Research Desk: The Far Right's Playbook for American Authoritarianism

Research on the Radical Right: The Far-right's playbook for American authoritarianism, how White Supremacist groups use social media to fundraise, and firearm owners' support for political violence.

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Highlights from recently published research and studies of the Radical Right: Project 2025 is far right’s playbook for a second term of former President Donald Trump, how White Supremacist groups using social media to raise money for their causes, and how do firearm owners and nonowners in the United States differ in support for and willingness to engage in political violence.

Organizational Research

• The Far-Right Playbook for American Authoritarianism: Project 2025, Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE)

  • “The far right has made public its plans for an ‘ideal’ America if one of their allies wins the 2024 presidential election in its 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Project 2025 is spearheaded by the far-right think tank Heritage Foundation and supported by more than 80 organizations, many well-known for their extreme positions, and for pushing hate and Christian nationalism. The authors and supporters of Project 2025 claim this plan will ‘rescue the country’ from ‘elite rule and woke cultural warriors.’ Their aims include ‘bringing together conservative allies with a common goal: to take back our country from the radical Left by developing a robust governing agenda and the right people to implement it.’”

• Fundraising for Hate: Platforms’ Revenue-Generating Opportunities, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center for Technology and Society

  • “Antisemitic and white supremacist groups and their supporters are using Facebook Pages, Instagram profiles, YouTube channels, and X accounts to raise money for their causes, according to a new review by ADL and Tech Transparency Project (TTP). Our findings highlight where these companies are falling short on their promises to moderate hate groups and how they are even, at times, providing tools to facilitate fundraising efforts.”