Hanah Stiverson

Hanah Stiverson, PhD is the Extremism Researcher for the Extremism & Human Rights Program at Human Rights First where she focuses on the mainstreaming of extremism in the United States, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ+ extremism, and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to joining Human Rights First, her research focused on the rising fascist movement in the U.S. and how it has integrated into mainstream spaces through digital recruitment, branding, and social networking.

Stiverson has served as a mentor and fellow at a variety of organizations focused on inequity, including the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism (IRMS). She also served as a senior member of the Digital Inequalities Lab at the University of Michigan where she co-authored a publication on the COVID crises. While at the University of Michigan she designed and taught undergraduate courses focused on the U.S. far right. Stiverson has presented at major national and international conferences on topics including extremism in the military, right-wing digital fascism, and extremist social movements. She has also briefed members of the U.S. Congress on anti-LGBTQ+ hate and the mainstreaming of extremism through rhetoric and policy.

Her co-authored book, “Racist Zoombombing,” details the racist hate speech and online harassment faced by users of the Zoom platform during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her upcoming edited volume “Banal Fascism Online: Weaponizing the 'Everyday' for Extreme Ends,” addresses the rising mainstream fascist movement in the U.S. and how it intersects with online culture and technology. Stiverson received her PhD from the University of Michigan, her dissertation was titled, American Patriot: The Social and Political Networks of Banal Fascism in the United States.