Gariépy was raised in Saint-Sophie. Gariépy studied biology at the Université de Montreal. In 2008, the Society for Neuroscience awarded Gariépy the Next Generation Award.[13] In 2012, he finished a doctoral thesis in French about the neural networks involved in the respiratory rhythm in lampreys.[14] From September 2011 until September 2015, Gariépy studied social interactions in monkeys at the Institute for Brain Sciences at Duke University.[15] Over his scientific career, Gariépy published 21 research items that were cited 529 times.[16]
Gariépy was not asked to return to his postdoctoral position. At this time, Gariépy was in a relationship with one of his undergraduate lab assistants. Gariépy told The Daily Beast he left Duke University for Canada because "he'd grown disillusioned with the scientific community."[17] In a Facebook post, Gariépy said he was leaving academia because it was "defective" and was interfering with "a true search for knowledge". He said he would continue to search for "a better way" to satisfy his scientific curiosity.[18] As of 2018, he had moved back to Canada following changes to his legal immigration status related to his divorce from his third wife.[17]
Political commentator
Gariépy made his first public appearance on episode 76 of the podcast Drunken Peasants in 2015.[17] In 2017, Gariépy joined the YouTube channel Warski Live as co-host.[19] At Warski Live, Gariépy introduced topics like scientific racism by discussing ethnic differences with guests like Richard B. Spencer, Millennial Woes, Andrew Anglin and Sargon of Akkad.[12][20] At Warski Live, Gariépy gained notoriety among the alt-right as a moderator of the so-called "YouTube Bloodsports" where two or more mainly right-wing guests engage in often highly abusive discussions on politics.[21]
After a falling out with his co-host, Andy Warski, in April 2018, Gariépy founded his own YouTube channel "The Public Space". The channel has, among many others, featured white nationalists and alt-right figures like Richard B. Spencer, David Duke, Mike Peinovich, Nick Fuentes,[22]Greg Johnson,[21] in addition to anti-transgender activist Posie Parker.[23]
^Weill, Kelly (March 15, 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 16, 2020. A former neuroscience researcher at Duke University who left suddenly in 2015, Gariepy now makes videos attempting to prove white superiority, calling for all-white separatist states and a crackdown on immigration.
^Martineau, Paris (October 23, 2019). "Maybe It's Not YouTube's Algorithm That Radicalizes People". Wired. ISSN1059-1028. Retrieved February 16, 2020. The most exteme[sic] category, the "Alt-Right," refers to those who push strong anti-Semitic messages and advocate for the genetic superiority of white people, including [...] Jean-Francois Gariepy.
^ abcWeill, Kelly (March 15, 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 31, 2019. The psychologist found Gariepy to be "very bright, intellectually," but said he showed a lack of insight and impulse control, a "sense of being treated unfairly, or victimized," and displayed distorted thoughts suggesting "overt psychosis."