Wikipedia

Robert Evans (journalist)

Robert Madison Evans(born March 22, 1988)[1]is an American author, journalist, and podcast host who has reported on global conflicts andonline extremism.A former editor at the humor websiteCracked,Evans now writes for the investigative journalism outletBellingcatwhile working on severalpodcasts,includingBehind the Bastards,Behind the Police,Behind the Insurrections,It Could Happen Here,The Women's War,andWorst Year Ever.In 2021 he published his first novel,After The Revolution,in a serialized podcast.

Robert Evans
Born(1988-03-22)March 22, 1988(age 36)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Journalist, author, podcast host
Employer(s)Cool Zone Media (2021–)
iHeartMedia
Bellingcat
Cracked(formerly)

Career

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Early career

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Evans worked at the humor websiteCrackedas 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.[2]

In 2016 Evans published his first book,A Brief History of Vice,about the formative effects of narcotics on the development and history of civilization.[3]

Journalism

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Evans has done reporting for the investigative reporting outletBellingcatbetween 2018 and 2021.[4][5][6] He has reported on conflicts inIraq,Ukraine,andRojava,as well as on far-right extremists in the United States.[7][when?]

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Evans produced a variety of content about8chan,an anonymous message board, as well as theGamergate controversymovement, a movement he describes as largely organically generated, with some direction given by white supremacists and extremists with long experience in radicalizing people on internet forums.[8]

Following the March 2019Christchurch mosque shootings,news outlets includingRolling Stone,Vox,andThe Atlanticreferenced Evans' warning about the nature of the shooter's manifesto. Evans argued that the manifesto was merely ared herring,full of references and memes meant to distract observers.[9][10][11][12]Following the 2019Poway synagogue shooting,Voxrelied on Evans' work to explain how the shooter's manifesto again constituted a 74-pagein-jokemeant to further radicalize other4chan/pol/users.[13][14]

In a 2020Bellingcatarticle, Evans discussed the emergence and qualities of theboogaloo movement,a loose-knit group of individuals who express interest in fomenting American civil unrest.[15]Evans says that he became aware of the boogaloo movement when he observed members at2020 Virginia Citizens Defence League Lobby Day.[16][17]

Portland George Floyd protests

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Starting in late May 2020, Evans covered theGeorge Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon.He began reporting in the first days of the protests by taking footage of protesters, counter-protesters, and police.[18][19][20]His reporting on the protests was highlighted in theNew York Timesopinion section, which published an interview with Evans after the 50th day of protests about covering the events.[21]

In July, Evans joined aclass-action lawsuitagainst the City ofPortlandfor police use of force at the protests. The suit is non-monetary, seeking instead "declaratory and injunctive relief — asking the court to find the plaintiffs within their rights and to order police to stop brutalizing and unlawfully arresting protesters." Evans joined freelance journalist Bea Lake and housing services specialist Sadie Oliver-Grey as a plaintiff. The suit alleges that police officers were unlawfully violent, stopped journalists from reporting, and interfered with the right to free speech. The suit describes incidents that occurred to Evans including the "police allegedly threatening him with arrest if he did not leave the area, shooting him in the foot with atear gasgrenadeand spraying him, and repeatedly shoving him ".[18]

On Saturday, August 22,aright-wingprotester wielding a baton broke Evans' hand while he was filming.[20]In an interview withThe Guardian,Evans said the right-wing counter-protesters "absolutely came prepared to fight", were "very aggressive from the jump", and were equipped with "knives, guns, paintball guns with frozen pellets, batons".[20]

Podcasting career

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Evans is the host of the podcastBehind the Bastardsand one of three co-hosts of the podcastWorst Year Ever.[22][23] In 2019, Evans completed the podcast seriesThe War on Everyone,a podcast about howwhite supremacyand fascism have developed and spread into the American consciousness in the modern age, as well asIt Could Happen Here,a podcast about the possibility of a Second American Civil War.[24][22] Evans published a new podcast series titledThe Women's Warin March and April 2020 about the primarily Kurdish autonomous region inSyriaknown asRojava.[22][25] Evans also published aBehind the Bastardspodcast miniseries titledBehind the Policein June and July 2020, covering the history of policing in the United States to inform the present time of civil unrest.[26][27] Behind the Police was co-hosted byJason Petty.[28][29][30]In November 2020 through early 2021, Evans publishedUprising: A Guide From Portland,a podcast detailing first-hand accounts of the 2020George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon.[31]

Cool Zone Media

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In August 2021,iHeartMediaannounced a launch of a new podcast network "Cool Zone Media" helmed by Evans, who would become its head of content. The network would unite under one umbrella both existing and upcoming podcasts from Evans and his frequent collaborators such asJake HanrahanandJason "Propaganda" Petty.[32][33]

Podcasts

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Bibliography

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  • Evans, Robert (2016).A Brief History of Vice: How Bad Behavior Built Civilization.Penguin Random House.ISBN9780147517609.
  • Evans, Robert (2022).After The Revolution.[S.l.]:AK Press.ISBN978-1-84935-462-2.OCLC1267687454.

References

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  1. ^"Evans, Robert, 1988-".LC Linked Data Service.RetrievedJune 12,2024.
  2. ^Tushnet, Eve(July 31, 2014)."From Boob Jokes to Ukraine: A Talk With Robert Evans of Cracked.Com".The American Spectator.RetrievedJune 5,2020.
  3. ^Evans, Robert (August 9, 2016)."There's Science Behind Why Humans Love Drinking".Esquire.[non-primary source needed]
  4. ^Warzel, Charlie (April 3, 2020)."Opinion | What We Pretend To Know About the Coronavirus Could Kill Us".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
  5. ^Evans, Robert (April 29, 2019)."8chan's Ties To Shootings Renew Debate Over Internet's Role In Radicalizing Extremists".All Things Considered(Interview). Interviewed by Jasmine Garsd. NPR.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
  6. ^"Robert Evans, author at bellingcat".Bellingcat.RetrievedFebruary 1,2023.
  7. ^Harris, Bridgett (March 25, 2020)."Four Ways To Enjoy Spending Time At Home This Week".Colorado Springs Independent.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
  8. ^Romano, Aja (January 20, 2020)."What We Still Haven't Learned From Gamergate".Vox.
  9. ^Evans, Robert (March 15, 2019)."Shitposting, Inspirational Terrorism, and the Christchurch Mosque Massacre".Bellingcat.Archivedfrom the original on March 15, 2019.
  10. ^Dickson, E. J. (March 15, 2019)."Why Did the Christchurch Shooter Name-Drop YouTube Phenom PewDiePie?".Rolling Stone.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  11. ^Coaston, Jane (March 15, 2019)."The New Zealand Shooter's Manifesto Shows How White Nationalist Rhetoric Spreads".Vox.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  12. ^Lorenz, Taylor (March 15, 2019)."The Shooter's Manifesto Was Designed To Troll".The Atlantic.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  13. ^Stewart, Emily (August 5, 2019)."8chan, a Nexus Of Radicalization, Explained".Vox Recode.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  14. ^Evans, Robert (April 28, 2019)."Ignore The Poway Synagogue Shooter's Manifesto: Pay Attention To 8chan's /pol/ Board".Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2019.
  15. ^Bloom, Mia(May 30, 2020)."Far-Right Infiltrators And Agitators In George Floyd Protests: Indicators Of White Supremacists".Just Security.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  16. ^Weissmueller, Zach (October 16, 2020)."The Complicated Truth About the Boogaloo Movement".Reason.
  17. ^Evans, Robert; Wilson, Jason (May 27, 2020)."The Boogaloo Movement Is Not What You Think".Bellingcat.
  18. ^abRamakrishnan, Jayati (July 9, 2020)."City Of Portland Now Faces a 3rd Class-action Lawsuit Over Police Use Of Force At Protests".The Oregonian.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  19. ^Sykes, Tom (July 21, 2020)."Federal Agents 'Beaten Back' Into Courthouse In Portland By 2,000 Protesters".The Daily Beast.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  20. ^abcWilson, Jason (August 28, 2020)."Portland Suffers Serious Street Violence As Far Right Return 'Prepared To Fight'".The Guardian.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  21. ^Warzel, Charlie (July 17, 2020)."Opinion | 50 Nights of Unrest In Portland".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  22. ^abcDeVega, Chauncey (April 3, 2020)."Investigative Reporter Robert Evans: 'We're On the Edge Of an Authoritarian Nightmare'".Salon.RetrievedJune 5,2020.
  23. ^Moon, Carter (February 8, 2020)."WORST YEAR EVER and Furries Fighting Fascism".Merry-Go-Round Magazine.RetrievedJuly 26,2022.
  24. ^"Critical Reads for Covering Extremism".electionsos.Election SOS. January 29, 2021.RetrievedJuly 26,2022.
  25. ^"Meet the Syrian Women Fighting For a Better, Fairer Future In iHeartRadio's New Original Podcast," The Women's War ""(Press release). iHeartRadio Blog. April 25, 2020.
  26. ^Gravano, Izzy (June 22, 2020)."Listen to These 15 Racial Justice Podcasts".Minnesota Monthly.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  27. ^Staff, Ledger (June 1, 2021)."Podcasts to tune into this summer".The Tacoma Ledger.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  28. ^"8 Podcasts to Help You Imagine a World Without Police or Prisons".Podcast Review.August 18, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  29. ^"What's New In Podcasting This Week".Insideradio.June 19, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  30. ^"NEW: Behind The Police".Podcast Business Journal.June 18, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 21,2022.
  31. ^Silverman, Julia (July 23, 2021)."5 Great Portland-Made Podcasts for Summer Listening".Portland Monthly.RetrievedJuly 26,2022.
  32. ^"iHeartMedia Announces" Cool Zone Media, "A New Progressive Podcast Network From Investigative Journalist And Star Podcaster Robert Evans"(Press release).iHeartMedia.August 17, 2020.RetrievedAugust 17,2021.
  33. ^Grove, Rashad (August 17, 2021)."iHeartMedia Premieres 'Cool Zone Media' A Progressive Podcast Network From Investigative Journalist Robert Evans".Forbes.Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2021.RetrievedAugust 20,2021.
  34. ^Drolet, Gabrielle (January 4, 2022)."5 podcasts on culture wars, conspiracies and extremist ideas".The Globe and Mail.
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