I was in St Kilda recently when I came across a with a self-confessed Candace Owens superfan. What started as a chat about his Christian faith quickly spiralled into a disturbing display of ignorance and antisemitism.

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At first, he spoke in generalities: “We need to turn to Christ. Christ is King!” But it didn’t take long for his real position to surface: “I reckon we should probably bomb Israel.”

When I pressed him, he claimed “Israel have so much control over Western society” and “the Jewish community have so much control over the world.” Yet when asked for evidence or specifics, he admitted, “I’m not that educated… I probably can’t think off the top of my head.”

The contradictions piled up. He wanted “regime change in most countries” but didn’t seem to realise Israel, like Australia, is a democracy that changes governments at the ballot box. He condemned Israel for defending itself against Hamas — the same Hamas that murdered, raped, and kidnapped civilians on October 7 — but couldn’t name other conflicts or genocides happening right now, such as against Christians and Druze in Syria, because his chosen influencers never mention them.

And that’s the real problem. His worldview is shaped almost entirely by the woke right sphere of Owens and Myron Gaines. He openly admitted, “They’re what I watch the most,” and when I asked if he ever fact-checked them, he conceded, “I should definitely do more in-depth research.”

I told him bluntly: Candace Owens lies to you every single episode. He still called her “the biggest true teller ever.” It’s cult-like thinking: blind trust without verification.

By the end, he insisted he wasn’t embarrassed, promising to “do more research” and debate me again. I hope he does. Because right now, he’s become exactly what he says he hates: part of an extremist cult. The only difference is that his is wearing a different jersey.