Reader’s Digest: What is white replacement theory?
UC faculty Jeffery Blevins cited as expert on the regulation of social media
Pre-internet, racists weren’t usually tolerated in polite society. Today, one need only to turn to social media to see how abhorrent belief systems operate, and propagate, in broad daylight; and platforms are coming under more scrutiny, according to an article on “White Replacement Theory” in Reader’s Digest.
“Social media companies all have terms of service with standards of behavior they define. There’s no legal obligation to enforce it, but there’s certainly an ethical one,” says Jeff Blevins, professor of journalism at the University of Cincinnati and co-author of “Social Media, Social Justice and the Political Economy of Online Networks.”
The article defines white replacement theory as the idea that some “other” group is out to destroy white people and their way of life. The topic came to light after the Buffalo mass shooting in May 2022.
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Colorado silica dust trial could change the way industry does business
May 17, 2026
Betsy Malloy, Andrew Katsanis Professor of Law, at the University of Cincinnati, spoke with Bloomberg Law about how a Colorado trial could change the way the stone fabrication industry does business.
Will a gas tax help lower prices at the pump?
May 14, 2026
WCPO recently reported on Kentucky and Indiana’s steps to combat surging gas prices, cutting and suspending state gas taxes, respectively. UC economist Michael Jones explained the impact on Cincinnati.
Is a colonoscopy painful?
May 13, 2026
The University of Cincinnati's Susan Kais, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the College of Medicine and UC Health gastroenterologist, recently appeared on the ARC Cincinnati morning program on Local 12/WKRC-TV to answer common questions from viewers about colonoscopies and to dispel myths.