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  • “Keep Your Heads Held High Boys!”: Examining the Relationship between the Proud Boys’ Online Discourse and Offline Activities
Title: “Keep Your Heads Held High Boys!”: Examining the Relationship between the Proud Boys’ Online Discourse and Offline Activities
This study examines the relationship between online communication by the Proud Boys and their offline activities. We use a supervised machine learning model to analyze a novel dataset of Proud Boys Telegram messages, merged with US Crisis Monitor data of violent and nonviolent events in which group members participated over a 31-month period. Our analysis finds that intensifying expressions of grievances online predict participation in offline violence, whereas motivational appeals to group pride, morale, or solidarity share a reciprocal relationship with participation in offline events. This suggests a potential online messaging–offline action cycle, in which (a) nonviolent offline protests predict an increasing proportion of motivational messaging and (b) increases in the frequency and proportion of motivational appeals online, in turn, predict subsequent violent offline activities. Our findings offer useful theoretical insights for understanding the relationship between online speech and offline behavior.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2125677
PAR ID:
10521623
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Cambridge University Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
American Political Science Review
ISSN:
0003-0554
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1 to 18
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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