The unwillingness of our American commander-in-chief at the time to unequivocally condemn white supremacists should be deeply worrying because it seems to encourage some violent right-wing fascists to make the leap from online propaganda into real-world action (like we saw during the January 2021 violent pro-Trump insurrection at the US Capitol).

XREF: Connects to broader research on radicalization and the pathway from online echo chambers to offline violent action, such as lone-wolf terrorism studies.

XREF: Links to broader research on dehumanization, authoritarianism, and how elite cues license in-group extremism.

Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Gl…, loc. 221