Rightwing personalities use X to bring antisemitic theories to light in US

The racist and antisemitic “great replacement” theory is encroaching out of the far-right and more visibly into mainstream US politics in the wake of its platforming by major figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, in a move experts believe shows the growing extremeness of rightwing politics in the US. [...] The “great replacement” is a …

Aspiring Political Figure Vivek Ramaswamy Claims Protestors Rammed His Car, But It Looks Like He Made It Up

As you can imagine, arguing to cut off support for Ukraine, block it from joining NATO and let Russia have whatever land it currently occupies has not been universally well-received. According to Ramaswamy (who is polling at around 7%, by the way) and his campaign, it was enough to cause two protesters to ram his …

Hawaii fires: spread of conspiracy theories reveals tech firms’ failings

Conspiracy theories including that the fire was started intentionally by a secret “energy weapon” and that a shadowy cabal of global elites set the blazes purposefully to clear the land for their own nefarious uses have gained popularity. The trend draws on existing far-right tropes that global-minded organizations such as the United Nations and the …

Fox repeatedly pushed the bogus claim that Target’s Pride Month collection included “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for children after it was debunked

Over the course of Fox News’ hours of coverage of the backlash against Target’s Pride Month collection, network hosts and guests repeatedly parroted the false claim that the retailer was selling “tuck-friendly” or “tuck-’em” swimsuits for children, even after the story was clearly debunked. https://www.mediamatters.org/diversity-discrimination/fox-repeatedly-pushed-bogus-claim-targets-pride-month-collection-included -Media Matters; 6/1/2023

Losing GOP candidate arrested in string of shootings at New Mexico Democrats’ homes

Peña might have been motivated by anger over his loss in November, police said. Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said at a news conference early Monday evening that Peña alleged his defeat was the result of election fraud. Peña lost his state House challenge to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia by 5,679 to 2,033, or 74% …

Arizona precincts with voting problems were not overwhelmingly Republican

The finding undercuts claims by someRepublicans — most notably Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for governor, and former president Donald Trump — that GOP areas in the county were disproportionately affected by the problems, which involved a mishap with printers.Republicans nonetheless argue that their voters were more likely to be affected, given their tendency to …

Another Republican lie is born

Let’s consider the lie, endlessly repeated by Republicans and the Fox News-led echo chamber, that new legislation enacted by Democrats funds the hiring of “87,000 armed IRS agents.” Like the “death panel” fabrication during the Obamacare debate, this is a whole-cloth invention designed to stoke paranoia. [...] When you figure in attrition (current funding doesn’t …

CPAC Europe Is a Safe Space for Authoritarians — and the Republicans Who Love Them

With the U.S. press banned but American conservatives looking on, speaker after speaker peddled the great replacement theory and spouted contempt for immigrants [...] The answers proposed by an international slate of nationalist speakers betrayed a growing affinity between American conservatism and illiberal authoritarians in Europe. Immigration, gender identity, abortion rights, foreign culture, and the …

The Steady Drumbeat of Apocalyptic Rhetoric Has Consequences

The Buffalo shooting reminds us that telling people their country is being stolen away from them over and over again for years is not just some cable-news ratings game. [...] A big chunk of this country has been subject to the steady drumbeat of apocalyptic rhetoric for years now, and we would be fools not …

The Buffalo Shooter Isn’t a ‘Lone Wolf.’ He’s a Mainstream Republican

The right-wing extremists who control the modern GOP are all gripped by a racist delusion. The shooter is just the latest to act on it https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/buffalo-shooter-white-supremacist-great-replacement-donald-trump-1353509/ -Rolling Stone; 5/15/2022