https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to media criticism en https://religiondispatches.org/2026/02/23/donald-trumps-violent-mentality-quite-literally-biblical One could be forgiven for coming away from Leighton Woodhouse’s “Donald Trump, Pagan King” op-ed in the New York Times with the nagging suspicion that he hasn’t actually read the biblical or ‘Pagan’ writings on which he bases his claims… Mon, 23 Feb 2026 05:13:57 EST Stephen Young af33adb9-0409-4582-8e2d-5daac7ec532d https://religiondispatches.org/2026/02/18/blaming-paganism-trumps-violence-fails-reckon-christian-history In a recent New York Times op-ed called “Donald Trump, Pagan King,” journalist and filmmaker Leighton Woodhouse highlights the apparent contradiction between the Trump administration’s violent “might makes right” mentality and Christian ethics that prioritize protecting the weak and oppressed… Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:55:21 EST Chance Bonar efb5659a-7f40-4077-84f7-94b2ed0a014f https://religiondispatches.org/2025/10/06/i-choose-violence-literally The Right has a long history of inciting violence against their perceived enemies. Oftentimes, this comes in the form of “stochastic terrorism” from the likes of accounts like “ Libs of TikTok ,” whose lies about LGBTQ people and doctors… Mon, 06 Oct 2025 12:10:34 EDT Annika Brockschmidt d6168d17-27c2-4823-a774-c5ec3d48d428 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/09/15/sanitizing-fascists-and-white-supremacists-isnt-objective-or-neutral-its-normalizing Formerly fringe figures of the Religious and Political Right met at the National Conservatism conference earlier this month in Washington, DC to bask in their success at mainstreaming their ideas within the GOP. Now in its fifth year, NatCon is… Mon, 15 Sep 2025 01:16:40 EDT Annika Brockschmidt 70c51185-c370-447d-9638-ece89601e79b https://religiondispatches.org/2025/08/12/sydney-sweeneys-american-eagle-ad-tangled-blue-jeans-and-white-supremacy In today’s brave new world of fascism rebranded, white nationalism is trading in brown shirts for boot-cut jeans—and the new master race apparently shops at American Eagle. Because nothing says “the future is white” quite like a mall brand that… Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:09:04 EDT Mary Rambaran-Olm 204edc5a-9610-4c1b-883a-516b39e6322c https://religiondispatches.org/2025/08/07/liberty-universitys-baby-business-forced-birth-coerced-adoption-white-christian Earlier this summer, investigative journalist T.J. Raphael released a seven-episode podcast, Liberty Lost , which investigates the history of Liberty University’s Godparent Home. In this secretive maternity home, pregnant teenagers are cared for and often coerced into placing their babies… Thu, 07 Aug 2025 04:25:25 EDT Emma Cieslik d769e38f-058c-41d9-ac33-0af3996a07d2 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/08/05/media-fail-note-christian-zionist-operative-who-organized-congressional-visit-west-bank Yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, the third-highest ranking US official, visited the Israeli settlement of Ariel, deep in the occupied West Bank, to pledge support for full Israeli annexation of the occupied territories. Johnson visited Ariel along with 15 US… Tue, 05 Aug 2025 04:05:16 EDT Ben Lorber 0b56ed38-7523-4cd7-aebc-8f37dca66af9 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/30/dhss-homeland-heritage-campaign-highlights-danger-innocence-myths-white-christian As a habit I don’t follow the social media of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It’s a scroll of nationalistic propaganda and exaggerated warnings about criminal aliens, a set of lies that attempt to drown us in fear by… Wed, 30 Jul 2025 04:10:39 EDT Sara J. Moslener 0c3835a1-5254-40e8-bf66-07e45603fff7 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/29/hell-yeah-brother-hulk-hogan-dies-he-lived-anti-democratic-white-supremacist Wrestling icon and longtime racial liability Hulk (Terry Gene Bollea) Hogan has died at the age of 71. Sources close to the situation say he passed from a heart attack amidst being a legendary racist, a union-busting snitch, and a… Tue, 29 Jul 2025 01:36:26 EDT Mary Rambaran-Olm aaf0f9f4-ebd1-49bd-8364-88eacc9e7217 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/25/obsessed-trumps-penis-south-park-premiere-media-ignore-larger-issue Spoiler Alert: The article below discusses virtually everything that happened in this week’s South Park.If you haven’t seen this week’s season premiere of South Park , you might be forgiven for thinking it’s mostly about Pres. Donald Trump’s small penis… Fri, 25 Jul 2025 02:48:13 EDT Jonathan Larsen 29d60254-eff2-4d24-a96a-10ac9ae28b8c https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/23/yes-vance-boelters-anti-abortion-terrorism-was-political-and-it-was-motivated-his Immediately after Vance Boelter was indicted by a federal grand jury for the stalking and killing of Democratic Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, along with the attempted murder of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife… Wed, 23 Jul 2025 12:32:06 EDT Thomas Lecaque d17f420b-55f7-42c6-aad9-9d8d0fbf4bfc https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/22/dont-be-diverted-diversions-trump-admins-bizarre-posts-may-be-aimed-qanon It’s just another normal week in America, where the President is reposting—i.e. re-“Truth”ing— deepfake videos of a former President being arrested and on its official Instagram account the White House is posting images like the one above with the caption… Tue, 22 Jul 2025 02:39:24 EDT Thomas Lecaque 4097bf07-683a-449a-8fee-ad92a173ee98 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/07/07/erasing-caste-american-television-we-were-liars-shows-representation-isnt-enough We Were Liars is the latest in a series of television shows about obscenely wealthy people’s lavish holiday accommodations and shenanigans, a genre Americans apparently can’t get enough of these days. We Were Liars premiered June 18th and is currently… Mon, 07 Jul 2025 02:09:23 EDT Sohini Sarah Pillai 70de3cd7-2b6c-45f6-bb47-d8cc00e8d6c1 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/06/17/we-should-not-be-shocked-alleged-minnesota-shooters-christian-school-connected-political As coverage of the horrific shootings in Minnesota has unfolded, the focus has turned to the alleged murderer’s time at a little-known Bible school in Dallas called Christ for the Nations Institute (CFNI). Most simply refer to it as a… Tue, 17 Jun 2025 05:47:31 EDT Keri Ladner d41492b5-f866-4898-9c62-f8ae70c40513 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/05/06/catholic-right-support-isnt-only-reason-trump-believes-he-can-get-away-mockery Last week, just days after Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome, Trump was asked by reporters if he had anyone in mind for the next pope. His answer : “I’d like to be pope. That would be my… Tue, 06 May 2025 04:34:44 EDT Karen E. Park 92d1d262-b3a4-4826-bc90-d5f0d111b5f8 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/04/24/i-dont-do-horror-ryan-coogler It was my absolute pleasure to chat with Dr. Yvonne Chireau, author of the iconic Black Magic and official Hoodoo consultant for Ryan Coogler’s latest smash hit, Sinners . If you don’t know her work, please stop reading this and… Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:16:40 EDT Megan Goodwin 2f5d7880-5b1d-44cd-92c8-735076acb9de https://religiondispatches.org/2025/04/23/once-again-adl-antisemitism-audit-overreaches-including-embarrassing-failure-recognize This week, the ADL released its annual audit of antisemitic incidents. Predictably, the organization repeated its familiar mantra that the Palestine solidarity movement was the chief culprit behind a precipitous, record-shattering rise in antisemitic incidents in 2024. While it’s encouraging… Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:24:05 EDT Ben Lorber ce1a4ffc-14e0-4769-b6ba-51ccc90bf603 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/04/09/amber-ruffin-wasnt-cancelled-whca-just-because-shes-queer-black-woman-who-rejects-both Comedian Amber Ruffin was literally cancelled from hosting the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner recently after the president’s team caught wind of the fact that she might be mean to the Trembling Tyrant rather than participate in toothless both-sidesing… Wed, 09 Apr 2025 05:06:24 EDT Mary Rambaran-Olm b83c5171-66cf-4c68-a4b3-2d40a0dcfa60 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/03/12/why-did-trump-just-tell-reporters-chuck-schumer-not-jewish-anymore-he-has-become At a press conference today responding to a question about the possibility of Democratic support for the Republican-written spending bill, Trump said of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer : Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I am concerned. He… Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:17:15 EDT Ben Lorber 2892a72b-3b60-4b77-a5b7-f4a99c62f145 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/01/22/proud-be-real-american-lee-greenwoods-god-bless-usa-and-politics-apolitical When you’re raised in an authoritarian Christian community you can never quite comfortably fit into, you learn early on about the ambiguity of language. Words like “love,” for example, mean very different things to a person who respects others’ bodily… Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:42:00 EST Chrissy Stroop 93d080cb-e63a-43c0-a013-4fdf4fa8fb05 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/01/21/while-global-media-are-clear-musks-nazi-salute-us-media-engage-nazi-washing At President Trump’s post-inaugural festivities, Elon Musk rose to the podium emblazoned with the Seal of the President of the United States to make a speech. It was a privilege earned through the $277 million he paid to back Trump… Tue, 21 Jan 2025 04:38:26 EST Steven Gardiner 81daa90e-3690-4374-9d24-3a0d6bf02a43 https://religiondispatches.org/2025/01/10/sing-sing-may-be-beautiful-testament-human-spirit-can-humanizing-narratives-bring-about The prison occupies a powerful place in the American imagination. In film and television it offers a context through which to explore the worst imaginable qualities of humanity—the dangerous, monstrous, deranged, and obscene. The stereotypes, fantasies, and voyeuristic consumption promoted… Fri, 10 Jan 2025 05:10:33 EST Laura Simpson bca7b6fa-5c7e-40f9-87da-4c04cd0ad196 https://religiondispatches.org/2024/12/10/coverage-tucker-carlsons-demonic-assault-missed-importance-man-he-shared-story “Physically mauled” is how Tucker Carlson refers to the alleged demonic assault he suffered in his own bed a year ago. Carlson’s comments, clipped from a larger documentary, have been covered by a variety of news outlets and social media… Tue, 10 Dec 2024 01:14:09 EST Sarah Riccardi-Swartz 1f351e11-b5e6-4e30-847d-74e1de9b014c https://religiondispatches.org/2024/12/02/authoritarians-must-break-your-will-resist-so-what-can-you-do-about-it There were many people, apparently, who voted for Trump who justified it with plain vanilla doubt. As in: they see the threats to imprison political opponents, to encourage police to run wild on “one really violent day,” and to imprison… Mon, 02 Dec 2024 12:01:37 EST Steven Gardiner 53c20301-e529-4dba-86bd-81077714ab3f https://religiondispatches.org/2024/11/13/meet-pete-hegseth-man-who-will-lead-entire-us-military-man-deemed-extremist-us-military On Tuesday, Trump announced Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth as his new secretary of defense. The guy in the image above. It’s not a parody; it’s from the cover of his 2020 book, American Crusade . Hegseth’s first tattoo… Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:38:02 EST Jeff Sharlet f6c53d9d-f1a8-4b26-a798-5187018618fe