Julia R. DeCook is a specialist on online extremist movements, specifically male supremacist groups like the Incels, men’s rights activists, and communities like r/TheRedPill. She has written on these subjects and been interviewed for both academic and general audiences. DeCook researches how online extremist communities navigate the constraints of digital infrastructure, specifically in how they respond to attempts to quell and stop their movements in the form of bans and censorship. Her dissertation was a 2-year digital ethnography where she studied how three male supremacist groups managed to persist despite bans, attempts of censorship, and other threats to their online communities. Through this study, she found that online extremist groups persist despite efforts to stop their spread due to factors like archiving, spreading out their online networks, and through the creation of a strong collective identity.
DeCook received her doctorate in Media and Information Studies from Michigan State University and is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago. Additionally, she is currently an expert/fellow for the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism (IRMS). At Loyola, she teaches courses on media theory, technology and social change, social movements, discourse and culture, and propaganda. She has authored or co-authored in outlets like Learning, Media and Technology; Social Media + Society; The Good Men Project; and b2o: an online journal. She has presented her work at national and international conferences such as the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR); International Communication Association (ICA); and the American Association of Anthropology (AAA). DeCook is currently revising her dissertation (Titled “Curating the Future: The Sustainability Practices of Online Hate Groups”) to be published as a book with a university press
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Publicado no/na: Countering the Radical RightQAnon passou de conspiração obscura a um culto completo
As tentativas de proibir e censurar o grupo só lhe deram mais poder e ajudaram a iniciar uma nova era da extrema-direita.
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Publicado no/na: Countering the Radical RightQAnon has gone from fringe conspiracy to full-blown cult
Attempts to ban and censor the group have only given it more power and helped usher in a new era of the far right.
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Publicado no/na: democraciaAbierta: OpinionCoronavirus y derecha radical: conspiración, desinformación y xenofobia
La derecha radical está utilizando la pandemia de COVID-19 para avanzar en su agenda política. ¿Cómo lo hace?
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Publicado no/na: democraciaAbierta: OpinionCoronavírus e direita radical: conspiração, desinformação e xenofobia
A extrema-direita está usando a pandemia de COVID-19 para avançar sua agenda política. Español
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Publicado no/na: Countering the Radical RightCoronavirus and the radical right: conspiracy, disinformation, and xenophobia
How is the radical right using the COVID-19 pandemic to advance their political agenda?