Brian Hughes is a Research Assistant Professor in the program of Justice, Law, and Criminology at American University in Washington, DC. He is the founding co-director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), where he develops studies and interventions to reduce the impact of disinformation and the risk of radicalization to extremism. His academic work explores the impact of communication technology on political and religious extremism, terrorism, and fringe culture. This work seeks to identify the social and emotional connections between extremist ideologies, cultures, times, and places. His writing has appeared in the CTC Sentinel at West Point, the International Journal of Communication, Lawfare, and New Media & Society.
The Summit unites the public and private sectors, domestic and international, against hate and extremism. Researchers, activists, lawyers, technology experts, political leaders, and more come together, each bringing their unique tools to the fight. Important relationships that were established at the Summit in 2021 have carried forward into working groups with concrete deliverables for 2022 and beyond.