Nicholas Mattson, Newspaper/Magazine Publisher

(NOTE: As of 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, 12 May, 2024, the @superhumanic Twitter account alluded to here had been deleted. Screenshots are all that remain of it, although a search of the handle will produce replies to the posts screenshotted here. Frankly, we found the posts way beyond despicable but wanted the account to remain up and running for history's sake because it had to be seen to be believed). 

_________________________________________ 

We are documenting for historical record the online statements linked to an avowed white supremacist who publishes newspapers and magazines in California's San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Northern Los Angeles counties. His name is Nicholas Mattson and he resides with his wife and two young sons in northern San Luis Obispo County, California, where he is the CEO of 13 Stars Media. The most prominent of his newspapers is the Malibu Times, but others include the Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press. The publications are there free for the taking at coffee shops, food courts and related gathering spots.

The only journalism experience the Mattsons had before buying Paso Robles magazine in 2017 were the preceding few years Nicholas spent covering local sports for the Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press. While a sports reporter, Nicholas ran for mayor of Atascadero in 2016 but was beaten 60.7- to 32.5-percent by incumbent Tom O'Malley. Nicholas' candidacy featured the combined endorsement of all five of Atascadero's mayors prior to O'Malley. 

Four years later, Nicholas entered the 2020 Atascadero City Council race, but his 3,604 votes left him in fourth place among five candidates vying for two spots. In the July prior to the November election, Nicholas sparked outrage by spreading Qanon and COVID disinformation in editorials he wrote. Los Angeles Times reporter Karen Garcia wrote about the controversy in the San Luis Obispo New Times while she was employed there. Sacramento Bee reporter Lindsey Holden covered the situation while employed at the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Also, check out the explosive replies to the New Times' Twitter posting of its article.

Nicholas has responded by ceasing to write bylined pieces for his publications. Instead, he has devoted most of his writing over the past couple of years to Twitter, where he has become increasingly defiant and hateful. He has admitted loving fascism, expressed hate toward Jews, threatened members of the LGBTQ community, slurred Blacks and ethnic minorities, disrespected police and mocked disabled veterans from multiple accounts. 

Some Twitter users who started following Nicholas at his original earlier accounts say they were by default recommended to his newer accounts with new usernames and handles and bore witness to a descent into hate-posting. Nicholas' previous Twitter handles have included @CalPublisher (deleted), @realNicMattson (deleted),  @TheGoodMediaGuy (later changed to @GodAmongTheGods, which is now suspended) and @SovereignDnzn (still there, but abandoned). Repeating the update at the top of this page, his @superhumanic Twitter account was deleted on the morning of Sunday, May 12, 2024. He has started a new account at @nicmattson, where he uses an authentic profile along with his name. However, his tweets are protected there and he has only two followers as of 17 May 2024. Equally suspicious, the @nicmattson bio originally listed him as owner of @13starsmedia and @redpillcoffee, but @13starsmedia has since been removed and there's no mention of his publications. 

As you can see, even without Twitter's guidance, the banners alone would have made it easy to connect the multiple accounts to the same person:

Hmmm... the @13starsmedia affiliation disappears in his current profile:

_________________________________________ 

RECENT ANTI-SEMITISM

Frequent anti-Semitic messages, memes and graphics began were posted at the @superhumanic beginning in April 2024. A swastika was featured prominently right there in the pinned tweet and the ensuing posts became only darker.

_________________________________________ 

RECENT RACISM / WHITE SUPREMACY

_________________________________________ 

THE HATE HAS A HISTORY

Ugly posts appeared previously at Nicholas' preceding account,  @GodAmongTheGods, where he avowed that he "

love

s" fascism and lobbed hate at the LGBTQ+ community. Other vulnerable groups were targeted as well, while cops were referred to as "criminals" and "traitors," U.S. military veterans were shown a lack of respect and one vet in particular was mocked for experiencing PTSD and seeking help. And, of course, there was plenty of racism.

Fascism:

The war on gays over the rainbow:

Cops are 'criminals,' 'traitors':

Military vets get no respect; one gets mocked for battling PTSD:

Racism:

Nicholas also operates Twitter accounts for his company's individual publications, but there is curiously little effort being put into the raising the accounts' online presence. Many of the accounts have fewer than 50 followers and new posts are sometimes months apart.

Several of his accounts have been suspended for violating Twitter's rules: