In January 2023, VICE news reported on a Telegram channel dedicated to sharing white supremacist homeschooling curricula with other like minded parents. Run by a pair of neo-Nazi parents based in Ohio, the Telegram channel featured worksheets and advice advocating for Nazism. In the public outroar that followed, some noted that existing US homeschooling laws make such curricula “likely legal” in most US states. Several Ohio lawmakers weighed in, and Representative Casey Weinstein (OH-34) called for “more regulations around homeschooling here in Ohio.” The debate around the means and degree of state oversight for homeschooling long predates this incident. Some have raised concerns about the historical instances of pro-segregationist parents homeschooling their children as a way to bypass racially-integrated schools, and how that impacts the well-being of the child and the broader community. Others have criticised the uneven and unclear standards of government oversight, and how that may impact “educational standards or safeguards against abuse” for children. Yet, others have claimed potential risks of extremist parents exploiting homeschooling as a way to socially isolate and radicalise their children. This Insight examines narratives and educational curricula shared on Gab, a popular alternative technology (alt-tech) platform known for its minimal content moderation and popularity among extreme right users. From December 2022 to April 2023, I examined the dominant narratives shared in the three most populous public Gab homeschooling groups (the groups’ names have been omitted to avoid amplification). I observe that these groups, though not overtly extremist, serve as key avenues for users to spread mis-, dis-, and malinformation (MDM) narratives as well as white and Christian supremacist values. Importantly, this Insight does not seek to debate the merits of homeschooling or homeschooling regulations in the US; in all of its diverse applications, homeschooling is an accepted, valid, and important educational option. Instead, this piece is intended to provide a foundation for an informed conversation around how the digital mobilisation of homeschooling parents, connected on extreme alt-tech platforms and bound by shared extremist ideological grievances, can create virtual communities of practice that spread harmful MDM narratives and extremist ideas.
via gnet bresearch: Analysing Harmful and Supremacist Narratives on Gab Homeschooling Groups