A.C. Thompson on Antisemitism and Right-Wing Extremism

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

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4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2023

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As FRONTLINE celebrates 40 years on the air, editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath is hosting conversations with the journalists and filmmakers behind some of FRONTLINE’s most groundbreaking work.

A.C. Thompson is a reporter for ProPublica who has been a correspondent with FRONTLINE since 2010. He joins The FRONTLINE Dispatch to discuss his years of reporting on right-wing extremism for award-winning films like American Insurrection and the series Documenting Hate in light of recent high-profile incidents of antisemitism.

“Over time, if you were following the key sort of white nationalist and right wing extremist talking points, you saw more and more antisemitism coming through,” Thompson told Aronson-Rath. “What I think you've seen since then is sort of a quiet but steady uptick in antisemitism and now it's bursting onto the scene.”

Thompson also reflects on the unique investigative collaborations he and FRONTLINE developed over the years, and previews what he’s working on in 2023.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Rainy Ernson Roth, executive producer and editor-in-chief of Frontline, and this is the Frontline Dispatch.
0:08.0	Today we're thrilled to be recording at the Boston Public Library, and we're getting ready to celebrate our 40th anniversary.
0:16.0	The first episode of Frontline aired on PBS on January 17, 1983.
0:22.0	I can think of no better way to mark this important milestone than to bring you conversations
0:28.0	with some of the journalists and filmmakers behind Frontline's documentaries.
0:32.0	One of those journalists is here with me today, AC Thompson.
0:36.0	He's a reporter for ProPublica, who has been a frontline correspondent for 13 years.
0:42.0	AC's investigative reporting has covered a huge range of subjects,
0:46.0	his unflinching coverage of right-wing extremism and the wake of Charlottesville,
0:51.0	and the years leading up to the January 6th insurrection has earned him many plaudits.
0:56.0	AC, thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for having me here.
1:04.0	The Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation, committed to excellence in journalism,
1:10.0	and by the Frontline Journalism Fund, with major support from John and Joanne Hagler.
1:16.0	Support for Frontline Dispatch comes from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center,
1:20.0	dedicated to providing the latest therapies and cancer specialists who are experienced in your cancer.
1:25.0	When you hear the word cancer, their team is ready.
1:28.0	Learn more at massgeneral.org slash cancer.
1:32.0	So I keep thinking about all of the different threads of your reporting,
1:36.0	and I guess it would make sense that we would start with your reporting on documenting hate,
1:41.0	which led to American insurrection, and all of your work in that area.
1:45.0	Now, all of the currents of your reporting seem to be coming to the fore.
1:48.0	I think when Trump left office, a lot of people thought the Trump era is over,
	...

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