Turning Point USA: A case study of the hard right in 2024
“TPUSA originally purported to be dedicated to promoting conservative views in higher education and protecting free speech principles. However, TPUSA increasingly takes aggressive action to silence political speech and attack educational institutions as a collective. In 2016, TPUSA launched its ‘Professor Watchlist,’ [politicalresearch.org] targeting professors it accused of promoting ‘a radical agenda.’ In 2021, TPUSA expanded these efforts with its “School Board Watchlist.” TPUSA also continues to play an influential role in the growing movement to ban books and censor inclusive education in schools. According to TPUSA, efforts to teach students about institutionalized racism and hard histories are fundamentally racist and harmful to children’s development.”