Catturd Is a Right-Wing Troll Who Has Gained Fame Thanks to His Posting

One of the strangest things about the modern internet is that it's possible to be very famous without anyone really knowing anything about you. That's definitely the case for an X (formerly Twitter) account known as Catturd, which is famous largely for its scatological sense of humor and its decidedly right-wing political bent.

As Catturd continues to become more and more popular online, though, many want to know more about who they are and how they became so well-known. Here's what we know about the online character — and the very real man behind it.

Catturd's real name is Phillip Buchanan, an apparently thrice-divorced man who now resides on a "ranch in the middle of nowhere" in Florida. Outside of online posting, Phillip has long been interested in music, and apparently met his third wife while looking at records. He now suffers from arthritis, though, which keeps him from playing guitar. He also claims to have served in the army.

His online account gained prominence throughout the late 2010s, receiving retweets from accounts like Jack Posobiec, and he had garnered more than a half million followers on the platform by the end of 2020. Donald Trump also retweeted him seven times before the former president left the platform altogether in early 2021 because he was banned following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Catturd was initially supportive of Elon Musk's decision to buy the platform that was then called Twitter. Ultimately, though, he changed his tune, saying that he was wrong to think Elon could have transformed the platform for the better.

Catturd has also encouraged his many followers to engage in a very specific boycott, and it seems like he's convinced many of them.

In a post from the end of August, Catturd encouraged those who follow him to boycott travel to Europe completely. In his post, he wrote that "they're more Fascist and communist than North Korea and China combined." He added that "we should declare them all enemies of the United States because they're the enemies of freedom and free speech, and they're run by fascist dictators who cheat in their elections to stay in power. They're no different than Stalin, Mussolini, or Hitler."

It's unclear exactly what spurred this tirade, but what seems clear is that Catturd is very mad at all of Europe. It's worth noting, of course, that there are plenty of people throughout Europe with right-wing politics. Even so, Catturd seems willing to write off the whole continent.

Just recently, there has been a flurry of articles about overtourism in some areas of Europe, so it seems like they might welcome the reprieve from American travelers. Whether Catturd really means it or not, though, it seems like he might have an influence on the many people who follow him.