Mama Bears in the Belly of the Beast: Moms for Liberty’s Far-Right Organizing in a Progressive State

• In Event: Culture Wars in the Classroom: From Book Bans to DEI Rollbacks

Abstract

Moms for Liberty (M4L) has spread fear and disinformation to ban books and elect conservative board members. However, few empirical studies have examined their tactics and messages, particularly in progressive states like California. We examine the characteristics of 16 counties with M4L chapters compared to those without, then analyze 502 documents from 9 California chapter websites, as well as social media accounts and podcast episodes. We find that counties with M4L chapters more often experienced increased Republican voters, were more urban, had lower percentages of native citizens, and had higher Bachelor degree attainment. Through disinformation campaigns, they combined parents' critiques with White-implied Christian Nationalism, anti-trans, and anti-communist narratives to advance far-right agendas.

Authors

• Danfeng Soto-Vigil Koon, University of San Francisco

• Huriya Jabbar, University of Southern California

• Kiah Combs, University of San Francisco

• Mira McDavitt, University of San Francisco

• Tamra Malone, University of San Francisco

• Teresa Leyva, University of San Francisco