From anti-vaxxer moms to militia men: Influence operations, narrative weaponization, and the fracturing of American identity (Dana Beth Weinberg and Jessica Dawson, Brookings)

October 29, 2021

In spring 2020, several Facebook groups coalesced around opposition to coronavirus- related lockdowns. These online groups quickly devolved to hotbeds of conspiracy theories, malign information, and hate speech. Moreover, they drew from multiple online communities, including those opposed to vaccination — known as “anti-vaxxers” — anti- government militias, QAnon supporters and other conspiracy theorists. How did the anti- lockdown online forum unite these seemingly disparate groups and ultimately mobilize people with such different ideologies to show up at local protests? While algorithmic recommendations helped people find these Facebook groups, we find the answer to what makes these groups so compelling is their narratives, in this case narratives of government and elite conspiracies and of threats to individual freedom.

From anti-vaxxer moms to militia men: Influence operations, narrative weaponization, and the fracturing of American identity (brookings.edu)

Marco Emanuele

Marco Emanuele è appassionato di cultura della complessità, cultura della tecnologia e relazioni internazionali. Approfondisce il pensiero di Hannah Arendt, Edgar Morin, Raimon Panikkar. Marco ha insegnato Evoluzione della Democrazia e Totalitarismi, è l’editor di The Global Eye e scrive per The Science of Where Magazine. Marco Emanuele is passionate about complexity culture, technology culture and international relations. He delves into the thought of Hannah Arendt, Edgar Morin, Raimon Panikkar. He has taught Evolution of Democracy and Totalitarianisms. Marco is editor of The Global Eye and writes for The Science of Where Magazine.

From anti-vaxxer moms to militia men: Influence operations, narrative weaponization, and the fracturing of American identity (Dana Beth Weinberg and Jessica Dawson, Brookings)

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