Date: April 3, 2025

Time: 6-9PM

Location: Azrieli Theatre, Room 101

On April 3rd, the History Department will host a public screening of the newly released film GOEBBELS and the F脺HRER. This compelling historical drama tells the story of Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany鈥檚 propaganda minister, and his role in building public support for the Holocaust and World War II

Set in the years between 1938 and 1945, the film explores how misinformation and propaganda can distort democratic discourse and contribute to social polarization鈥攁 theme that remains strikingly relevant in today鈥檚 world.

Opening remarks will be delivered by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

After the screening, join us for a Q&A discussion featuring the film鈥檚 historical consultant, Dr. Thomas Weber, and 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 own Dr. Jennifer Evans. Refreshments will be available during the event, and we encourage you to engage in the discussion.

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, whose commitment to fostering informed dialogue around history and global issues has been instrumental in bringing this film and its important message to our community.

Updated seats have been added — please pick “General Admission — Seats Added” at checkout.

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Trials by media have found new judges online.

New commentary published in Feminist Media Studies by Populist Publics co-lead Dr. Sandra Robinson and 杏吧原创 University colleague, Dr. Emily Hiltz addresses the role misogyny, anti-feminisms, and disinformation played in convening public opinion in the widely publicized and sensationalized defamation case of Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard using research from the Populist Publics project.

Depp brought forward the defamation suit based on Heard鈥檚 published opinion piece in The Washington Post, which he argued tarnished his reputation for allegedly alluding to him as 鈥渁 public figure that represented domestic abuse.鈥�

When the case went to trial, it was livestreamed online with many social media users weighing in. By extracting archived data from X (then Twitter) on May 26, 2022, the day Heard took the stand in her defense, patterns of misogyny, anti-feminism, and disinformation emerged.

Account holders using the #justiceforjohnny hashtag actively reposted (retweeted) content when Heard took the stand, ensuring the platform鈥檚 algorithm would amplify disinformation and misogynist abuse against Heard.

The dismantling of Heard鈥檚 reputation thorough violent and disparaging discourse is a common tactic of popular misogyny threaded through coordinated far-right groups active online. Accounts with little to no followings or postings could become influential and highly visible by disparaging Heard and centring harmful speech that gained widespread traction on X (then Twitter).

The networked public mapped around this event shows how disparate far-right accounts mobilize online using disinformation and anti-elitist rhetoric alongside specific and directed content and conduct to target Heard鈥檚 reputation. Platformed misogyny of this kind is rooted in the hostile and dangerous method of online visibility through harassment that first surfaced in the 2014 Gamergate harassment campaign and continues today.

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Jennifer Evans chaired a panel on Antisemitism and Online Hate at the Center for Jewish History’s one-day symposium on antisemitism. She queried panelists Sabine von Mehring, G眉nther Jikeli, and Mike Rothschild about their research findings on Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories, drawing insights from her own SSHRC supported Populist Publics project. The panel was featured in the January 29th edition of the  The in person symposium, co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University, was timed for January 28, the day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It brought together scholars, journalists, and activists and drew an online audience of over 1000 with 200 people attending in real time.

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This summer, Jennifer Evans, Swen Steinberg, David Yuzva Clement and Danielle Carron published “Settler Colonialism, Illiberal Memory, and German-Canadian Hate Networks in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centures” in Central European History. In it they analyzed the appeal of Canada to German fascist groups, Holocaust deniers, far-right groups and conspiracy theorists. Using historical methodologies to better understand how homegrown racism mixed with settler colonial structures helped buttress local and expat hate initiatives, they show the importance of an historical lens to our analysis of contemporary problems.

The article, supported by funding from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Social Science Historical Research Council of Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and German Foreign Office, is available .

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Brandon Rigato, research associate with Populist Publics, participated in Parliamentary Committee on the rise of Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) in Canada.

Rigato, a PhD candidate (ABD) in The School of Journalism and Communication at 杏吧原创 University, provided a witness statement at the House of Commons鈥� Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security panel for the study of the Rise of Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) in Canada. Rigato provided a specific and detailed example of IMVE by drawing on detailed research from his doctoral dissertation that examines right wing extremism in Canada.

His appearance can be viewed here:

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The lecture series – ‘Provocation and Challenge: Populism and Neo-Fascism in Transnational Contexts’ is now available to view on 

The series explores the transatlantic connections between Europe and Canada as they relate to far-right ideologies and networks, as well as the resilience and opposition of particular national contexts.

Members of the Populist Publics project participated in the series of virtual round-tables offered by 杏吧原创 University’s Center for European Studies. The series was organized by Principal Investigator Jennifer Evans and Researcher David Yuzva Clement, working with Swen Steinberg.

These panels were an activity of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the Centre for European Studies, with the support of the  of the European Union and 杏吧原创 University. They were furthermore made possible in part by the Government of Canada, and additional support has been received from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ottawa and the SSRC.

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On February 16, 2022, Populist Publics Co-investigator, Dr. Sandra Robinson, has published 鈥楶latform Multiverse: Discontent and Disconnection among Alt-Rights鈥� in the Canadian Journal of Communication.

The article explores the 鈥榩latform multiverse鈥� whereby groups and individuals, ideas, and discourses move across and between social platforms to avoid detection, suspension, and moderation. This study examines disconnection practice among alt-rights as part of an affiliative assemblage that extends across multiple platforms and works to orient the disconnected toward reconnection. Tracing this alt-right multiverse and the spatial and temporal intensities of disconnection practice exposes the discourses, habits, and interactions of alt-rights across new social platforms. doi:

Cet article explore le multivers de la plate-forme des droits alternatifs par lequel des groupes et des individus, des id茅es et des discours, se d茅placent 脿 travers et entre les plates-formes sociales pour 茅viter la d茅tection, la suspension et la mod茅ration. Cette 茅tude examine la pratique de la d茅connexion parmi des droits alternatifs dans le cadre d鈥檜n assemblage d鈥檃ffiliation qui s鈥櫭﹖end sur plusieurs plates-formes et travaille 脿 orienter les d茅connect茅s vers la reconnexion. Tracer ce multivers des droits alternatifs et les intensit茅s spatiales et temporelles de la pratique de d茅connexion expose les discours, les habitudes et les interactions des droits alternatifs sur de nouvelles plateformes sociales. doi:

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