Dr. Neil Johnson, Professor of Physics at George Washington University, studies complex systems and applies physics-based methods to understand how online hate and misinformation spread across social networks.

The run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election has seen rising levels of misinformation, division, and hate speech across social media platforms. Online conversations around topics such as race, immigration, and politics often attract extremist voices that can overwhelm more constructive dialogue.

In this episode, Dr. Johnson explains how communities that promote hate organize themselves online and how they build networks across mainstream platforms as well as darker corners of the web. Using tools originally developed in particle physics, his research maps how harmful content spreads through digital networks and warns that the biggest spikes in online hate may occur after election day, when tensions and uncertainty are at their highest.