Podcast Summary: Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Guest: Chris Pavlovski, Founder & CEO of Rumble
Air Date: February 18, 2026

Overview:

This episode features Chris Pavlovski, founder and CEO of Rumble, in an in-depth conversation with Rick Rubin. The discussion explores the rise of Rumble as an alternative video platform, issues of free speech and censorship in the tech industry, the challenges of building infrastructure independent of major cloud providers, and the shifting landscape of digital media. Pavlovski also reflects on international controversies, Rumble’s business philosophy, advances in AI and quantum computing, and the company’s core mission of freedom-centric technology.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Competing with YouTube—The Origin of Rumble

• Early Challenges in the Video Platform Space
  • YouTube’s dominance post-acquisition by Google (00:02–02:00)
    • "It was so difficult. Even... I went to various VCs and pitched all of them and nobody bit." – Chris Pavlovski [00:45]
  • Google integrating YouTube into Google Search, eliminating fair competition among video sites (07:22)
    • "Google buys YouTube and overnight crushes all these businesses at once." – Chris Pavlovski [07:47]
• The Founding Vision
  • Rumble created in 2013 to help small creators who were being deprioritized by YouTube’s algorithm changes and copyright fears (03:24–04:51)
  • The name “Rumble” was a gift from a high school friend (05:55)

2. Evolution of Online Video Content & Monetization

• Shifts in Platform Prioritization
  • Early YouTube “built on the backs of stolen content,” then shifted to big brand partnerships as monetization became key (02:41–03:59)
  • Small creators unable to monetize or get distribution as platform requirements grew stricter (04:00–04:55)
• Early Video Websites
  • Pre-YouTube landscape: College Humor, Ebaum’s World, Break.com, etc. (06:33–06:57)
    • Viral clips were short and mostly user-generated/home videos
• Infrastructure Challenges
  • Video hosting was extremely expensive, required financing and hardware know-how (07:51–09:13)
  • Cloud services (AWS, Google Cloud) ultimately increased costs for large-scale operations (17:23–19:24)
    • "If we were to be on Amazon versus running on our bare metal, it would be far more expensive by a magnitude of probably 10x." – Chris Pavlovski [17:57]

3. Rumble’s Political Controversies and Explosive Growth

• 2020: Catalyst Moment
  • Rumble’s user base explodes when politicians and censored creators flock from YouTube (10:03–11:37)
  • Example: A US congressman gained 200k subscribers on Rumble in months, compared to just 10k after years on YouTube (11:02–12:12)
  • "It was never started as a political thing... Rumble's politics were cats and dog videos at the very most." – Chris Pavlovski [10:34]
• Platform Policy Consistency
  • Rumble’s steadfast adherence to original 2013 terms of service; no reactionary policy shifts (22:35–23:48)
  • "We just stuck to exactly what we came up with in 2013, provided a very consistent terms of service, and never moved." – Chris Pavlovski [23:36]

4. Clashes with Governments and Censorship Abroad

• France: Ordered to remove legal (but politically unfavorable) content during the Ukraine-Russia war; Rumble fought and won in French court (25:39–27:53)
  • "We challenged them in France and the judge said ... didn't have the authority to do it, and it's invalid. So we're back on in France." – Chris Pavlovski [27:35]
• Brazil: Supreme Court demanded removal of specific creators for political reasons; Rumble refused and was blocked at ISP-level, now in litigation (28:56–32:42)
• Russia & China: Blocked Rumble for not censoring according to their standards (25:10–27:00)
• UK, New Zealand, Australia, India: Received governmental takedown requests (59:25–59:43)
  • Rumble’s response: stand firm unless content is against U.S. law or Rumble’s own guidelines, even if that leads to country-wide bans

5. Freedom, Principles & Personal Values

• Pavlovski’s Ethos & Upbringing
  • Influence of family values—honor, steadfastness, not submitting to peer pressure or media attacks (24:01–25:07)
    • "My dad, honor is the perfect word for him. Stick to what's right all the time and never fall to peer pressure." – Chris Pavlovski [24:01]
• Consistency as a Market Advantage
  • The “center” position as other platforms swung into and out of political moderation or censorship (44:31–46:42)
    • "We want to be a place where you can speak freely, where we're not telling you what you can or cannot say or you can or cannot hear." [46:22]

6. Media Attacks and Pavlovski’s First Encounter

• BuzzFeed Interview (2020):
  • Hostile/discriminatory questioning based on his Macedonian heritage, association with “fake news farms” (48:50–51:54)
    • "It was so shocking. I remember I had a tear. I had, like, tears in my eye... This is completely discriminatory." – Chris Pavlovski [50:24]
  • Led to a longstanding distrust of corporate media motives

7. Infrastructure Independence & Rumble Cloud

• Necessity of Building Own Infrastructure:
  • Parler’s deplatforming by AWS was a wake-up call; Rumble built its own cloud to ensure survival and independence (19:37–21:25)
  • Rumble Cloud now offers services to the public, hosting major clients outside of Rumble (62:12–63:25)
• Business Pillars:
  • Five pillars: Video, Advertising, Payments (wallet), Cloud, and Data Centers—all around the “freedom first” ethos (66:07–68:00)

8. Monetization, Content Diversity & Platform Growth

• Monetization Mechanisms:
  • Pre-roll ads, tipping, subscriptions, Bitcoin/stablecoin (with investment from Tether, 2025) (37:36–39:35)
  • "You can also tip creators in Bitcoin or Stablecoin as well." – Chris Pavlovski [38:42]
• Content Expansion:
  • Announced major efforts to move beyond politics: sports (Street League Skateboarding), comedy, hip-hop (DJ Akademiks), etc. (36:22–37:08; 86:07)
• Platform & Reach:
  • As of the episode: 47 million monthly active users—“up 47x since 2020.” (36:04–36:13)
• Key Markets:
  • US, Canada, UK—with ambitions for India, Latin America, and more via AI/translation initiatives (60:47–61:33)

9. Crypto & Banking Independence

• Response to Financial Censorship:
  • Example: Canadian truckers’ protest, debanking, donation seizures (68:00–72:21)
    • "We're launching a non custodial wallet. We can't even touch it... It’s not even technically feasible for us to do it." – Chris Pavlovski [68:22]
  • Mission: guarantee free speech and financial independence for users

10. AI, Quantum Computing, and the Future

• AI’s Role in Modern Censorship:
  • AI will make censorship more covert, filtering without user awareness—Pavlovski warns this is already happening (75:48–77:58)
    • "With AI you're not going to know it. They don't need to shut you off anymore... AI will take censorship to a level we have never seen." – Chris Pavlovski [76:07]
• Open-Source, User-Controlled AI:
  • Rumble (in partnership with Tether) aims to build an open-source, individualized AI model, transparent and locally controlled (78:01–79:52)
• Quantum Computing’s Promise & Risks:
  • Quantum computing will radically increase processing power, possibly breaking today's security models but also offering huge potential (88:30–90:49)
    • "Quantum computing is really scary and really cool at the same time... We're talking like a massive, like thousands times increase in speed." – Chris Pavlovski [89:30]
  • Preparing for quantum-resistant cryptography is crucial, but timeline uncertain

11. Going Public—Alignment with Users

• IPO Experience:
  • Rumble listed in 2022 via SPAC, finding strong support from ordinary investors, not institutions (79:55–82:36)
    • "The people love Rumble... The investment community and the corporate community do not like Rumble. We're disrupting everything for them." – Chris Pavlovski [79:55]

12. The Evolving Creator Economy

• Creators and Platform Deals:
  • Incentives, exclusivity contracts (e.g., Tim Pool, Steven Crowder), direct competition with YouTube and Spotify (85:26–86:05)
  • Genre expansion includes music, hip-hop (especially illustrated by Rolling Stone’s coverage of hip-hop’s move to Rumble) (86:07–87:39)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Rumble’s Origin, Mission & YouTube’s Dominance: 00:02–09:29
• The 2020 Pivot & Political Content Surge: 09:59–15:50
• Governmental Censorship and Legal Fights: 24:00–33:47, 54:00–56:38
• Media Smears & The BuzzFeed Incident: 47:27–52:48
• Building Independent Infrastructure (Cloud): 16:21–21:25, 62:12–64:14
• Rumble’s Global Strategy & Future Tech: 61:00–65:28, 75:42–79:52
• Monetization, Wallets, and Crypto: 37:36–44:08, 68:00–70:39
• AI & Quantum Computing’s Risks & Opportunities: 75:48–91:56
• Going Public and User Alignment: 79:55–82:43

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Platform Consistency:
  • “We just stuck to exactly what we came up with in 2013, provided a very consistent terms of service, and never moved.” — Chris Pavlovski [23:36]
• On Free Speech:
  • “We want to be a place where you can speak freely, where we're not telling you what you can or cannot say or you can or cannot hear.” — Chris Pavlovski [46:22]
• On Media Slander:
  • “It was so shocking. I remember I had a tear. I had, like, tears in my eye... This is completely discriminatory.” — Chris Pavlovski [50:24]
• On AI & Censorship:
  • “AI will take censorship to a level we have never seen. And it'll be almost impossible to figure it out.” — Chris Pavlovski [76:07]
• On Personal Principles:
  • "My dad, honor is the perfect word for him. Stick to what's right all the time and never fall to peer pressure." — Chris Pavlovski [24:01]
• On Quantum Computing:
  • “Quantum computing is really scary and really cool at the same time... We're talking like a massive, like thousands times increase in speed.” — Chris Pavlovski [89:30]
• On Rumble’s Ethos:
  • "The whole vision is to basically create a Freedom first technology infrastructure across all these pillars where everything is built around the ethos of freedom." — Chris Pavlovski [68:00]

Takeaways for New Listeners

• Rumble began as a platform to empower small, home-based creators left behind in the rise of corporate, algorithm-driven video platforms.
• The company’s growth accelerated rapidly when censorship and political turbulence drove creators from YouTube to Rumble.
• Rumble has faced—and fought—multiple international censorship attempts, remaining committed to consistent, fair terms of service.
• Pavlovski’s personal values and family background deeply influence the company’s mission to remain principled and resistant to outside pressure.
• The future of online discourse, content monetization, and financial independence is being shaped by Rumble’s stubborn commitment to “freedom first” technologies, including open-source, user-owned AI and non-custodial wallets.
• The perils and power of AI and quantum computing may dwarf today’s free speech debates; open systems and transparency are paramount in Pavlovski’s vision.
• Rumble’s user base and influence, especially in contentious moments like elections, threaten the dominance of incumbent platforms, challenging industry standards on both technology and principles.

For more, visit Rumble.com or listen to this conversation on your favorite podcast app.