by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 6, 2017 | Propaganda
Fox News may be enjoying large audiences right now, partly because of its close relationship with the president, but the network is taking a real risk — both to itself and to our democracy — by peddling falsehoods and making the president’s political enemies its...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Oct 7, 2017 | Global Authoritarianism
The New Yorker, October 5, 2017 In the late nineteen-thirties, as Benito Mussolini was preparing to host the 1942 World’s Fair, in Rome, he oversaw the construction of a new neighborhood, Esposizione Universale Roma, in the southwest of the city, to showcase Italy’s...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jul 20, 2017 | Forecasts
CNN.com, July 20, 2017 Just before Donald Trump took office, I argued that our new President would likely follow the “authoritarian playbook,” an approach toward governance that privileges executive power and makes the leader’s personal goals and...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jul 2, 2017 | Donald Trump And the GOP
CNN.com, July 2, 2017 We will remember 2017 as the year patriotism started to acquire a new vitality and force among Democrats — and the year that the GOP lost control of its narrative. We have President Donald Trump to thank for both of these things. Over the...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | May 25, 2017 | Donald Trump And the GOP
Montana’s starting to look more like Moscow, after then-Republican House candidate Greg Gianforte’s assault Wednesday on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. As the Guardian reported and a Fox News reporter in the room confirmed, Gianforte allegedly grabbed...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | May 2, 2017 | Forecasts
CNN.com, May 1, 2017 Sometimes political change happens suddenly. You wake up, and a military junta has taken over your country, or some other kind of revolution has happened. But other times, the climate shifts little by little. A few big gestures of aggression, and...