CTEC in the News: November 16, 2020
Welcome back to CTEC in the News! Before we get into our media appearances over the last week, I want to remind everyone that the application for our Spring 2021 Michael Donnelly CTEC Research Fellowship is still open. Named after our late friend and colleague, the fellowship is designed to support an underrepresented MIIS graduate student with demonstrated financial need through a funded research position. We’re looking for someone who is highly motivated, enthusiastic, and interested in conducting research on extremism. If this sounds like you, or if you’d like to donate to our fund for future fellows, information and links can be found on our site here.
With that, let’s dig into our news for the week.
Parler
First up: CTEC Director and Middlebury Institute professor Jason Blazakis was interviewed for a piece by on the rising popularity of the social media app Parler, and concerns that the spread of misinformation and radicalization will increase as a result. He contributed a more positive view to the discussion, noting that the shift to Parler could result in fewer people on Facebook and Twitter being exposed to these ideas and therefore a smaller audience for this type of misinformation.
QAnon
Digital Research Lead Alex Newhouse spoke with on the impact of Trump’s loss in the presidential election on the QAnon movement, and whether or not it can survive after this blow. While he agreed that there was a chance their recruitment capacity will reduce, he was reluctant to say that the movement will dissipate and pointed to the ways it has adapted before to reach new audiences.
That’s all for now! Stay tuned for more CTEC in the News.