Thread by @CasMudde

Fox News does not need to spread the Great Replacement "Theory" (GRT) anymore as we have all been doing it the last days, giving more exposure to a dangerous conspiracy theory than the terrorist could have ever hoped for.

A personal reflection. 🧵
theguardian.com/us-news/2022/m…

1. I have been studying the far right for almost 30 years now, having published academically on it, but also given interviews to media since graduate school. I have made many mistakes along the way, some I know about, many I don't. So, clearly, treat everything with care.

2. I strongly believe academics should share their insights to a broader audience - particularly those working at public institutions or (partly) funded by taxes.

Although this has become more broadly shared view today, and universities encourages it, no one trains you for it.

3. Some universities now have "media training" opportunities but I doubt they really reflect more deeply on what your potential impact could be on the debate, on the system, on (marginalized) communities. We have to figure it out ourselves, along the way.

4. Before I go further, let me be honest. While much of my media and public speaking are driven by sincere belief and mission, (fragile) ego and, to a much lesser extent, money also play a role! I'm sure I'm not the only one in this respect. Important to accept and reflect upon.

5. When I started out, in the 1990s, the far right was marginal in most of the world as were their ideas - at least in the public debate, not necessarily at the attitude level. There was a strong consensus that far right actors and ideas should be excluded and fought.

6. In the Netherlands at that time, everyone would talk ABOUT the far right, not WITH them. Far right activists were not given a platform to spread their message. No interviews, no op-Eds, no seat at the debating table. Barely anyone would defend their freedom of speech.

7. At the same time, we talked obsessively about them. While the CP and CD barely topped 1% in the polls, and (often banned or disrupted) demonstrations draw at best a few dozen people, few weeks went by without media attention for the "threat of the far right".

8. As a PhD student, I got more invitation for (academic and public) lectures and (well-paid) op-Eds than most of my much more well-established professors, who worked on other topics.

9. I often was surprised how worried people, from friends to journalists or een political scientists, were about the "threat of the far right", given the objective level of threat. They would always reference media stories not personal experiences or research.

10. To be fair, most of my colleagues, at home and abroad, were also more concerned about the threat of the far right. They studied the same phenomena, but came to (very) different conclusions.

11. Many would use media and public lectures to warn the elites and masses about the threat. While some seemed (also) driven by fame and fortune, most were genuinely afraid and worried.

12. We are living in a very different world today. We live in a "fourth wave" in which far-right actors and ideas are mainstreamed and (increasingly) normalized.

Far-right ideas have moved beyond traditional far-right actors.

wiley.com/en-us/The+Far+…

13. Far-right actors are no longer excluded, they are interviewed in all major media, where they also publish op-Eds, and they are active participants in public debates about democracy, immigration, Islam, yes even the far right itself.

14. More importantly, far-right ideas are now so widespread that you can find them in most right-wing media and parties, but also in quite a lot of center-left media and parties.

15. "Multiculturalism has failed" has become a truism, not even worthy of debate anymore.

"The People" are increasingly the potential voters of far-right parties, allegedly angry, anti-immigration, fed up with the "out of touch" (left-wing) elite.

16. These ideas are not just spread by the increasing number of far-right parties in local and national governments but also by other (mostly but not exclusively) right-wing parties, media, pundits.

17. Today, we still talk obsessively about "the threat of the far right" (or "fascism") but the debate has shifted. In many cases, debates will include far-right defenders or enablers, while in interviews journalists will ask "but don't they have a point" to appear "balanced".

18. One could argue that, today, we are no longer amplifying the far right, actors or ideas, as they already are a central part of the political and public debate.

But I wonder how many more people now know what Great Replacement Theory is than before Buffalo terrorist attack.

19. Do we really need to "explain" what this "theory" is? Do we really need to discuss its "merits"?

While most accounts will mention that it is "conspiracy theory", or worse "not proven" (as if it can be proven), for some/many people this "theory" can justify their nativism.

20. I mean, it is a "theory" after all. It was on the news. Didn't the journalist just ask whether there wasn't something in it? And, if it really was such BS, why is everyone talking about it for days? 🤔

21. Obviously, we should discuss and study the far right. It IS a threat to liberal democracy, more so in its parliamentary than its terrorist form. Moreover, the threat is, first and foremost, in its ideas, irrespective who propagates and implements them!

22. And I do believe in free speech - in fact, my "fundamentalist" position will not be shared by most of my followers.

But freedom of speech means that the state should not prevent your from or punish you for speaking. It does not mean everyone deserves an op-Ed in NYT!

23. I have long been skeptical about the "watchdog of democracy" role of the media. Most media are about 💰 first and democracy second, at best. They live off what I call "far right porn" as we, mostly liberal readers, love to read it (a weird kind of masochism).

24. Even many journalists got sick of writing about the latest "scandalous" "shocking" Tweet of Trump, but their editors knew that these were the best-read articles. Hence, when you criticize "the" media, reflect on your own reading/listening/watching behavior.

25. And to journalists, and colleagues who debate far-right actors and enablers, in most cases you are NOT smart enough to make people see how bad far right is (no, not even you @ezraklein ). You will convince the convinced and possibly intrigue others about far right.

26. So, what to do? I don't know. 🤷‍♂️

It's easier to identify what NOT to do than what to do.

At the very least, we can reflect on what we do and be honest, to ourselves and others, why we do it. Consistency would be nice too.

27. I, personally, do not do public debates with far-right actors, enablers, or supporters. No, not even when they are very "respected" or when they are political scientists like me. And, sadly, there are more and more among us.

28. I also don't give interviews to far-right media (personalities) or to media that consistently enable the far right. No, not even to promote a new book! 🙄

I also (try to) not to amplify these media and voices. No, also not in a "clever" or "funny" quote or sub-tweet.

29. Finally, I do not speak about non-issues, minor events that are only relevant because the media makes them relevant. A Proud Boys "protest" of a dozen people, another Trump tweet, another "shocking" Islamophobic statement of Wilders.

30. If there is anything we can do better, it is to be proactive rather than reactive. Don't wait until far-right sets the agenda to discuss ideas and issues. Develop your own agenda, set your own priorities, and stay true to your values (irrespective of shifts in mainstream).

31. Again, I don't have definitive answers and continue to make many mistakes myself. This thread was not about anyone specific. It was mainly attempt to self-reflect and hopefully help others to reflect. The dire state of democracy in many countries demands that of us. #TheEnd

That was exhausting. 😫

Most of the ideas about the mainstreaming and normalization of the far right, as well as about the fourth wave, I have published in "The Far Right Today."