Robert Evans (journalist)

Robert Evans is a journalist who has reported on global conflicts and online extremism. A former editor at the humor website Cracked.com, Evans now writes for the investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat while working on several podcasts, including Behind the Bastards, It Could Happen Here, and Worst Year Ever.

Robert Evans
NationalityUnited States
OccupationJournalist

Career

Evans has reported on conflicts in Iraq, Ukraine and Rojava, as well as on far-right extremists in the United States.[1] He has done some of this reporting for the investigative reporting site Bellingcat.[2][3][4] Evans is the host of the podcasts "Behind the Bastards" and "Worst Year Ever".[2]

In 2019 Evans completed the podcast series "The War on Everyone", a podcast about how white supremacy and fascism have developed and spread into American consciousness in the modern age, as well as "It Could Happen Here," a podcast about the possibility of a second Civil War in the United States.[5][6][7] Evans published a new podcast series titled "The Women's War" in March and April 2020 about the autonomous region in Syria known as Rojava.[7][8]

Evans previously worked at the humour website Cracked.com as an editorial manager. In that position, Evans led a team that published "personal experience" articles. These articles fell into two main categories: journalistic pieces involving a variety of sources and personal narratives.[9]

Significant reportage

Evans' reporting on the 2020 George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon have been highlighted by the New York Times, which interviewed Evans after the 50th day of protests about the experience of covering the events.[2] Evans says he started covering the riots from the first days.

Following the March 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, new outlets including Rolling Stone, Vox, and The Atlantic referenced Evans' warning about the nature of the shooter's manifesto. Evans argued that the manifesto was merely a red herring full of references and memes meant to distract observers.[10][11][12] Following the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting, Vox heavily used commentary and writing of Evans' to explain how the shooter's manifesto against constituted a 74-page in-joke meant to further radicalize other /pol/ users.[13]

In a Bellingcat article, Evans discussed the emergence and qualities of the boogaloo bois, a loose-knit group of individuals who express interest in fomenting American civil unrest.[14]

Political Beliefs

In an interview published in March 2019 Evans described himself as an Anarchist who believes in democratic confederalism. [15]

References
  1. Harris, Bridgett (25 March 2020). "Four ways to enjoy spending time at home this week". Colorado Springs Independent.
  2. Warzel, Charlie (17 July 2020). "Opinion | 50 Nights of Unrest in Portland". The New York Times.
  3. Warzel, Charlie (3 April 2020). "Opinion: What We Pretend to Know About the Coronavirus Could Kill Us". The New York Times.
  4. Evans, Robert (29 April 2019). "8chan's Ties To Shootings Renew Debate Over Internet's Role In Radicalizing Extremists". All Things Considered (Interview). Interviewed by Jasmine Garsd. NPR.
  5. "Worst Year Ever". www.iheart.com. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  6. "The War on Everyone".
  7. DeVega, Chauncey (3 April 2020). "Investigative reporter Robert Evans: "We're on the edge of an authoritarian nightmare"". Salon. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. "Meet the Syrian Women Fighting For a Better, Fairer Future In iHeartRadio's New Original Podcast, "The Women's War"". iHeartRadio Blog. 25 April 2020.
  9. Tushnet, Eve (31 July 2014). "From Boob Jokes to Ukraine: A Talk With Robert Evans of Cracked.Com". The American Spectator. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. Dickson, E. J. (15 March 2019). "Why Did the Christchurch Shooter Name-Drop YouTube Phenom PewDiePie?". Rolling Stone.
  11. Coaston, Jane (15 March 2019). "The New Zealand shooter's manifesto shows how white nationalist rhetoric spreads". Vox.
  12. Lorenz, Taylor (15 March 2019). "The Shooter's Manifesto Was Designed to Troll". The Atlantic.
  13. Stewart, Emily (5 August 2019). "8chan, a nexus of radicalization, explained". Vox Recode.
  14. Bloom, Mia (30 May 2020). "Far-Right Infiltrators and Agitators in George Floyd Protests: Indicators of White Supremacists". Just Security.
  15. Evans, Robert (18 March 2019). "Interview with Robert Evans". Anchor FM (Interview). Interviewed by Brian Douglas.
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