Standing in front of him on a frigid Friday afternoon in November was an ideologically diverse and somewhat contradictory block of voters, members of the self-described “Yang Gang,” the catch-all title used to describe the small but dedicated group of people who have rallied around the 2020 presidential candidate and his plan to give every American adult $1,000 a month. Many had traveled from around the country to attend the day’s event, which featured a performance by Rivers Cuomo. It was framed as Yang’s coming-out party as a serious presidential candidate, despite being dubbed “Yangapalooza.”

“You don’t look like the fucking internet to me!” Andrew Yang yelled out to the crowd that had gathered in the iceless skating rink on the banks of the Des Moines River.

Yang’s observation was supposed to serve as something of a rebuke to his critics, who have doubted the veracity and staying power of a campaign whose relationships with its supporters was forged mainly on the internet. The idea, it would seem, is that people are not people until they get off their laptops and go stand outside and listen to Cuomo make his way through covers of ‘80s hits and “Say It Ain’t So.”

But for Yang to downplay the power of his internet campaign would be to ignore what has made it so unique. Even though any rational political observer will tell you Yang has a minuscule chance of winning it all next November, the former non-profit entrepreneur has blasted past any reasonable expectations of him. Yang has raised over $15 million since his campaign began—approximately two-thirds of which have come from small donations--and will find himself on stage once more at this month’s Democratic debate.

Three months before the Iowa caucuses, Yang remains. The same can’t be said of one-time presidential maybe-“frontrunner” Beto O’Rourke, who, on the day of Yangapalooza, abruptly ended his campaign because he was running low on cash. That same day, the New York Times also published a poll of Iowa voters that found Yang polling at the same percentage as Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker. He even polled ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden with voters under 45 years of age.

What’s made Yang’s campaign so notable is how it’s been built almost entirely through digital media, where Yang has developed a rabid fanbase through 10-hour-long Reddit AMAs and podcast appearances that include The Ben Shapiro Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Rubin Report, and Making Sense with Sam Harris. Among the “Yang Gangers” is Asif, an immigrant and psychiatrist who had driven to Yangapalooza from St. Louis. Asif discovered Yang by accident after watching Joe Rogan interview Elon Musk on YouTube. The next video selected by the algorithm was Yang, and Asif was hooked by what he described as Yang’s appeal through logic.