De Baraso’s social media handle @KnowaWasTaken has 118,000 followers, and his content supports a pro-Democrat and pro-Kamala Harris outlook. The first post his page visitors will encounter is a pinned video of his interaction with Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. He also posts on TikTok and Instagram. Simultaneously, he promotes Democratic candidates and progressive causes.
De Baraso, who is homeschooled and lives with his mother, entered the DNC Media Row to find opportunities to introduce himself to veteran journalists when he chanced upon his interaction with Martin. Martin was seated in an area with a production set for his show “Roland Martin Unfiltered.” Initially, De Baraso asked for a photo with Martin and was interviewed on air instead. Upon hearing his answers, Martin offered him a job on his platform, saying the network would get in touch with his parents.
The “Roland Martin Unfiltered” is a daily show broadcast from Washington, DC, which covers politics, social justice, and education, among various journalistic beats. Today, its YouTube channel has more than 1.3 million subscribers and serves as a trusted news source for the Black and African American community.
Martin himself had wanted to be a journalist since he set foot on a communications-focused magnet program at Houston’s Jack Yates High School as a 13-year-old in the 1980s. A former news anchor for TV One and a CNN contributor, Martin went solo with his show in September 2018. It has since has garnered acclaim over the last few years and has been profitable since 2020, earning more than $3 million annually. He also expanded his show by launching The Black Star Network, a venture that he self-financed with $350,000 with assistance from a sponsor, ie. the labor union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Since 2018, the channel has generated more than $2.5 million from around 30,000 donors since 2018.
“It’s all about the desire and the urgency of the individual,” Martin told Variety. “This kid’s got it. You have to nurture that and develop that. Those of us in African American media have to leverage our platform to create opportunities for the next generation.”
De Baraso’s encounter with Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and a vocal supporter of former POTUS Donald Trump at the DNC, also went viral. He went up to him and asked him about the 2020 presidential elections, “Why are you denying the results of a fair and free election?” Lindell denied, saying he is only “trying to get rid of paper ballots.” He further went on to argue that election fraud was committed in Georgia. Lindell told Knowa, “They found 257,000 votes in Georgia that are missing from the 2020 election,” reiterating his previous allegations of election fraud. Lindell was unable to provide any sources for the rhetoric. De Baraso quickly retorted, “So your source is just ‘trust me, bro’?”
Turning Point USA founder and Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement Charlie Kirk attended the DNC. De Baraso asked him, “Why did you say that the civil rights bill should be overturned?” Kirk replied, “I didn’t say that. I said it was a mistake,” to which the pre-teen said, “Why? That’s crazy.” The young man left the scene promptly, saying, “I wouldn’t be here. That’s trouble.”
In 2022, he visited a rally for Stacey Abrams, the then-gubernatorial candidate in Georgia. He also interacted with Abrams and appeared in one of her political advertisements. This incident inspired De Baraso to create content on electoral politics and policies. Abrams saw the video of De Baraso’s interaction with Kirk and joked, “I saw your video from yesterday. You did not have to do Charlie Kirk like that, dude.”
As a guest on Sky News, he told anchor Mark Austin that the new generation no longer consumes news from legacy media.
During his interview with Martin, De Baraso was asked what he thinks is the most relevant policy he supports right now.
“My most important policy right now is keeping The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which is so critical, and we’ve seen a lot of pro-Black legislation out of the Biden Harris Administration. Right now, I would love to see her raise the minimum wage for our workers,” he replied.
