Brian Hughes’s research while affiliated with American Military University and other places

Despite the widespread assumption that online misbehavior affects outcomes related to political extremism, few studies have provided empirical evidence to this effect. To redress this gap, we performed two studies in which we explored the relationship between subversive online activities and susceptibility to persuasion by far-right extremist propaganda. Study 1 (N = 404) demonstrates that when individuals are exposed to far-right “scientific racism” propaganda, subversive online activity is significantly associated with feelings of gratification, attribution of credibility to and intention to support the propaganda’s source, as well as decreased resistance (in the form of reactance) to the propaganda. To verify these findings across thematic domains, Study 2 (N = 396) focused on far-right extremist propaganda that advocates “male supremacy.” Results in Study 2 replicated those from Study 1. These findings have implications for understanding subversive online activity, vis-à-vis its association with one’s susceptibility to persuasion by far-right extremist propaganda.

While the general effectiveness of attitudinal inoculation in combating persuasive messaging has been accepted, little attention has been paid to the influence of form and subtlety on acceptance and emotional reactance to such inoculation messages. This study (N = 396) examines how two factors, medium and subtlety, moderate the effects of attitudinal inoculation against male supremacy propaganda. The study uses a 2 (inoculation vs. control) ✕ 2 (propaganda form: video vs. meme) ✕ 2 (propaganda subtlety: subtle vs. obvious) experimental design to evaluate participants’ perceptions of male supremacist propaganda. Results indicate that participants exposed to the inoculation message before receiving the extremist content showed decreased gratification in some cases and increased anger in others. However, in some instances, the inoculation provided no significant effects and in others the inoculation increased participants’ gratification and perception of the propaganda’s credibility. These results indicate the necessity for further testing to ensure positive outcomes before presenting inoculation messages to the public and demonstrate the depth of male supremacy propaganda in online spaces. Still, the nuances found in the two- and three-way interaction effects provide insight into the marginal differences in propaganda form and subtlety that can potentially provide more effective messaging against extremism.

This article undertakes an analysis of QAnon marketing and metaphysics through a holistic lens of mediatization theory and medium theory. It proposes a means of understanding the movement as an example of mediatization in the sense of a social environment in which behavior comes to resemble the logic of the media, and mediatization in the sense of an institution—that is, the Q movement as a media entity operating as a social agent in the world at large. It will be argued that the specific character of these mediatizations comes about partly—and perhaps largely—as a consequence of the technical affordances of key digital platforms through which QAnon conspiracy culture spreads. The marketing of the QAnon faith-brand is both strategic and decentralized. It comes about as both the result of conscious planning by key figures within the movement and the emergent consequence of countless would-be marketers’ efforts (both true believers and cynics). The speed, anonymity, and ephemerality of the 8chan and 8kun imageboards favor the cryptic, rapid-fire messages which characterized Q’s writing. The collective anonymity and anonymous collectivity fostered by the design and engineering of online messageboards like 8chan and 8kun (Zeng & Schäfer, 2021) likewise fostered a social environment of mass anonymous exegesis. Simultaneously, the entrepreneurial design and engineering (and ideology) of social media platforms intersect with this anonymous collectivity to produce a class of “Q-fluencers,” individuals who market the QAnon conspiracy theory, its politics and metaphysics, as a lifestyle brand—and who market themselves as Q-based brand-personalities. Through this analysis, this article aims to shed light on the socio-technical conditions out of which Q arose and to critique the assumptions of digital ideology which produce technologies and use-behaviors amenable to extremist swindles such as QAnon.

With Patrick Crusuis’ 2019 attack that killed twenty-two people in El Paso, Texas, discussions of ecofascism were thrust into mainstream news outlets and magazines. In his manifesto, Crusius described himself as an “ecofascist” seeking to challenge the “environmental warfare” of immigration. His choice of target, a Walmart frequented by Mexican immigrants, reflects this ideological connection between ecological priorities and violent white supremacist ideology. In this paper, the authors provide a review of existing theoretical literature on ecofascism to identify its key characteristics, namely, its Romantic sensibilities, anti-humanism, and mysticism. The authors argue that these features distinguish ecofascism from what other scholars have deemed “far-right ecologisms.” Following this, the authors draw on a larger corpus of data gathered from Twitter and Telegram between November 2019 and November 2020 to identify common themes in ecofascist circles, including the thinkers they frequently cite. The dataset examined shows notable differences in the types of content shared in ecofascist groups compared to the far-right more broadly.

With Patrick Crusuis’ 2019 attack that killed twenty-two people in El Paso, Texas, discussions of ecofascism were thrust into mainstream news outlets and magazines. In his manifesto, Crusius described himself as an “ecofascist” seeking to challenge the “environmental warfare” of immigration. His choice of target, a Walmart frequented by Mexican immigrants, reflects this ideological connection between ecological priorities and violent white supremacist ideology. In this paper, the authors provide a review of existing theoretical literature on ecofascism to identify its key characteristics, namely, its Romantic sensibilities, anti-humanism, and mysticism. The authors argue that these features distinguish ecofascism from what other scholars have deemed “far-right ecologisms.” Following this, the authors draw on a larger corpus of data gathered from Twitter and Telegram between November 2019 and November 2020 to identify common themes in ecofascist circles, including the thinkers they frequently cite. The dataset examined shows notable differences in the types of content shared in ecofascist groups compared to the far-right more broadly.

Digital communication technology has created a world in which media are capable of crossing national boundaries as never before. As a result, language is increasingly the salient category determining individuals’ media consumption. Today, a single social media post can travel around the world, reaching anyone who speaks its language. This poses significant challenges to combatting the spread of disinformation, as an ever-growing pool of disinformation purveyors reach audiences larger than ever before. This dynamic is complicated, however, by the diversity of audience interpretations of message content within a particular language group. Both across and within national boundaries, a single message may be subject to a variety of interpretations depending on the cultural experiences and identities of its recipients. This study explores that dynamic through analysis of French language anti-vaccine and COVID-denialist disinformation. Using qualitative coding methodology, a team of researchers empirically identify common and far-reaching patterns of Francophone COVID disinformation narratives and rhetoric. These narratives and rhetorics are then subjected to hermeneutic close reading to determine likely variations in their reception across different French-speaking cultures. Data were gathered and analyzed between the dates of 24 March 2021 and 27 April 2021. Results of this study indicate the need for awareness on the part of public health officials combatting COVID disinformation online, for both the transnational reach of disinformation targeting speakers of a single language and for variations in meaning and salience across cultures within that language group.

BACKGROUND Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of COVID-19 related misinformation has spread and been amplified online. The spread of misinformation can influence COVID-19 beliefs and protective actions including vaccine hesitancy. Belief in vaccine misinformation is associated with lower vaccination rates and higher vaccine resistance. Attitudinal inoculation is a preventative approach to combating misinformation and disinformation which leverages the power of narrative, rhetoric, values, and emotion. OBJECTIVE This study seeks to test inoculation messages in the form of short video messages to promote resistance against persuasion by COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. METHODS We designed a series of 30-second inoculation videos and conducted a quasi-experimental study to test the use of attitudinal inoculation in a population of individuals who were unvaccinated. The three intervention videos were distinguished by their script design- with Intervention Video 1 focusing on narrative/rhetorical (“Narrative”) presentation of information, Intervention Video 2 focusing on delivering a fact-based information (“Fact”), and Intervention Video 3 using a hybrid design (“Hybrid”). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were used to compare the main effect of intervention group on the three outcome variables: ability to recognize misinformation tactics (“Recognize”, willingness to share misinformation (“Share”), and willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine (“Willingness”). RESULTS There were significant effects across all three outcome variables comparing inoculation intervention groups to controls. For the Recognize outcome, the ability to recognize rhetorical strategies, there was a significant intervention group effect (F(3,1929)=8.5, p<0.0001). For the Share outcome, support for sharing the mis-disinformation, the intervention group main effect was statistically significant (F(3,1928)=3.4, p=0.0168). For the Willingness outcome, there was a significant intervention group effect; intervention groups were more willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine compared to controls (F(3,1929)=4.1, p=0.0064). CONCLUSIONS Across all intervention groups, inoculated individuals showed greater resistance to misinformation than their non-inoculated counterparts. Relative to those who were not inoculated, inoculated participants showed significantly greater ability to recognize and identify rhetorical strategies used in misinformation, were less likely to share false information, and had greater willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Attitudinal inoculation delivered through short video messages should be tested in public health messaging campaigns to counter mis-disinformation

Background Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of COVID-19-related misinformation has spread and been amplified online. The spread of misinformation can influence COVID-19 beliefs and protective actions, including vaccine hesitancy. Belief in vaccine misinformation is associated with lower vaccination rates and higher vaccine resistance. Attitudinal inoculation is a preventative approach to combating misinformation and disinformation, which leverages the power of narrative, rhetoric, values, and emotion. Objective This study seeks to test inoculation messages in the form of short video messages to promote resistance against persuasion by COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Methods We designed a series of 30-second inoculation videos and conducted a quasi-experimental study to test the use of attitudinal inoculation in a population of individuals who were unvaccinated (N=1991). The 3 intervention videos were distinguished by their script design, with intervention video 1 focusing on narrative/rhetorical (“Narrative”) presentation of information, intervention video 2 focusing on delivering a fact-based information (“Fact”), and intervention video 3 using a hybrid design (“Hybrid”). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were used to compare the main effect of the intervention on the 3 outcome variables: ability to recognize misinformation tactics (“Recognize”), willingness to share misinformation (“Share”), and willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine (“Willingness”). ResultsThere were significant effects across all 3 outcome variables comparing inoculation intervention groups to controls. For the Recognize outcome, the ability to recognize rhetorical strategies, there was a significant intervention group effect (P

BACKGROUND Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of COVID-19 related misinformation has spread and been amplified online. The spread of misinformation can influence COVID-19 beliefs and protective actions including vaccine hesitancy. Belief in vaccine misinformation is associated with lower vaccination rates and higher vaccine resistance. Attitudinal inoculation is a preventative approach to combating misinformation and disinformation which leverages the power of narrative, rhetoric, values, and emotion. OBJECTIVE This study seeks to test inoculation messages in the form of short video messages to promote resistance against persuasion by COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. METHODS We designed a series of 30-second inoculation videos and conducted a quasi-experimental study to test the use of attitudinal inoculation in a population of individuals who were unvaccinated. The three intervention videos were distinguished by their script design- with Intervention Video 1 focusing on narrative/rhetorical (“Narrative”) presentation of information, Intervention Video 2 focusing on delivering a fact-based information (“Fact”), and Intervention Video 3 using a hybrid design (“Hybrid”). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were used to compare the main effect of intervention group on the three outcome variables: ability to recognize misinformation tactics (“Recognize”, willingness to share misinformation (“Share”), and willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine (“Willingness”). RESULTS There were significant effects across all three outcome variables comparing inoculation intervention groups to controls. For the Recognize outcome, the ability to recognize rhetorical strategies, there was a significant intervention group effect (F(3,1929)=8.5, p<0.0001). For the Share outcome, support for sharing the mis-disinformation, the intervention group main effect was statistically significant (F(3,1928)=3.4, p=0.0168). For the Willingness outcome, there was a significant intervention group effect; intervention groups were more willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine compared to controls (F(3,1929)=4.1, p=0.0064). CONCLUSIONS Across all intervention groups, inoculated individuals showed greater resistance to misinformation than their non-inoculated counterparts. Relative to those who were not inoculated, inoculated participants showed significantly greater ability to recognize and identify rhetorical strategies used in misinformation, were less likely to share false information, and had greater willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Attitudinal inoculation delivered through short video messages should be tested in public health messaging campaigns to counter mis-disinformation

The effectiveness of attitudinal inoculation in reducing the persuasive appeal of undesirable beliefs and behaviors is long established across multiple domains. However, investigations into its use for preventing violent extremism have only recently been undertaken. The current study adds to this literature by examining the moderating effects of far-right propaganda form and subtlety on the counter-persuasive effects of inoculation in the context of far-right extremism. This study (N = 404) tests the efficacy of inoculation to prevent adoptions of beliefs, attitudes, and intentions consistent with a key theme of far-right propaganda: scientific racism. Results of this 2 (inoculation vs. control) × 2 (propaganda form: video vs. meme) × 2 (propaganda subtlety: subtle vs. obvious) experiment demonstrate that inoculation prevents persuasion by scientific racism propaganda overall, however some outcomes are moderated by the interaction between propaganda form and subtlety. By highlighting the conditions under which inoculation is most likely to be effective, these results have significant implications for the development of inoculation messages intended to prevent far-right violent extremism.