Researchers studying the far right have sounded the alarm over the threat posed by the rapid proliferation of conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation for years, noting that shifts in the extreme right’s mobilization tactics could present new challenges to stemming a tide of violence.
An Oregon man who is alleged to have fired shots into a federal court building in Portland last week had, over the preceding months, expressed increasingly violent and conspiracy-minded beliefs across a range of online platforms.
Facing mounting pressure from law enforcement and obstacles in the form of tech companies pushing fringe websites and prominent social media accounts offline, far-right extremists have embraced a more diffuse, chaotic response to Joe Biden’s inauguration than the concentrated mob attack that engulfed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
A national survey of 1,500 adults fielded by the Intelligence Project and Tulchin Research revealed that Americans understand white supremacy and other forms of racism as a threat to our society, but still struggle to connect those issues to systemic and structural racism.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a newly elected congresswoman from Northwest Georgia with ties to QAnon, wasted no time engaging in presidential election conspiracy theories.
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