Washington, DC — A new report released today by America’s Voice, “Two Years After the Deadly Terror Attack in Buffalo, the Replacement Theory has Only Gone More Mainstream,” documents the continued spread of the white nationalist “replacement” theory, including by Republican elected officials at the highest levels.
Additionally, ahead of the anniversary, America’s Voice joined 66 other civil rights, community, and faith groups in a letter calling on Members of Congress to denounce the rhetoric associated with the bigoted conspiracy theory. The letter reads in part: “We implore House and Senate leadership to not only condemn references to conspiratorial and white supremacist rhetoric, including references to ‘replacement’ and an ‘invasion,’ but to recognize the harms carried out by domestic extremists inspired by anti-Black conspiracy theories, remove members who amplify this rhetoric from Committees, and to publicly encourage the Members of your caucuses to refrain from using such rhetoric.”
According to Zachary Mueller, Sr. Research Director at America’s Voice:
“As we mark two years since the racist massacre in Buffalo, the tragedy didn’t spell the end of the mainstreaming of dangerous white nationalist replacement theory that inspired the attack. Unfortunately, the reverse is true. Despite the attacks in Buffalo, El Paso, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere, replacement and invasion rhetoric has been fully adopted by the Republican Party, backed by millions of dollars in spending. As we remember our ten fellow Americans who died in Buffalo two years ago, the message machine that is spreading these white nationalist lies is at full volume and amplifies the risk that another well-armed constituent will take these fears seriously and act upon them. At the highest level of leadership in the Republican party, including the Speaker of the House and the Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, there is an aggressive use of talking points that is actively courting more racist political violence.”
Key toplines from the new America’s Voice report:
- 165 Members of the 118th Congress have employed replacement theory rhetoric and done so 584 times in their official capacity.
- Republican Members of Congress have amplified the bigoted conspiracy 31 times in Congressional hearings and 96 times on the floor of Congress.
- In the first four months of 2024, there have been 46 unique TV and CTV ads from Republican-aligned campaigns, which have spent $10.7M on ads that push the “invasion” rhetoric, according to data assembled from AdImpact. We have further identified 202 unique Facebook ads that use the “invasion” language this year.
Read the new America’s Voice report, “Two Years After the Deadly Terror Attack in Buffalo, the Replacement Theory has Only Gone More Mainstream”
