On this inaugural episode of extremely brief, the letter 'A' is for accountability.

First, we look at the pardon of approximately 1,500 January 6 insurrectionists, including roughly 200 who were directly convicted of instigating violence against law enforcement that day. Now out of prison, they are free to seek revenge, run for office or possibly just peruse their local library.

Meta announced it was removing its agreement with a consortium of fact-checkers in favor of “community notes,” despite a documented trend that loosening moderation results in an increase in online hate.

And what is the connection between last month's deadly school shootings in Nashville and Madison, Wis.? The shooters appear to have connected in the seamy online underground where violence and extremism fester.

extremely brief is a podcast from the ADL Center on Extremism. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

This episode was produced by Shea Shackelford. Senior Producer is Russell Gragg.

Video games are supposed to be fun and provide players with safe, supportive communities. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, extremists are ruining gaming for everyone. On this month’s episode of extremely, Oren Segal and Jessica Reaves talk to Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat, Policy Advisor on technology and law at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Rosenblat studies the societal impact of games and social media and has written multiple pieces during her time at NYU, including the watershed report, “Gaming the System: How Extremists Exploit Gaming Sites And What Can Be Done To Counter Them.”

Want to learn more about extremism in gaming? Read COE’s report, “Steam-Powered Hate: Top Gaming Site Rife with Extremism & Antisemitism.”

We want to hear from you! Send us your questions and/or comments: extremely@adl.org

In this special election episode of extremely, Oren Segal and Jessica Reaves sit down with not one but two (!!) dis/misinformation experts. Dr. Claire Wardle is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University, specializing in user-generated content and misinformation, and Liz Landers is a national correspondent leading the disinformation desk at Scripps News, covering the impact of artificial intelligence, deepfake images and disinformation.
Wardle and Landers tell us why this campaign is the worst on record for dis- and misinformation, what they’re most worried about and how things might play out on Election Day (and the days after), from threats targeting election workers to assaults on our democracy.

We want to hear from you! Send us your questions and/or comments: extremely@adl.org