this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2026
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Ramsey Khalid Ismael — better known as Johnny Somali, the infamous American streamer arrested in Japan, Israel, and South Korea for his provocative behavior — has been imprisoned in South Korea.

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[–] otacon239@lemmy.world 125 points 1 month ago (7 children)

While I respect that everyone should have freedom of speech and expression, this guy was a complete moron:

Ismael was certain he wouldn't be imprisoned, saying in a stream: "I know for a fact that I'm not going to go to jail. Not one day in jail. I'm going to laugh my ass off when all these motherf***ers are saying I'm going for 30 years, 20 years, five years, 10 years. I'm not even going to do one day, bro. They'll give me a fine and say, 'Don't come back to Korea.' You're the one that's going to look so dumb when I don't get any jailtime or anything. Bro, I'm going to laugh like a f**king villain.”

Like, my God. “Don’t go shake those venomous snakes. They’ll bite you.” “No way, bro. They won’t even bite. Watch.”

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 75 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Maybe he was getting legal advice from ChatGPT.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 43 points 1 month ago

You're absolutely right!

[–] TassieTosser@aussie.zone 20 points 1 month ago

He did the same shit in Japan and only got deported and banned. He simply assumed Korea would be the same. Good to see Korea don't play.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 43 points 1 month ago (3 children)

He needs to respect the laws of countries he visits. That comes before any expectation of "freedom of speech". (I refer to speech specifically because a lot of Americans seem to act like their constitution is the gold standard that the entire world should adhere to, but not everyone agrees)

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 46 points 1 month ago (1 children)

America itself doesn't even adhere to it.

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago

This is very true. I’ve got business past and present in many countries, and the US is by far the one we have to be the most careful to cover ourselves when dealing with.

What they’ve done is move all the stuff that a lot of countries’ governments would handle impartially through regulation or legislation, made them private civil matters, and called it “Freedom”. This incentivises people to file suits for anything they can think of, and those on the receiving end can end up bankrupted even when the courts rule in their favour.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Especially when it comes to hate speech and inciting violence, etc. Even America has restraints on inciting violence, but other countries definitely restrict things like hate speech, while the conservatives in America just go BUCK WILD with the hate speech and then have meltdowns when private platforms boot them for violating the TOS and they cry about their "free speech" and how "conservative speech" is being restricted, LOL.

It's weird how conservative speech always needs to involve hate as its core tenet. These assholes are never kicked from these platforms because they were discussing tax policy or deregulating big business.

[–] Whiskey_iicarus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

If he had bothered to read his passport it says plainly that you are subject to all local laws, and that their penalties are probably worse, but the US doesn't care.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

He's obviously a sociopath.

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[–] baeb66@lemmy.today 121 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I didn't know that this guy kissed the Statue of Peace aka the Comfort Woman Statue in Korea for clicks. That's pretty foul. That statue is dedicated to all of the women who were used as sex slaves by the Japanese in WW2. They have one in the DMZ. The tour guide told us how it depicts women who fought their whole lives for justice for what was done to them. It's a striking piece of art.

Enjoy prison, you clown.

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

And to compound what happened to them, they were shunned by society at the end of the war as if they were spoiled goods. It took 50 years or so for the public to understand the depth of what happened to them and to begin showing compassion. The statues exist in part to commemorate what happened to the women, and in part as a sign of remorse for how they were treated by their own communities afterwards.

[–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They have one in the DMZ. The tour guide told us how it depicts women who fought their whole lives for justice for what was done to them. It’s a striking piece of art.

I looked it up and it sits facing the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, a constant reminder to Japan about what they did.

[–] KelvarCherry@piefed.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 month ago

Yes. The forcing of Korean captives into Japanese soldiers' "comfort women" is a common sore point in geopolitics between both Koreas and Japan. Japan has refused to give a real apology, and occasionally South Korea and Japan have visible clashes over the topic.

[–] fodor@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 month ago

You don't really want to look up everything horrible he did. He belongs behind bars, at least for a while, if only so he can't earn money doing horrible things.

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[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 120 points 1 month ago (4 children)

he's been banned from pretty much all streaming platforms, including Twitch, Kick, Rumble, and Parti.

When you manage to get banned from both Kick and Rumble you really should be re-evaluating your life choices...

[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 44 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I've never even heard of those platforms 🤷

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 60 points 1 month ago (2 children)

They’re “alt” platforms for people who feel like Twitch and YouTube are too “woke and gay” and they’re run by crypto gambling companies

[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I appreciate the explanation but I'm fine with being ignorant on this one. Never understood the appeal of streamers in the first place

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[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If I remember correctly Rumble was started as a "conservative streaming platform" after YouTube and Twitch start deplatforming some right-wingers for hate speech, encouraging violence, etc.

Kick is a little weirder. They came onto the scene booking big multimillion dollar exclusivity deals with a ton of established streamers, and wasn't started explicitly as a politically motivated streaming platform. They operate entirely off of AWS, pay streamers significantly more while having fewer real viewers than Twitch, so they are quite clearly not profitable at all, and notably have a lot of gambling streams (and explicitly permit gambling streams in their terms) so there's a lot of speculation that they're owned by one or multiple of the big gambling platforms and it's operated as an advertisement for online gambling.

Both platforms have developed deserved reputations of being reluctant to punish illegal and immoral behavior by streamers, and many streamers are reluctant or fully morally opposed to streaming on/supporting either platform.

One streamer my wife watches exclusively streams on twitch and his wife exclusively streams on Kick, and every time he mentions it you can tell by his change in tone that it's something he doesn't agree with, and can hear the distaste in his voice when he mentions that it's on Kick, but can also tell he does it to support his wife

Parti I don't really know but I think that might be another "conservative" one? I honestly can't remember.

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[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 83 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It would be really fucking rich... If they live-streamed him doing prison labor for 6 months.

[–] MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I don't think I've ever watched a streamer before and would happily change that to watch this.

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[–] Wispy2891@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'd even pay to upgrade him to a north Korean prison labor camp

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[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Never heard of this guy. But let me see if I have the basic jist of the story just from context of the headline, and that photo.

I'm going to guess he's some 19 year old, who feels he owns the world. He feels he's the main character, and totally untouchable.

So he goes off to these foreign countries, acts like an ass, and now he's shocked to find out that other countries ALSO have rules, and laws, and also think he's an asshole breaking their laws.

So basically this story's TLDR, if I have everything right is basically:

FAFO

[–] drcobaltjedi@programming.dev 35 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Having read half-ish of his wikipedia article, the only thing I'll correct you on is his age, 25, otherwise that's on point.

[–] VeganBtw@piefed.social 12 points 1 month ago

Even worse, jeez.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I vaguely remember seeing this when it came up earlier, and my impression was that the guy basically ran around doing offensive things and then making money by streaming video of it, so there's maybe something of a broader misincentives issue.

I mean, we probably wouldn't be talking about him right now if it didn't work in terms of getting eyeball time.

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This won't shut him up. He'll be back doing stupid shit as long as enough people watch him do it.

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 53 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Six months hard labor in a country where, when his warrant was put out, more or less engaged in a nation wide manhunt to get the fucker who gave a lap dance to a statue of a child that was constructed to remember the systematic rapes the imperial japanese military commit.

I sincerely doubt he has the kind of mental or physical fortitude required to come out of that unchanged. Do I think he will be a better person for it? No. This is punitive, not rehabilitative. But I sincerely doubt he will fuck around to anywhere near this degree ever again.

Probably shift more towards trying to pull an ishowspeed and talk about how he has changed and is nothing like he used to be and blah blah blah give him money.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can we get a live stream of him doing hard labor? That would be amazing!

[–] Squatcher@piefed.social 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That would get clicks and drive some real revenue for sure 😁

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[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 month ago

engaged in a nation wide manhunt to get the fucker who gave a lap dance to a statue [...]

That seems extreme.

[...] of a child [...]

oof

[...] that was constructed to remember the systematic rapes the imperial japanese military commit.

damn it man

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is a person who fairly regularly gets punched out on stream. I genuinely think he doesn't have the mental capacity to change from this 6 month sentence, possibly even before he started getting punched out.

[–] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

He's the kind of asshole that will come out of it saying something stupid like, "It was nothing! I ran the place!" He'll just roll it into his career, move on to another platform, and continue to be a big piece of shit.

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[–] EtAl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Kudos to South Korea for doing what Japan wouldn't. Maybe that's what happens when the Japanese "justice" system based on confession instead of evidence meets a sociopath that lies faster than he blinks.

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 14 points 1 month ago

Japan could have put him in prison without trial until he confessed. They chose not to prosecute, presumably because they didn't want him in the country for even longer.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 23 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Wow, I can think of quite a few more personalities and "influencers" and authors that I'd love to see go to a prison labor camp.

Benny Johnson, LibsOfTikTok, Bannon, Roger Stone, founder of the "Proud" Boys, Curtis Yarvin, Nick Fuentes....

The current US president also counts as a "personality" and "influencer"

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[–] finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Can any South Koreans with experience of 'prison with labor' weigh in? What can he expect to experience in there? How do you thing he'll come out of it? Will he have learned his lesson?

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[–] jtrek@startrek.website 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've never heard of this person before but he sounds like a trash bag.

[–] mrmaplebar@fedia.io 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not exactly. Trash bags are useful

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[–] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 13 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I sadly guarantee you that the second he is released he will continue to be a POS.

[–] fodor@lemmy.zip 11 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

But now convicted. Harder to get immigration approval anywhere. Unless he lies, which could lead to longer prison sentences.

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[–] stumu415@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 month ago

Finally a good news story.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 12 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Consequently, he's been banned from pretty much all streaming platforms, including Twitch, Kick, Rumble, and Parti.

I've heard of one of these.

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Uplifting news

[–] FinishingDutch@lemmy.world 7 points 4 weeks ago

Fucking finally. That guy is an utter turd.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago

There's some people that the planet just doesn't really need

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