Theme Panel: Author Meets Critics: Tamar Mitts’s “Safe Havens for Hate”

July 10, 2025 APSA Annual Meeting, Theme Panels Comments Off on Theme Panel: Author Meets Critics: Tamar Mitts’s “Safe Havens for Hate”

In-Person Author Meets Critics

Participants:

  • (Chair) Thomas Zeitzoff, American University
  • (Presenter) Brendan Nyhan, Dartmouth College
  • (Presenter) Alexandra Arons Siegel, University of Colorado Boulder
  • (Presenter) Joshua A. Tucker, New York University
  • (Presenter) Carly Nicole Wayne, Washington University in St. Louis
  • (Presenter) Tamar Mitts, Columbia University

Session Description:

This Author Meets Critics panel will discuss Tamar Mitts’s Safe Havens for Hate: The Challenge of Moderating Online Extremism (Princeton University Press, 2025). Mitts’s book examines the question of how extremist groups adapt and persist in the face of increasing content moderation efforts. Using original data from over a hundred hate and militant organizations, it reveals how inconsistencies in platform policies create “safe havens” where dangerous organizations can organize, recruit, and mobilize. By examining the broader online ecosystem rather than focusing on individual platforms, the book sheds light on the unintended consequences of current strategies to regulate harmful content. The panel will engage with Mitts’s findings and explore the broader issue of moderating online platforms in a digital age. How can governments and tech companies balance free speech, censorship, and security? What are the possible downstream effects of current strategies, and what approaches are more or less likely to be effective? Featuring experts in American, Comparative, and International Politics, as well as social media, misinformation, and political violence, this panel brings together leading voices in the field for an engaging and timely discussion on one of today’s most persistent global challenges.