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How Networked Incitement Fueled the Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection
Networked incitement, including cellphones and social media, powered the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
The shocking events of Jan. 6, 2021, signaled a major break from the nonviolent rallies that categorized most major protests over the past few decades.
- BY JOAN DONOVAN & THE CONVERSATION
- Scientific American
What set Jan. 6 apart was the president of the United States using his cellphone to direct an attack on the Capitol, and those who stormed the Capitol being wired and ready for insurrection.
My co-authors and I, a media and disinformation scholar, call this networked incitement: influential figures inciting large-scale political violence via social media.
Networked incitement involves…