The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the stewardship of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has initiated a $20 million grant program aimed at preventing "targeted violence and terrorism."
However, the program's objectives have raised eyebrows, as it appears to focus on the "radicalization of men" and their alleged online "misogyny."
This program, which some critics argue is rooted in a disdain for masculinity, is part of a broader DHS effort to fund research into online discourse. The department has allocated millions of dollars to these initiatives. The controversy surrounding this program has contributed to calls for a congressional hearing on the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas, scheduled for early January.
One of the beneficiaries of this funding is the CP3 Sustainment Program, managed by the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. The program received a grant of $659,327 with the objective of reaching at least 700,000 men deemed at risk of radicalization. The initiative, named Diverting Hate, aims to prevent these men from being drawn into misogynistic online communities.
According to the proposal's "logic model," the Diverting Hate team will identify and analyze the Incel community and the broader manosphere on Twitter. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of these communities, their narratives, key influencers, and significant events.
The program's priorities include addressing online aspects of terrorism and targeted violence and preventing domestic violent extremism. However, critics have pointed out that the program seems to focus exclusively on men, ignoring potentially violent discourse among trans or gender diverse individuals, despite recent mass shootings perpetrated by members of the LGBTQ community.
In partnership with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, the Arizona State program aims to develop a theoretical understanding of Incel ideology by monitoring online discourse among men. The program also plans to disrupt the radicalization process within Twitter by directing Incels towards different content.
Zerohedge, a financial blog, criticized the program, stating, "The only reason to associate counter-feminism with terrorism is to make authoritarian measures against the Manosphere more 'palatable' for the public."
The grant proposal highlights the "growing Incel community" and its "violent misogynistic rhetoric," which it claims forms the basis of their sexist worldview. The program identified 160 Twitter accounts associated with Incel ideology and created a list of 80 "Incel-specific" words.
The program, which ran for two years from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2024, targeted the "manosphere" on Twitter. It claimed that Incels have been responsible for 50 murders since 2014 and linked previous mass shootings to the Incel community.
The program also claimed that the online community plays a crucial role in radicalizing Incels by legitimizing grievances and normalizing vengeance against women. However, it did not investigate the trans community's repeated online calls for violence against women.
The program targeted men aged 18-34 who expressed anti-feminist views, loneliness, rage, or suicidal thoughts. It also targeted women who "support misogyny," claiming that such women are merely opportunistic.
The program justified its focus on Incels, arguing that these views lead men to the "far-right." It stated, "Radical misogyny can act as a platform for believers to become radical in other spheres, specifically the far right. Incel and far-right belief systems overlap on a variety of issues, however, the attitude towards women is the most significant."
The group proposed to continue its work beyond the two-year funding period, aiming to design a more effective policy approach for addressing misogynistic extremism on social media. It planned to propose a formal partnership with Twitter and expand its methodology to other social platforms such as Meta, YouTube, and TikTok.
The Diverting Hate program has used DHS funding to partner with men who promote mental health initiatives, wellness, and feminist theory. However, critics argue that the program's real aim is to censor content on social media, not just domestically but on an international scale.
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