This is an article from the June 2025 Civitas Examiner (Volume 2, No. 3) and was written by one of our students, Kirill K. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue. To read more Civitas Examiner stories or to submit your own, click here.
Ever heard of the far-right? Probably, you would answer yes. But who are they, what do they believe, and what danger do they pose? Below, I compiled a list of some of the most infamous far-right groups and outlets, aiming to inform people about who they are and their dangers.
First of all, we need a definition and a bit of background. The far-right is a range of ideologies that align with ultra-conservatism, authoritarianism, ultra-nationalism, and nativism. These ideologies range from extreme forms of conservatism to fascism. In the United States, the far-right is not new. Known as “radical right,” these groups have existed since the early days of American history. The Anti-Masonic Party, for example, propagated conspiracy theories about Freemasons controlling the government, while the Know Nothing Party opposed immigration and promoted nativism in the 1850s. You might have also heard of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group that has terrorized African-Americans since the end of the Civil War. America even had its own fascist movement: the Silver Legion. However, the views of the modern far-right can be traced to the John Birch Society, which was founded in 1958. This anti-communist group propagated conspiracy theories of a communist plot against the US government. Today, the far-right is diverse but just as extreme. Let’s dive into the far-right ecosystem.
First up, we have the Three Percenters. The Three Percenters are a loose collection of individuals and militias across the United States. Their name is based on the claim that only 3% of the American colonists fought for independence, a claim with no evidence behind it. They infamously participated in the January 6th riot, and since then, their national leadership was forced to be dissolved due to increased scrutiny, and only local groups remain.
Another prominent militia movement is the infamous boogaloo movement. They are loosely organized anti-government extremists who seek to incite a second civil war, referring to it as “the boogaloo.” They usually show up at demonstrations with guns and dressed in Hawaiian shirts, which makes them easy to distinguish. While they claim they are not Neo-Nazis, even guarding Black Lives Matter demonstrations, these claims have been met with skepticism.
Yet another militia group is the Oath Keepers. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group mostly consists of former and present law enforcement officials and military veterans. They are infamous for their participation in the January 6th riot and for offering vigilante security for business owners who refused to follow COVID-19 safety measures. Their economic views are extremely similar to the John Birch Society, and they also believe in the conspiracy theory that the US government is “socialist.”
Moving on, we have the Proud Boys. Founded by the co-founder of Vice magazine, a Canadian national named Gavin McInnes, the group has engaged in political violence against anti-Trump and progressive protests. They are self-proclaimed “Western chauvinists,” and due to their violence, have been designated as a terrorist group in Canada. Proud Boys also has connections with and participated in rallies with Patriot Prayer, a far-right group founded by Joey Gibson. This group organizes anti-progressive and pro-Trump demonstrations in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.
Moving into the Neo-fascist category, we have the Patriot Front. The Patriot Front formed as a splinter from the Neo-nazi Vanguard America, a group that infamously participated in the 2017 Unite the Right Rally, soon gaining infamy after its member, James Alex Fields, rammed his car into counter-protestors, killing one. Patriot Front organizes marches with American flags and distributes racist and anti-Semitic leaflets, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League.
A popular anti-LGBTQ+ group is Libs of TikTok (LoTT). LoTT is a far-right extremist Twitter account created by Chaya Raichik, who infamously helped popularize the “groomer” slur, which baselessly accuses LGBTQ+ people of being pedophiles. She posted edited, out-of-context videos of LGBTQ+ individuals to humiliate and dehumanize them. Her actions had real consequences. After she falsely claimed that Boston Children’s Hospital was providing bottom surgery for minors, the hospital received bomb threats, and her account has been linked to more than 20 bomb threats nationwide. Nonetheless, Raichik is a prominent individual within the Republican Party and is supported by other prominent Republican social media influencers like Tucker Carlson.
Another far-right group prominent within the Republican Party is Moms for Liberty, which was originally founded to oppose COVID-19 restrictions in schools but went on to attempt to censor school curricula that featured topics related to racism and LGBTQ+ rights. They also propagate the use of the “groomer” slur and even advocate for “special classes” for LGBTQ+ students. They are active within the Republican Party and have connections to people such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
The next anti-LGBTQ far-right group is Gays Against Groomers (GAG). As seen in their name, GAG also promotes the hateful “groomer” slur. While claiming to be “concerned gays and lesbians,” they have made multiple hateful anti-LGBTQ statements, such as attacking pride flags, claiming LGBTQ+ youth “do not exist,” and teaming up with the Neo-fascist group Proud Boys.
Besides activists, anti-LGBTQ far-right groups also have lawyers organized into a group known as the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). This group is responsible for the majority of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills of the 2020s, including transgender bathroom bans and attempts to criminalize LGBTQ+ individuals outside the U.S., by sponsoring anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Jamaica and Belize. They have also teamed up with the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds). Despite the official name, ACPeds is not the leading pediatric association in America. They are a fringe group that broke away from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) after the AAP concluded that same-sex parenting is not harmful to children. ACPeds promotes anti-LGBTQ+ junk science, opposes HPV vaccines and comprehensive sex-ed, promotes the discredited “rapid-onset gender dysphoria,” and supports corporal punishment. They have also collaborated with ADF, supplying them with anti-trans “science.”
The Heritage Foundation is the conservative think-tank behind Project 2025, a plan to consolidate power in favour of right-wing policies. They have been behind many anti-LGBTQ policies, and their proposals in Project 2025 have been attempted by Trump. Such policies include removing legal recognition of trans people.
Focus on the Family, meanwhile, is an extreme fundamentalist group that opposes same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, and any LGBTQ+ rights. They have been especially influential through their lobbying arm, the Family Policy Alliance, and have sponsored a transphobic “feminist” organization, Women’s Liberation Front, which also received money from the ADF and teamed up with The Heritage Foundation.
Now, what are some far-right websites and tabloids? There are many, and they range in extremism. By far, the most extreme is The Daily Stormer. It takes its name from the Nazi newspaper, Der Sturmer, and is run by the Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin. The website calls for a second genocide of Jewish people and has an entire “troll” army that harasses people online.
A more “professional” looking far-right outlet is American Renaissance. Founded by the white supremacist Jared Taylor, it is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group for promoting scientific racism, the belief that the white race is culturally and intellectually superior to other races.
The other type of extreme far-right websites are conspiratorial ones, such as Infowars and WorldNetDaily. Infowars is run by Alex Jones, an infamous far-right conspiracy theorist who promotes 9/11 conspiracy theories, 2017 Las Vegas shooting conspiracy theories, New World Order (conspiracy theory claiming there is an emerging totalitarian world government), and most infamously, Sandy Hook denial, which included his followers doxing and sending death threats to victims’ families for being “crisis actors.” WorldNetDaily, on the other hand, was founded by Joseph Farah and has been the main source behind the false claim that former president Barack Obama was born outside the United States.
Switching over to anti-Islamic propagators, Jihad Watch is a website founded by Robert Spencer. It is a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, an anti-Muslim hate group founded by David Horowitz, formerly an adherent of the New Left who later distanced himself from progressivism and embraced conservatism and Islamophobia. The website falsely claims Islam is “inherently violent,” and it has been a go-to source for Islamophobes to the point of being mainstream among them.
Now, let’s look at what I consider the main propagator of the populist right, Breitbart News. Founded by Andrew Breitbart and originally the counterpart to The Huffington Post, which is considered to be very liberal, but under Steve Bannon, it became the “platform of the alt-right,” as he himself said. The website promotes anti-immigrant views, climate change denial, and COVID-19 disinformation, and it used to have staff members associated with white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and the alt-right, such as Milo Yiannopoulos.
One America News Network, or OANN, is a far-right, pro-Trump channel and website. It has been caught promoting fake news and propaganda on numerous occasions, such as platforming Jack Posobiec (a far-right conspiracy theorist who promotes “Pizzagate,” a debunked conspiracy theory which claims that members of the Democratic Party ran a pedophilia ring connected to the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria), supporting former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and denying the chemical attacks of his regime, and amplifying false claims about the 2020 election being “stolen.”
The final website prominent among the far-right featured here is The Federalist. As reported by Media Matters for America, The Federalist pushed reckless proposals during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as suggesting “controlled voluntary infection,” opposing social distancing, lockdowns, and vaccines.
These examples have only scratched the surface, but hopefully people are encouraged to research the American far-right for themselves. After reading about the true face of these groups, people should be wary of consuming media from them.
