Anti-Islamic propaganda reached tens of millions of voters through shadowy funding

Evidence

Pipes, Geller, and Spencer are the tip of the iceberg of anti-Muslim bloggers and activists in post-9/11 America. Much more could be said about other prominent participants in professional Islamophobia, such as Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-born Christian and founder of ACT for America who equates all practicing Muslims with radical Islam, and Frank Gaffney and David Yerushalmi, both of whom head organizations that are responsible for spreading misinformation about Islam and that seek to enact anti-Muslim laws, including the infamous anti-Sharia legislation that began sweeping through state legislatures in 2010. Readers interested in learning more about this network of right-wing bloggers and activists, including the network’s sources of funding, amounting to over $40 million, from hardline conservative foundations and donors, would do well to read the Center for American Progress’s report from 2011 titled Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 446 (#expands, via linked claim)

Islamophobia was not merely an appeal for votes, but a resonant message that would drive policy and inform immigration and national security policing. … In exchange, he delivered on his explicit and “dog whistle” campaign messaging by generating real Islamophobic policies, programs, and action. Trump, like many candidates before him and others who will follow, traded a grand narrative of nativism and hate for votes—which registered to great success at the ballot box. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57 (#expands, via linked claim)

One example illustrates how Islamophobic propaganda is amplified in the mainstream media. The new McCarthyites have long claimed that 80 percent of mosques are controlled by jihadists. In 2004, Republican congressman Peter King stated on the Fox News network’s Sean Hannity Show that “eighty to eighty-five percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists.” He backed up his claim by citing the research of Emerson and Pipes. This nonsense was repeated again and again by the Islamophobes, even in the mainstream media. In 2010, Pamela Geller stated that “four out of five mosques preach hate” on CNN. In March 2011, King held his “green scare” hearings on the supposed radicalization in American Muslim communities. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 559 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: A factually distorted anti-jihad meme spread over fifty thousand times online — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad: A Cause of…, 46; Islamophobic campaign rhetoric is traded for votes and converted into policy — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57; The false eighty-percent-mosque claim circulated unchallenged across mainstream media — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 559 (+7 more)

Related

• A well-funded network of professional Islamophobes drives anti-Muslim activism in America (similarity 0.88)
• Organized funding sustains professional anti-Muslim propaganda networks in the US (similarity 0.84)
• The false eighty-percent-mosque claim circulated unchallenged across mainstream media (similarity 0.82)
• Seven right-wing foundations spent over $40 million funding Islamophobia from 2001 to 2009. (similarity 0.81)
• Seven foundations funneled 42 million dollars to five anti-Muslim activists (similarity 0.81)
• Islamophobic propaganda about mosques seeded hearings and counterterror surveilling of Muslim communities (similarity 0.80)
• An unfounded claim about mosques spread across media for years unchallenged (similarity 0.80)
• A fabricated mosque statistic spread from far right into mainstream media (similarity 0.80)
• Seven foundations gave $43 million to anti-Muslim groups from 2001 to 2009 (similarity 0.80)
• Anti-Muslim fear-mongering empowered by right-wing foundations fuels mainstream hatred. (similarity 0.79)
• Anti-Muslim propagandists specialize in campus outreach and coordinated media distribution. (similarity 0.79)
• Islamophobic power can deploy oppositional tactics to advance Muslim marginalization (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• A well-funded network of professional Islamophobes drives anti-Muslim activism in America #expands (0.80) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 446
• Islamophobic campaign rhetoric is traded for votes and converted into policy #expands (0.75) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57
• The false eighty-percent-mosque claim circulated unchallenged across mainstream media #exemplifies (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 559
• Anti-Muslim fear-mongering empowered by right-wing foundations fuels mainstream hatred. #corroborates (0.70) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 626
• The 2016 race weaponized nonspecific Muslim fear for electoral gain #expands (0.70) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 33
• Unchallenged propaganda legitimized monitoring Muslims like Cold War reds #expands (0.65) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 559
• Explicit Islamophobia has become an effective electoral strategy #expands (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 508
• Media framing constructs the reality audiences accept about Islam. #expands (0.60) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 497
• Islamophobia operates as a marketable commodity across media forms #expands (0.55) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 354