sunday, has amassed over 3.5 million views and continues to grow, with additional millions of views from clips shared across various social media platforms.

But Hasan was the first to admit that he didn’t expect what he would encounter.

In response to a criticism that he had willingly participated in a debate with “a group of Nazis,” Hasan expressed his surprise and shock in a post on X.

As reported by Zeteo, the participants for Jubilee Media’s event were handpicked, and it was during the studio session that Mehdi first encountered them.

Hasan, whose backers have lauded his performance, declared near the end of the broadcast, while participants were evaluating the debate, that he was both taken aback yet not completely surprised by the radical views he encountered: “I expected it to be an engaging exploration of what true far-right conservative ideologies entail. However, it was disconcerting to discover that they hold beliefs I anticipated they would, and they weren’t shy about voicing them openly. I’m disheartened because I found myself facing people who advocate for ‘white genocide,’ who question my citizenship… The individuals present today were far more conservative than I anticipated.

Hasan openly stated that he enjoys engaging in debates with individuals he disagree with. However, he emphasized his efforts to steer clear of those acting in bad faith and commented that some participants during the debate were indeed dishonest. Additionally, he implied a criticism towards Jubilee for airing such radical views, suggesting that while free speech is important, it doesn’t necessitate giving credence or exposure to individuals who don’t support equal rights for all humans.

Hasan stated that we’re witnessing a form of open authoritarianism, which is increasingly accepted and becoming commonplace in our nation, not just by those in positions of authority, but also by the media and people who may be unaware.

However, some people online argue that Hasan himself should have been aware of what he was getting into when he joined the platform.

“The fix is in”

Jubilee Media’s objective is to stimulate comprehension and foster meaningful relationships among people. As stated on their website, they consider discomfort and disagreement as crucial elements in building human connections. Since 2017, the company has developed various web series covering topics such as dating, identity, politics, and others.

In the spirit of demonstrating the potential power of discourse, I shared with Variety in late 2024, during an interview about Surrounded, that we aim to illustrate the dual nature of conversations – while they can sometimes be unfruitful, they can also yield remarkable productivity and empathy. As the founder of this platform, Jubilee, I strive for us to act as a fair mediator in the political arena, doing our utmost to maintain impartiality.

Generally speaking, it seems that Jubilee’s debate series operates without a moderator, and is mainly self-regulated by the participants, though Straight Arrow News, owned by billionaire Joe Ricketts, occasionally offers on-screen fact-checking.

However, critics have raised doubts about the company’s claimed high-minded intentions. As the Atlantic pointed out in January, “Jubilee Media delves into the country’s most profound conflicts to create viral videos with a lot of commotion. But is all this bickering actually leading to any changes in people’s beliefs?

As a devoted movie enthusiast, I’m saying straight-up that it seems like the folks behind the scenes at Jubilee Media are working with less than honest intentions. It’s like they’ve mastered a trick: Gather 20 people with radical viewpoints and let them loose in a 90-minute video, knowing full well they’ll say some pretty outrageous stuff that’ll grab headlines. After the latest episode featuring Hasan, I couldn’t help but notice this pattern. They’ve cracked the code, you could say, on how to capitalize on the core principles of the internet: sensationalism and virality.

According to Minh Do, filmmaker and entrepreneur, the creators of Jubilee seem more focused on generating sensational content with the goal of garnering clicks and controversy, as opposed to exhibiting a sense of accountability towards the public by encouraging thoughtful discussions about these topics. In other words, they prioritize empty dialogue for the sake of views.

After viewing just a few short videos, it’s apparent that something seems rigged or biased,” said podcaster Alex Goldman.

Imani Barbarin, a writer and advocate for disability rights, who declined an invitation from Jubilee to feature in a Surrounded episode concerning feminism in March, shared a video on Monday expressing her disapproval of how she felt the discussion-oriented program was designed for viral incidents rather than meaningful interaction.

Barbarin stated that the debate where Mehdi Hasan confronted around 20 people, which many believe he won, is being edited online to make it seem like he lost instead. Just by looking at some participants’ social media posts, you can see them celebrating as if they had triumphed, and their followers praising their performance.

“This,” Barbarin emphasized, “is what the memeification of politics looks like in practice.”

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2025-07-22 12:06

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