On May 27th, researchers, local stakeholders, and community members gathered in the James West Alumni Center for the second annual Impact Symposium, which gives scholars from the Initiative to Study Hate the opportunity to share updates on their groundbreaking research. In between informational video segments, three dynamic panels were convened on the topics of “Extremist Recruitment: From Point of Entry to Point of Exit,” “Mitigating Hate in the Broad Media Landscape,” and “Studying Hate in Fraught Times.”
Conversations ranged across an array of urgent issues, from the role of misogynist messaging in white nationalist recruitment strategies, to the promise and pitfalls of using AI as a tool to fight hate speech online, to the downstream effects of studying antisemitism and Islamophobia among UCLA undergraduates. While panelists discussed their serious concerns over the current state of hate and disinformation, which are nearly guaranteed to further proliferate in our highly polarized political climate and given the difficulties of scaling effective interventions, they also offered many messages of hope and concrete guidance for parents, teachers, lawmakers, and students who want to fight hate in their daily lives. To learn more, we invite you to watch our recording of the Impact Symposium and read the ISH blog. As always, we are thankful to our scholars, our partners, and the entire ISH community for ensuring that this vital work not only continues but can continually be translated into real, positive change.
