NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu
This post covers news clips from Tuesday, Aug. 6, to Thursday, Aug. 8.
CSUSB finance professor offers advice on credit cards with cash-back rewards
WalletHub
Francisca Beer, CSUSB professor of finance, associate dean and director of the Brown College Office of Academic Equity, was featured in the personal finance website’s “Ask the Experts” section, where she discussed credit cards that provide cash-back rewards.
An excerpt: “As always you need to read the small print! All credit cards, including cashback credit cards are great if you do not carry a balance. Remember that you will pay interest on any outstanding balance. If you cannot avoid carrying a balance, then select a 0% APRs card. Additionally, if your payments are late or missing, you will be charged late fees and penalty interest rates on most credit cards.”
Read the complete article at “Ask the Experts: Cashing in on credit card rewards.”
Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism news coverage, in reverse chronological order
Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019
Trump words linked to more hate crime? Some experts, including a CSUSB professor, think so
The Associated Press via The Washington Post
Aug. 7, 2019
President Donald Trump has often railed about an “invasion of illegals” at the southern border, words echoed in a screed the El Paso shooting suspect apparently posted that called the attack that killed 22 people at a Walmart his response to a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
Some extremism experts, including CSUSB professor Brian Levin, believe that may not be an accident. They say historical data suggests a link between heated rhetoric from top political leaders and ensuing reports of hate crimes, only adding to the fears of those who could be targeted.
The rampage in Texas has brought new attention to the dangers of immigration-motivated hate crimes and violence in a country with 58 million Latinos amid daily political rhetoric from the White House, conservative politicians and the dark corners of the internet about migrants coming across the border.
An analysis of FBI data over the years by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino yielded more specific results when it came to intense political debates.
“We see a correlation around the time of statements of political leaders and fluctuations in hate crimes,” said Levin, the center’s director. “Could there be other intervening causes? Yes. But it’s certainly a significant correlation that can’t be ignored.”
But the historical data also has hopeful examples, says hate crime researcher Levin. He noted that the “worst month for all hate crime” occurred around the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Six days later, President George W. Bush delivered an address to the nation denouncing anti-Muslim harassment and saying, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam.”
Anti-Muslim hate crime reports dropped by two-thirds the next day and for the calendar year 2002 as well.
Read the complete article at “Trump words linked to more hate crime? Some experts think so.”
Free speech and the challenges of prosecuting white supremacists discussed by CSUSB professor
The Washington Post
Aug. 8, 2019
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) allowed the FBI and the Justice Department to hold accountable not just the low-level henchmen doing the dirty work, but the leaders and organizers behind desks who were making plans and issuing directives.
Since it became federal law and statutes like it were adopted in 35 states, RICO has been used in lawsuits and criminal prosecutions to target New York’s five organized crime families,sex abuse in the Catholic church, corporate executives accused of contributing to the opioid epidemic, and street gangs such as MS-13 and the Bloods and the Crips.
But applying RICO to American white supremacy, an ideology inspiring mass murder, is more complicated.
Inspiration, experts say, is not the same as causation.
“Today’s white supremacists adhere to both a tactic and folklore of leaderless resistance which glorifies lone actors or small cells that have tenuous ties to actual groups,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. “RICO is not going to be a panacea for a terrorist threat that is increasingly dispersed.”
Weaponizing RICO against groups for their ideology is concerning to Levin, who said he worries that it could be used “as a hammer on First Amendment dissenters as opposed to real criminal syndicates.”
“Our laudable desire to combat violent white supremacists might come back to harm us later if the law is used to punish peaceful dissent in grass-roots movements that may have some attenuated violent sliver,” Levin said.
Read the complete article at “Why free speech makes it difficult to prosecute white supremacy in America.”
CSUSB professor: Problem of white supremacy isn’t a hoax, despite what a prominent news anchor says
The Associated Press via U.S. News & World Report
Aug. 7, 2019
Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson faced criticism Wednesday for declaring white supremacy 'a hoax,' the same day President Donald Trump visited El Paso, Texas, after a white gunman who had written an anti-Hispanic rant killed 22 people.
Yet, three of 65 killings committed in the United States in 2016 by people associated with bigoted or extremist ideologies were by white supremacists or the far right, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. Last year, 17 of 22 such killings involved white supremacists or the far right. The numbers will be higher this year, the center said.
'I don't know what the heck Tucker Carlson is talking about,' said Brian Levin, the center's executive director. 'This kind of drivel ends up infecting the socio-political discourse with perspectives that are simply not supported by the facts.'
Read the complete article at “Fox's Carlson calls white supremacy 'a hoax.'”
Evidence cited in CSUSB center’s research doesn’t support news anchor’s contention that white supremacy is a ‘hoax’
PolitiFact
Aug. 7, 2019
Fox News personality Tucker Carlson claimed white supremacy is a hoax and 'not a real problem in America.' But that’s not what the evidence shows.
Among the points the article brought up: “As the country has seen a rise in hate crimes among most groups, American attitudes about the state of race relations have soured, according to a trove of opinion polling cited by Brian Levin, who directs (Cal State San Bernardino’s) Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism.
'Recent social surveys mirror these findings, showing an increase in social distancing and fear,' as well as reduced tolerance for people belonging to other groups, Levin wrote in the center’s annual report.
Read the complete article at “Tucker Carlson says white supremacy is a hoax. Here are 5 reasons why that’s wrong.”
Manifesto allegedly written by suspect in El Paso mass shooting discussed by CSUSB professor
InfoSurHoy
Aug. 7, 2019
An article about the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, included an interview with Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism. The suspect allegedly wrote and posted a manifesto online that was anti-immigrant, authorities said.
“If the manifesto is accurately his, this means in one attack we had more people killed than all of the white supremacy/neo-Nazi attacks in 2018,” said Levin.
Hate crimes rose 9% in major U.S. cities in 2018 for fifth consecutive year — to decade highs, even as overall crime in major cities declined, according to a report published by the center. Hate crimes linked to white nationalist and far right ideologies “continue to be most ascendant,” the report said.
The killer’s alleged manifesto cited a 2011 French book by Renaud Camus called “The Great Replacement,” which gave rise worldwide to a conspiracy theory that the “white race” was being replaced by non-white, or non-European, people. He expressed admiration for the Christchurch shooter, who in March murdered 51 and injured 49 at two New Zealand mosques.
“This is the last in a string of young people between 19 and 21 committing these horrific acts,” Mr. Levin said. “It’s the youngest generation that is diversifying the most. That is why that ‘replacement’ theory resonates with this angry, possibly mentally unstable cohort of young males who have easy access to weaponry.”
Mr. Levin called the El Paso shooter’s alleged manifesto part of “an expanding bible of evil” and “a really disturbing part of the new extremism.”
InfoSurHoy.com is a one-stop source of news and information about, and for, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Read the complete article at “Suspected Walmart shooter allegedly penned white supremacist rant.”
CSUSB center’s latest study on hate crimes provides context in light of El Paso mass shooting (in Spanish)
La Opinion (Los Angeles)
Aug. 8, 2019
The Spanish-language news site reported on the alleged manifesto posted by the gunman accused in the Aug. 3, El Paso, Texas, mass shooting, and included an interview with Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism. The document, filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Latino language, was posted online prior to the shooting.
The article also cited the center’s latest hate crime report, which showed that hate crimes have increased over the past five years.
“In 2017, Los Angeles was home to 32 anti-Latino hate groups. In 2018, the number of anti-Latino groups rose to 43,” Levin said. The expert also noted that in many cases, immigrants fear reporting hate attacks for fear of being deported. Levin recalled that in Los Angeles, the police do not collaborate with federal immigration agents to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
'We are shoulder to shoulder with the Latino community, ' Levin said, in tears in the wake of the El Paso tragedy. “We seriously oppose this horrible crime of terror against our Latin sisters and brothers. This is an act of terror against our families,” he said.
Read the complete article, in Spanish, at “Supuesto asesino publicó manifiesto racista antes del tiroteo de El Paso, Texas.”
Online radicalization of extremists discussed by CSUSB professor
KRCR-TV (Redding, Calif.)
Aug. 6, 2019
The newscast had a segment on the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, focusing on the online radicalization of people who carry out such crimes. Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, was interviewed.
The segment reported on the growing white supremacist culture online, and asked Levin to comment on it. The online hostility that once activated Islamic terrorists has shifted, and more white supremacists are now responsible for more homicides in the U.S.
The segment also included Levin’s comment on President Donald Trump’s statement on the shooting, which included a call for social media companies and the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor hate groups online to preempt attacks. Levin discussed the difficulties authorities face in doing so.
Watch the segment at “17:33 KRCR-CR (ABC) - KRCR News Channel 7 at 5:30 PM.”
Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019
CSUSB professor’s interview: ‘In the age of online extremism, what constitutes a lone wolf attack?’
NPR/All Things Considered
Aug. 7, 2019
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, on what constitutes a lone wolf attack in the age of online extremism.
Listen to the segment at “In the age of online extremism, what constitutes a lone wolf attack?”
CSUSB hate crime expert: Crimes spike around Trump's election and rhetoric
MSNBC
Aug. 6, 2019
CSUSB criminal justice professor Brian Levin joined host Ari Melber and Brown University professor Monica Martinez to discuss the immigration rhetoric invoked by President Donald Trump and his allies. The trio take a look deep look at the history of “invasion” rhetoric and the “replacement” theory.
Watch the segment at “Hate crime expert: crimes spike around Trump's election and rhetoric.”
In wake of weekend shootings, CSUSB professor joins discussion about domestic terrorism as a national security priority
KPCC-FM (Pasadena)
Aug. 6, 2019
Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, was one of the guests on the show “Air Talk” to discuss what the country should do to combat domestic terrorism.
The mass shooting in El Paso, Texas over the weekend is the largest domestic terrorist attack against Hispanics in modern history. According to a 2019 report released by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, hate crimes rose in 21 of 30 major U.S. cities.
Listen to the segment at “In wake of weekend shootings, some call for realignment of national security priorities.”
CSUSB professor Kevin Grisham discusses issues, challenges in the aftermath of two back-to-back mass shootings
Regional News Network/Richard French Live
Aug. 5, 2019
Over the weekend, 31 people were killed and over 50 others injured in two back-to-back mass shootings. In El Paso, Texas, a gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart. Just 13 hours later, there was another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. Richard French speaks with Kevin Grisham, assistant director of Research at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism about these horrific events.
'Richard French Live' is an Emmy Award winning interactive, progressive news talk show that airs on the Regional News Network.
Anti-immigration political rhetoric plays into spikes in hate crimes, CSUSB professor says
ABC News Videos
Aug. 6, 2019
Columnist Raul A. Reyes said Trump emboldens white supremacists by demonizing Latinos, while professor Brian Levin of California State University, San Bernardino added that hate crimes increased in the U.S. after the 2016 presidential election.
Watch the segment online at “Trump's racist rhetoric influencing violent attacks: Columnist.”
CSUSB center’s report points to increase in hate crimes (in Spanish)
La Opinion (Los Angeles)
Aug. 7, 2019
The Spanish-language newspaper reported (translated):
“Last weekend, the country once again witnessed two massacres that killed at least 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and in Dayton, Ohio . But far from being unique or isolated events, the shootings in the US are becoming the norm. Sandy Hook, Charlottesville, Gilroy, Columbine, are just some of the many massacres that have occurred in recent years.
“A report, published last July 30, by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, analyzes hate crimes that have taken place in recent years in the US. Hate crimes are those violent crimes motivated by prejudices based on race, religion and sexual orientation, among others.
'’Report to the Nation: 2019 Factbook on Hate & Extremism’ found that, during 2018, hate crimes increased by 9%. The report analyzes the latest hate crimes committed in the US. Among its findings, the report notes that during 2018, African-American people, Jews and members of the LGBTQ community were the biggest victims of hate attacks.”
Read the complete article, in Spanish, at “Aumentan los crímenes de odio.”
Anti-immigration sentiment and white nationalism are factors in the increase of hate crimes against Latinos, CSUSB professor says
BBC News | Mundo
Aug. 7, 2019
The BBC’s Spanish-language website published an article on the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and included an interview with Brian Levin, director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The center’s latest report on hate crimes was also cited.
'We are seeing in the United States, as in other countries, an anti-immigrant sentiment along with an increase in white nationalism and supremacism, ' Levin told the news service. 'Since migration is the number one issue for the (US) electorate, and there is a lot of conversation about it about the Latino population, we have seen an increase in hate crimes against Latinos,' he explained to BBC World.
Read the complete article, in Spanish, at “Tiroteo en El Paso, Texas: el mayor atentado contra latinos en la historia moderna de Estados Unidos.”
CSUSB professor discusses role of internet and social media as tools used to recruit and radicalize extremists
Fox 11 News (Green Bay, Wis.)/Sinclair Broadcast Group
Aug. 6, 2019
In the wake of two mass shootings, President Donald Trump is calling for many changes. One is asking the Department of Justice and social media to work together to police warning signs.
'It used to be you joined a hate group in your own town, now we're seeing people are constructing their own hate groups virtually,” said Professor Brian Levin, the director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.
He recently reported on Facebook and hate extremism around the world. He said hate groups have gone online recruiting those who may be isolated and angry.
'What this self-radicalization process does is it exposes them to various texts, which help to explain their frustrations and it amplifies that anger,” said Levin.
He said the good thing about taking down these sites when they’re flagged is it will limit those who can see them, but the challenge is that it will also push them farther into the dark corners of the web.
Read the complete article at “President directs DOJ & social media to team up to patrol for warning signs.”
For some extremists, violence is the ideology, CSUSB professor says
Los Angeles Times
Aug. 6, 2019
Federal authorities have launched a domestic terrorism investigation into the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival after officials discovered the gunman had a list of other potential targets, authorities said at a news conference Tuesday. While authorities have not determined whether the gunman was a white nationalist, they have not ruled it out.
Researchers are increasingly seeing shooters with a broad range of motivations and, at times, conflicting ideologies, which can make it difficult to classify attacks and pinpoint their motivations, said Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
“We see that in the far right, but we also see it in anarchists,” he said. “Traditionally, what we’ve seen is some kind of curation about where aggression is directed, but there’s a whole cadre of extremists whose goal is really about bringing society to its knees. Violence is not just a means to promote an ideology. It’s become an ideology itself.”
Read the complete article at “Gilroy shooter’s target list prompts domestic terrorism probe by FBI.”
FBI investigating Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting as domestic terrorism attack
USA Today/Salinas Californian
Aug. 6, 2019
The FBI is opening a domestic terrorism investigation into the shooting that killed three people and injured 13 others at a popular California food festival on July 28.
Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said hate crimes and terrorism are increasingly intertwining as the U.S. becomes more politically polarized.
Read the complete article at “FBI investigating Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting as domestic terrorism attack.”
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019
CSUSB professor discusses Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism’s latest hate crime report
KFI-AM Radio Los Angeles
Aug. 6, 2019
Kevin Grisham, assistant director of research for Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, was interviewed about the center’s latest hate crime report. The report showed that hate crimes in Los Angeles went up more than 14 percent compared to the first five months of last year, which mirrors a national trend, Grisham said.
“This is, of course, once again much like many cities in the U.S.,” he said. “Large cities like Los Angeles were continuing to see increases in hate crime.'
Listen to the segment at “07:29 KFI AM”
CSUSB’s Brian Levin discusses recent mass shootings with talk show host Peter Tilden
KABC Radio Los Angeles
Aug. 5, 2019
CSUSB professor Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, was a guest on Peter Tilden’s talk show to discuss the weekend’s two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Levin also discussed the findings of the center’s latest report on hate crimes.
Listen to the complete interview at “Peter Tilden 08/05/19 – 8pm.”
Rise of white nationalism discussed by CSUSB professor
The Christian Science Monitor
Aug. 5, 2019
When Brian Levin talked to neo-Nazi extremists in the 1980s, many explained that singular acts of violence were like “branded messages.” They were meant to inspire those across the country who might share their views of white supremacy and the preservation of a white America.
“They called it ‘propaganda of the deed,’” says Mr. Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “And because this white supremacist movement favors leaderless resistance within its folklore, this notion was more about loners and small cells doing horrible, violent acts to bring the rest of the white community in with them, in order to stop the ‘degeneration’ of society.”
But in what he calls “propaganda of the deed 2.0,” American white supremacists, like their extremist counterparts in groups like Islamic State, have formed vast online networks. In the digital age, a symbolic ritual of violence is no longer enough, he and other terror experts say.
“Now you have to frame it and contextualize it on the internet,” Mr. Levin says. “It’s like these shooters are inscribing new chapters in this book of evil, while hoping there will be others to sign into the next chapter and the guestbook, as well.”
Read the complete article at “El Paso: Rising white nationalist terror leaves its calling card.”
A new report by CSUSB center finds hate crimes are on the rise across the country
CBS News
Aug. 5, 2019
Investigators are considering prosecuting the El Paso massacre as a hate crime after an anti-immigrant screed believed to be written by the suspected gunman was found online. This comes as a new report found hate crimes rose by nine percent in 21 of the 30 major U.S. cities in 2018. The director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, Professor Brian Levin, joined CBSN to discuss his findings.
Watch the segment at “A new report finds hate crimes are on the rise across the country.”
CSUSB professor part of panel discussing ways to combat domestic terrorism
MSNBC
Aug. 5, 2019
CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism director Brian Levin, Princeton professor Eddie Glaude, The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein, USA TODAY columnist Raul Reyes, former assistant director at the FBI Frank Figliuzzi, and former White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri on the rising threat of domestic terrorism and how our country should combat the issue.
Watch the segment at “Will we fight domestic terror with the same vigor we combated Islamic terror with after 9/11?”
White supremacist subculture growing on social media, CSUSB professor says
ABC 7 Los Angeles
Aug. 5, 2019
A white supremacist subculture has been growing on social media.
'What we are seeing are angry young people who are partially or totally radicalized in the internet,' said professor Brian Levin, a hate crimes expert from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.
Levin says online hostility that once activated jihadists to strike in America has shifted. There are more homicides now by white supremacists.
Read the complete article, and watch the video of the segment, at “White supremacist subculture growing on social media, experts say.”
CSUSB professor joins discussion on how white nationalist groups recruit online
MSNBC
Aug. 5, 2019
According to FBI data, after a steady decline since 2008, hate crimes are back on an alarming rise. NBC News correspondent Jake Ward took a look at how these white supremacist groups recruit – and just how easy it is for young people to be radicalized. Weighing in: Brian Levin, criminal justice professor at Cal State San Bernardino, and Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League CEO.
Watch the segment at “How white nationalist groups recruit online.”
CSUSB professor discusses difficulties in combating domestic terrorism
The New York Times
Aug. 5, 2019
With President Donald Trump pledging to give federal law enforcement authorities “whatever they need” to combat domestic terrorism, officials said containing threats from white supremacists and nationalists would require adopting the same type of broad and aggressive approach used to battle international extremism.
The F.B.I. and local law enforcement are somewhat hamstrung in going after domestic terrorists. No government agency is responsible for designating domestic terrorism organizations, and there is no criminal charge of domestic terrorism. Individuals who are considered domestic terrorists are charged under other existing laws like hate crime, gun and conspiracy statutes.
The First Amendment protects the rights of citizens to engage in hateful speech or be affiliated with hate groups.
“Not every bigot goes on to commit violence,” said Brian H. Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “They have a First Amendment right to express their odious views.”
Read the complete article at “Shootings renew debate over how to combat domestic terrorism.”
Certain political events and level of hate crimes seem to correlate, CSUSB professor says
Talking Points Memo
Aug. 5, 2019
While the suspect in the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso did not mention President Trump by name, Talking Points Memo found some two dozen cases where the perpetrators or planners of far-right violence invoked Trump during their assault, or claimed whatever violent action they intended to commit was somehow aligned with his agenda.
Since declaring his run for the presidency in 2015, Trump has used racist rhetoric to fan feelings of hatred among those that support him.
Brian Levin of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism told TPM that he had noticed correlations in the underlying data between certain political events and the levels of hate crimes and their targets.
“We’re concerned that the combination of a very coarse and racially divided political season, along with demographic changes, and all the other things like foreign tensions, domestic tensions, are going to have an impact,” Levin added.
Read the complete article at “The Ravages Of Trump: Violent attacks carried out in his name.”
El Paso mass shooting worst white supremacist attack in decades, CSUSB professor says (article in Spanish)
La Opinion (Los Angeles)
Aug. 5, 2019
The Spanish-language newspaper published an article on the gun control debate in the aftermath of the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and included a quote from Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
He said the Texas shooting was the worst white supremacist attack in decades. The center’s most recent study shows that in the United States in 2017 36 extremist homicides were reported and 13 were caused by white supremacists; while in 2018, 22 extremist homicides were reported with 17 caused by white supremacists.
'And in this year only the shooting of El Paso [Texas] was equal to the number of homicide numbers that were (reported for) the entire previous year with 22 people killed,' Levin said.
Read the complete article, in Spanish, at “El problema no son as armas, son quienes las portan, aseguran algunos Angelinos.”
Monitoring and tracking extremists online before they act comes with many challenges, CSUSB professor and other experts say
C|NET
Aug. 6, 2019
The tech news website’s article on President Donald Trump’s call for government agencies to work with social media companies to “develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike” included an interview with Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
The challenge, experts say, is that correctly identifying these lone wolves is tougher than finding overt terrorist propaganda. One reason, for example, is it's hard to determine when a post may be preparation for a terrorist act, or merely someone spouting off. Another problem is that message boards have changed the way extremists recruit to their causes. Many of these attackers know each other only online. Some may not interact directly.
'In the past, there would be a more terrestrial component to how hate groups would organize and recruit,' said Levin. That means they'd meet somewhere in the real world to chat or exchange propaganda.
Manifestos online have taken the place of those real-world connections. Manifestos reference other manifestos, effectively writing a new chapter in an expanding meta-book of hate. The writers almost always post anonymously. They rarely post overt threats because those would break the rules of most social media sites, which could get them kicked off and deprive them of a platform.
'The issue is can we get to these folks who while stealth, are delivering clues, oftentimes the last of which is right before their attack,' Levin added.
Read the complete article at “President Trump wants social media to catch shooters before they strike. It's going to be hard.”
CSUSB center’s research cited in editorial about Gilroy mass shooting
The Sonoma Index-Tribune
Aug. 5, 2019
An editorial on the mass shooting in Gilroy cited the work of CSUSB professor Brian Levin at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism: “Social scientists will correctly point out that it’s not all just about guns. The rise in mass shootings lies in direct correlation with increased use of the internet which – as Brian Levin, who studies extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, described in the USA Today – is like ‘a 24-hour hate rally and bookstore.’”
Read the complete article at “Editorial: Another day, another mass shooting.”
CSUSB professor discusses center’s latest hate crime report
KCAL TV Los Angeles
Aug. 5, 2019
The latest hate crime report by CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism was part of the newscast’s coverage of the Aug. 3 El Paso mass shooting and President Donald Trump’s remarks on Aug. 5. The segment included the center director, Brian Levin, discussing the report’s findings.
Watch the segment at “21:03 KCAL-LA KCAL 9 News 9 p.m.”
Better coordination and data collection needed to combat white supremacist violence, CSUSB professor says
KPCC-FM Pasadena
Aug. 6, 2019
A segment on the rise of white nationalism and violence tied to the movement included a brief interview with Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The segment was reported in the context of the mass shootings in Gilroy shooting on July 28 and the El Paso shooting on Aug. 3.
“Bottomline, we have to do more with data collection, coordination and addressing white supremacy,” Levin said. “I also think we should have some kind of statewide mechanism for helping smaller communities that might be hit by these kinds of bigoted attacks.”
The segment also aired on Capital Public Radio in Sacramento.
Listen to the segment at “06:29 KPCC-FM (Radio).”
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines” at inside.csusb.edu.