Law Rumble Is Part of an ‘Active and Ongoing’ SEC Investigation - The SEC confirmed to WIRED that the financial regulator has launched an investigation involving Rumble, a “free speech” video platform. The nature of the probe remains unknown.

  • 🐕 I am attempting to get the site runnning as fast as possible. If you are experiencing slow page load times, please report it.
1705147235067.png
Rumble, the so-called free speech alternative to YouTube, is the subject of an investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to the company and a letter from the SEC.

The SEC confirmed its investigation involving Rumble in response to a public records request that WIRED first filed in November, seeking documents related to the company. The agency denied WIRED's request on the grounds that related documents were part of an “active and ongoing” investigation. Confirmation of the probe follows public allegations that Rumble inflated key user metrics, which the company denies.

The SEC says that the existence of the probe should not be an indication that “any violations of law have occurred with respect to any person, entity, or security.” The exact nature of the SEC investigation is still unknown.

“We have confirmed with Division of Enforcement staff that the investigation from which you seek records is still active and ongoing,” Melinda Hardy, the assistant general counsel for litigation and administrative practice at the SEC, said in a January 8 letter to WIRED.

Hardy added that disclosure of the documents WIRED sought as part of its Freedom of Information Act request “could be reasonably expected to cause harm to the ongoing and active enforcement proceedings because, among other things, individuals and entities of interest in the underlying investigation could fabricate evidence, influence witness testimony and/or destroy or alter certain documents.”

Rumble spokesperson Rory Rumore tells WIRED that the company provided information to the SEC voluntarily in response to a request for documents from the SEC Enforcement staff. Rumore also says in a statement: “We caution anyone from jumping to false conclusions about matters related to Rumble.”

Founded in 2013 by Canadian entrepreneur Chris Pavlovski, Rumble was originally dedicated to hosting viral videos of dogs and cats. The site now claims to push back “against cancel culture and creeping censorship,” hosting shows by Donald Trump Jr. and right-wing personality Steven Crowder. Rumble is also the official streaming partner of the Republican National Committee’s 2024 presidential primary debates.

“The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation,” an SEC spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Rumble’s investors have included JD Vance, a US senator from Ohio, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has contributed heavily to Republican candidates. Elon Musk confidant and tech venture capitalist (((David Sacks))) sits on Rumble’s board of directors.

In May 2021, the site was reportedly valued at an estimated $500 million. In September 2022, Rumble became a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq as part of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deal. Its valuation currently exceeds $1.2 billion.

In April 2023, investment research firm Culper Research released a report expressing skepticism about the legitimacy of Rumble’s claimed monthly active user (MAU) counts, a key metric for investors to evaluate the performance of a social media company. Culper Research said it had taken a short position in Rumble, meaning it stands to profit if Rumble’s stock price decreases.

“Combined, the web and app data suggest to us that Rumble has only 38 to 48 million unique users, and the Company has overstated its user base by 66% to 108%,” Culper Research claimed in its report.

In a quarterly earnings call following the report’s publication, Rumble reported that its monthly active users declined by 40 percent during the first three months of 2023, from 80 million to 48 million. In a financial filing, Rumble attributed the decrease in users to its popular creators being less active on the platform in the first part of 2023, and news events slowing down following the 2022 midterm elections.

“Investors should be especially dubious of rumors peddled by short-sellers who are attempting to distort facts for their own financial benefit. We are aware of misleading claims about Rumble’s monthly active user (MAU) statistics, which, as we have previously disclosed, are provided by Google Analytics,” Rumble spokesperson Rumore says. “Any suggestion that Rumble has inflated its MAUs is false—as any objective person quickly realizes upon even a cursory review of the data.”

Christian Lamarco, the founder of Culper Research, believes the change in reported users was a response to its report. “That was a bit of validation, in my view,” he says.

Updated 5:45 pm ET, January 8, 2024: Immediately following publication, Chris Pavlovski, Rumble's founder and CEO, said in a post on X that the SEC investigation was part of “the playbook to try and destroy” the company.

“A short seller creates a bogus report and sends it to the SEC. The SEC investigates the bogus report. Then the short seller talks to the media to get a story about how the SEC is investigating the report that started with him. The media happily writes the story,” Pavlovski wrote. “The report is bogus, but that doesn’t matter—it’s all to get investors to sell the stock so the short seller profits.”

Pavlovski added that the company used Google Analytics to track user metrics “so we could be ready for this very moment.”

Source (Archive)
 
Ummm, there is something fucky with how they count viewers...as has been noticed by some Rekeita thread users. I don't understand the intricacies but comparing the viewer numbers on Youtube then the numbers on Rumble when Rekeita and other personalities switch from one platform to the other mid-show yields some interesting discrepancies.
*shrugs*
 
Founded in 2013 by Canadian entrepreneur Chris Pavlovski, Rumble was originally dedicated to hosting viral videos of dogs and cats.

This seems like a condescending but unfalsifiable assertion.

In a quarterly earnings call following the report’s publication, Rumble reported that its monthly active users declined by 40 percent during the first three months of 2023, from 80 million to 48 million.

The SEC investigation seems bogus, but a 40% self-reported drop in traffic seems drastic and fishy.

This SEC investigation doesn't even seem to concern the fact that Rumble's publicly displayed live viewer counts are comically inflated.
 
So the SEC, the guys who are supposed to investigate stock manipulation are allowed to tell the media a publicly traded company is under investigation, something that will cause the stock to drop. They don't have to say why they are under investigation, how long they will be under investigation or if the investigation has found anything.

Sure looks like picking winners and losers to me.

Why are they allowed to comment on ongoing but not completed investigations?
Shouldn't the response be "No comment" or "We can neither confirm or deny an investigation is in progress." ?
 
I believe this is being done because of the election, but that Rumble's numbers are also bullshit.

Like @Botchy Galoop said, a lot of us who have been following the Rekieta thread (Lolcow of the Year, 2023), have expressed skepticism that Rekieta's view counts are anywhere near accurate. That skepticism has been expressed for the better part of a year now, long before this.
 
I believe this is being done because of the election, but that Rumble's numbers are also bullshit.

Like @Botchy Galoop said, a lot of us who have been following the Rekieta thread (Lolcow of the Year, 2023), have expressed skepticism that Rekieta's view counts are anywhere near accurate. That skepticism has been expressed for the better part of a year now, long before this.
Every platform is guilty of that. I thought it was part of the business model.
 
Every platform is guilty of that. I thought it was part of the business model.
Maybe to some extent, but when you become publicly traded it becomes dicey.

Note that when Cozy uses their obvious view multiplier, people point and laugh, but there's no SEC investigation. That's because Fuentes didn't put Cozy on the stock market. There's way more rules when you become publicly traded.
 
The drop might come from the fact that Rumble is blocked in certain EU countries.

Rumble did "voluntarily" pull out of France, but said it represented a miniscule tranche of their traffic.

Like @Botchy Galoop said, a lot of us who have been following the Rekieta thread (Lolcow of the Year, 2023), have expressed skepticism that Rekieta's view counts are anywhere near accurate.

IIRC @Spaded Dave did field testing in a closed system and estimated the multiplier could've been as high as 6x for live viewers.

Edit: typo
 
Last edited:
Rumble did "voluntarily" pull out of France, but said it represented a miniscule tranche of their traffic.



IIRC @Spaded Dave did field testing in a closed system and estimated the multiplier could've been as high as 6x for live viewer.
You are correct in your memory. For my personal experience, which is admittedly a data point of one, it was a 6x multiplier.

If I were to set up a multiplier, I'd have it start off higher and then taper off as the real views increase to make it look less suspicious. That is my guess as to what they are doing.
 
The drop might come from the fact that Rumble is blocked in certain EU countries.
I had no idea this was the case. That explains why Rumble won't load sometimes if my VPN is in Europe.
What is it about Rumble that the EU doesn't like? Just people saying "Nigger-Faggot" or is it because "Rightoids Bad"? I'm genuinely curious what Rumble does that YouTube lets slide too and Rumble is the only one censored.

Note that when Cozy uses their obvious view multiplier, people point and laugh, but there's no SEC investigation. That's because Fuentes didn't put Cozy on the stock market. There's way more rules when you become publicly traded.
I don't think Rumble knew what they were getting into with going public. I think what happened was they saw dollar signs from investors if they went public and wanted the staying power that can give. Like you said though, data manipulation can get an investigation and Rumble's numbers are incredibly inflated, at least on the public end. Maybe on the backend everything is more accurate but only someone working there would know for sure.
 
  • Autistic
Reactions: Averagest Redditor
What is it about Rumble that the EU doesn't like?
They wouldnt ban Russia Today's account at the start of the Ukraine war, like YT did. So Rumble blocks France IP's.
ETA: ReclaimTheNet article from Nov. 2022
Rumble says it won't move its policy goalposts to appease France's censorship demands
Christina Maas

Growing video platform Rumble, based in the US, has refused to cave to France’s demands to censor Russian news sources such as RT France and Sputnik.

Rumble has instead chosen to pull its services from France rather than comply with the order.

“The French Government has demanded that Rumble @rumblevideo block Russian news sources. Like @elonmusk, I won’t move our goal posts for any foreign government,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski tweeted.
reclaim-2022-11-01-at-21.07.22.png
In a statement, Rumble said, “the French Government demanded that we remove certain Russian news sources from Rumble.”

Rumble outlined its commitment to free speech, adding, “As part of our mission to restore a free and open internet, we have committed not to move the goalposts on our content policies. Users with unpopular views are free to access our platform on the same terms as our millions of other users.”

Rumble said that it was disabling access to users in France while they look into challenging the legality of the government’s demands.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has a show on Rumble, weighed in on the decision. “If Rumble obeyed France’s censorship order – like Big Tech firms often do – it’d mean Americans could only access voices and views which foreign governments (EU, China, Iran, etc.) permitted to be aired.”

Several months ago, the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia, including banning RT and Sputnik from being broadcast in member countries. The two news outlets were accused of spreading Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.

The channels are not allowed on television or online in EU countries. However, they have been circumventing the sanctions through online platforms that are not based in the EU.

Last month, France’s President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the difficulties in blocking RT and Sputnik from the country, as French citizens still had online ways to access the content.

“We’re using the informational weapon and Russia was doing it even before by spreading propaganda on social networks, through propaganda channels that we have cut off on our soil but still continue to find channels to broadcast,” Macron said in an interview broadcast by France 2.

Rumble describes itself as a high-growth neutral video platform with independent infrastructure that is “immune to cancel culture” – and a platform with a mission of restoring the internet to its roots.
Source (A)
 
Last edited:
Back