Right-wing groups are organizing on Telegram

The New York Times spoke to a University of Cincinnati professor about the ways that extremists are organizing on social networks this election season.

UC College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor Michael Loadenthal and his students have compiled a comprehensive database of more than 10,000 felony criminal cases related to political violence in the United States, including the nearly 900 suspects so far who were convicted or pleaded guilty to offenses related to the 2020 attack on the U.S. Capital after the last presidential election.

Loadenthal's Prosecuction Project helps researchers, politicians and even government agencies better understand the people who engage in political violence, the crimes they commit and the ways society punishes offenders.

According to the Times, some users of the site Telegram have been sharing disinformation and violent imagery relating to the 2024 general election. But they have also been organizing for Election Day, the Times said.

“They feel activated,” Loadenthal told the Times. “There’s a feeling they are in the right.”

Read the New York Times story.

Featured image at top: UC Assistant Professor Michael Loadenthal teaches in the UC School of Public and International Affairs. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand