‘Fascism Is Not a Side’: Journalists Strategize to Expose the ‘Extremism’ on the Right
23rd June 2025
When Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk goes to speak on campus and attracts a large following, that’s not the story—the story is how the Right conspired to open the door to his “extremism,” according to journalists presenting at an investigative reporting conference.
David Armiak, research director at the Center for Media and Democracy, and Kyle Spencer, a former New York Times contributor and the CEO of the Pro-Democracy Information Lab, coached a room full of 124 reporters and editors on “Tracking Right-Wing Influencers and Movements” at the Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference in New Orleans on Friday. Robert Downen, a Texas Monthly senior writer, moderated the panel. (The conference counted 124 attendees at one point in the panel, though people came and went throughout.)
Armiak recounted seeing Kirk at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s library mall last fall. He saw Kirk “in the center of campus with frat bros all around him, you know, spewing anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ+ talking points” and campaigning for Donald Trump.