Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

Since Elon Musk's offer was accepted, there's been a flood of controversial hard/far-right accounts returning to @Twitter, keen to turn it into Parler2.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk irresponsibly & falsely claims there's a "war on white people in the west".

Allow me to share a few facts about Charlie Kirk & Turning Point USA.

Turning Point USA (TPUSA) was founded in 2012 by Illinois college student Charlie Kirk as a supposed antidote to the “scourge” of 'liberal thought' overwhelming American campuses.

On Murdoch's Fox News, Kirk railed against campus leftists, the supposed oppression of conservative thought, & the conservative talking points of the day.

In 2020, TPUSA posted a revenue of
$39.8 million.

The group funnels money to right-wing candidates for student government at universities across the USA & has faced numerous allegations of racial discrimination.

It's is funded by a variety of extraordinary wealthy Libertarian-right mega-donors who flood US politics with money.

High profile donors include the free-market fundamentalist Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation, Foster Friess, Michael Leven & various Koch brothers-affiliated groups, such as the Foundation for Economic Education, DonorsTrust & Donors Capital Fund.

Much of TPUSA's money comes from industry interests, such as mining & petroleum companies, as well as libertarian/far-right thinktanks - its mission is to "identify, educate, train, & organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, & limited government."

TPUSA has been making headlines for supposed racist, sexist, & misleading statements, & for having very little transparency in its day-to-day running, since it started.

Candae Owens was TPUSA’s director of communications - her & Kirk lie & promote unhinged conspiracy theories.

TPUSA is known for its Professor Watchlist, a site that claims to expose professors who they (often falsely) claim "discriminate against conservative students & advance leftist propaganda in the classroom", disproportionately naming academics of colour.

theguardian.com/education/2021…

TPUSA attempts to influence student government elections, & in 2021, started the School Board Watchlist website. It publishes the names & photos of school board members who have adopted mask mandates or anti-racist curricula.

truthout.org/articles/dark-…

As historian Mike Stuchbery points out, "policing academia has long been a tool of authoritarians, particularly fascists." For an outfit supposedly focused on liberty & opportunity, "a website enabling students to inform on their teachers does seem rather off-brand."

Like so many on the hard/far=right in the USA, TPUSA is full of fake Christians who for some inexplicable reason think the Bible endorses guns, intolerance, racism, sexism, & extreme wealth.

Here's Charlie Kirk comparing Kyle Rittenhouse to Jesus Christ.

https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1473485094228840450?s=20&t=MvxcJNR5KVfxewen8wWKRA

After the 2020 election, Kirk disputed the results & denied that Trump had lost, & sent seven buses with approximately 350 participants to the rally, which was attended by several thousand Trump supporters, & ended in a riot & the attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Kirk worked for Trump & Trump Jr, & one of the last thing Trump did as president was announce a plan to to appoint Kirk to a Commission meant to promote “patriotic education” - reminiscent of Hitler's educational reforms during the Nazi regime.

forbes.com/sites/andrewso…

In December 2017, former TPUSA staff members said they witnessed widespread discrimination against minorities in the group, and stated "the organization was a difficult workplace and rife with tension, some of it racial."

thedailybeast.com/conservative-c…

Text messages sent by Crystal Clanton – who was a leading figure in TPUSA, serving as the group's national field director for five years – to another Turning Point employee saying "I hate black people. Like fuck them all... I hate blacks. End of story."

Kirk had explicitly praised Clanton in his book 'Time for a Turning Point', saying that she had been "the best hire we ever could have made," and that "Turning Point needs more Crystals; so does America."

newyorker.com/news/news-desk…

In the article "Turning Point USA Keeps Accidentally Hiring Racists," HuffPost reported that the woman hired to replace Crystal Clanton had a history of using racial slurs, particularly against African-Americans, on Twitter before deleting her account.

huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/turning-…

In 2019, Kirk launched the 'Culture War' college tour of speaking events with appearances from many conservatives such as Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump & Kimberly Guilfoyle. TPUSA has been plagued by links to the extreme far-right.

vox.com/policy-and-pol…

TPUSA has been criticized by both the Anti Defamation League & the Southern Poverty Law Center for affiliating with activists from the alt-right & the far-right. The Anti-Defamation League has reported on the group's leadership & activists.

adl.org/resources/back…

TPUSA is almost constantly mired in controversy, usually concerning explicit racism & sexism within the organisation.

In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch documented TPUSA's strong links to known white supremacists.

splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018…

In 2021, like many on the Libertarian right in Europe & America, TPUSA made dangerously irresponsible & demonstrably false claims about the safety & efficacy of #COVID19 vaccines, campaigning against college campus' requirements for student vaccinations.

washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…

Turning Point UK (TPUK) is a British offshoot of Turning Point USA, set up to promote right-wing politics in UK schools, colleges & universities, ostensibly to counter what Turning Point falsely alleges are 'the left-wing politics of UK educational institutions'.

The group was launched in December 2018 by Charlie Kirk & Candace Owens, in London. On the day of its social media launch in February 2019, Tory MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for the group.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

From its inception, the organisation and its leading members were the subject of widespread popular ridicule, which continued online for at least a week. It was described by the @BBC as "a tsunami of online mockery".

wired.co.uk/article/how-an…

Turning Point UK's chairman was ex-Bullingdon hedge-funder & husband of Candace Owens, George Farmer until April 2019, who in 2016, became the youngest-ever member of the Leader’s Group, who donated a minimum of £50,000 a year in return for access to the Tory Prime Minister.

Turning Point UK's CEO was Ollie Anisfeld until 2021, the son of Lance Forman, former Brexit Party MEP for London who resigned the party whip in December 2019 in order to support the Conservative Party's Brexit strategy, later joining the Conservative Party.

Among those attending the 2019 launch event were Andy Wigmore, Paul Joseph Watson, & James Delingpole.

As previously mentioned, on the day of its social media launch Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel & Nigel Farage tweeted supportive messages.

theguardian.com/politics/2019/…

"Whenever we say 'nationalism,' the first thing people think about, at least in America, is Hitler. You know, he was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great & have things run well, OK, fine." - Candace Owens at launch event.

independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…

Recall the #Christchurch mosque shooter wrote Candace Owens she had "influenced him above all".

Laurence Fox's Reclaim Party *mysteriously* raised £5 million & is supported by 'Turning Point'.

Like Turning Point USA, TPUK it does not disclose the identities of its donors.

Students can submit examples of political bias to the TPUK 'Education Watch' website. The site has been described by UCU as having "the acrid whiff of McCarthyism about it" after it called for videos & photos of lecturers to be sent in for publication.

inews.co.uk/news/right-win…

The tentacles of the libertarian-right go deep into the political heart of Brtain, with strong connections between Brexit, Tufton Street think tanks, the @Conservatives, & £BILLIONS in funding designed to replace democracy with antidemocratic oligarchy

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1500581949257265161?s=20&t=MvxcJNR5KVfxewen8wWKRA

Multi-millionaire John Mappin is a central figure behind Turning Point UK, & a key supporter of Nigel Farage & Donald Trump. He Cornish castle flew the flag of dangerous conspiracy theory cult QAnon, identified by the FBI as inspiring right-wing violence.

theguardian.com/politics/2020/…

Imho, democracy is hard won, fragile, & easily lost.

Britain & the world is in a very dangerous place right now: Brexit, Trump, le Pen, Bolsonaro, Modi, the return of nationalism, climate change & multiple other crises, are all 'morbid symptoms'.

https://twitter.com/bakerstherald/status/1392114392062377991?s=20&t=MvxcJNR5KVfxewen8wWKRA