In a string of mass shootings around the world and in the us, we have seen the same theme, replacement, cited again and again. We saw it in the manifesto from the shooter in christchurch in new zealand. And we saw it in what law enforcement officials tell us is a manifesto that the gunman in buffalo posted shortly before his rampage at a super market there. In fact, the buffalo killer's manifesto was partly cut and pasted from christchurch manifesto. It seems to actually tell the story of how readily this theory weaves its way across the internet.
Over the weekend, an 18-year-old man livestreamed himself shooting 13 people and killing 10. Within hours it became clear that the shooter’s intent was to kill as many Black people as possible. The suspect wrote online that he was motivated by replacement theory — a racist idea that white people are deliberately being replaced by people of color in places like America and Europe.
What are the origins of this theory, and how has it become simultaneously more extreme and more mainstream?
Guest: Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The New York Times.
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