User:GorillaWarfare/Boogaloo sources

Audit of the sourcing at Boogaloo movement, as of the 16:20, 26 June 2020 revision.

Conclusion
Just for raw numbers, I found that 23 of the 59 sources here specifically describe the group as far-right. This is not counting a few sources where it's a little unclear (for example in the case of this source where it's not clear if they're calling the movement far-right, or a singular person) nor is it counting two sources that use "right-wing" descriptors but not "far-right" (Associated Press, Fox News). It's also interesting to note that 19 sources describe the movement as anti-government. These sources are not mutually exclusive; 11 sources use both descriptors.

To move past the numerical discussion, I only found two instances in which anyone seemed to directly refute the far-right characterization: the DHS tweet, which has already been mentioned here, and in a quote from Facebook in the Reuters source. In my opinion, both of these groups seek to benefit from minimizing the group being far-right: the DHS because Trump and others have been criticized (for example, by Politico) for blaming violence on left-wing protesters while much of it has been committed by right-wing people, and Facebook because they have been criticized for being light on right-wing extremism on the platform. I was also interested to find a handful of cases in which the movement is described as "far-right", but other descriptors are also used, including libertarian (SPLC) and anarchist. I was also very interested to see Al Jazeera directly refute some of the claims made here and elsewhere that because some members or groups in the movement support BLM, they can't be far right: the article describes the boogaloo movement in no uncertain terms as far right, and then later says Purported members have been seen at protests bearing signs saying "The Boogaloo stands with George Floyd". While many far-right groups have a supremacist element, it isn't always the case.

As for MWise12's three sources which he claims contradict the "far-right" descriptor, one is the DHS tweet which I've mentioned above. Another is Katie Paul of the Tech Transparency Project, who is quoted in VOANews as saying "These individuals made an effort to capitalize on both, which shows that it's not really a right or left mentality for these guys so much as anti-government". To me this appears to mean that she believes they are more focused on the anti-government themes than the left–right political spectrum, not that she believes there are members throughout the spectrum. The Tech Transparency Project's report on the subject does associate the boogaloo with the far-right, though it mostly discusses "boogaloo" as a term used among far-right groups, rather than as a movement itself. As for Robert Evans, his Bellingcat piece clearly describes the group as: a largely white, and far right movement. A link and a timestamp to the podcast would be useful so I could more easily review that.

My conclusion based on this review of the sources is that the far-right descriptor still belongs in the lead without couching it in any kind of "sometimes described as" language. I have no objection to "anti-government" also being added to the lead sentence if it can be done in a readable way, but I do object to it replacing the "far-right" descriptor. GorillaWarfare (talk) 00:04, 27 June 2020 (UTC)