Two Alaska Native villages devastated by Typhoon Halong are pursuing relocation to higher ground, with community leaders testifying before the U.S. Senate about the need for federal support to establish new village sites and airstrips. The remnants of the typhoon caused record flooding in rural Alaska, displacing residents through the winter months.

<p>During <a class="Link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7287471/2026/05/17/nationals-white-nationalist-sign-ban/" target="_blank" >a Washington Nationals baseball game</a> on May 17, three people <a class="Link" href="https://www.mlb.com/news/nationals-investigating-individuals-banner" target="_blank" >unfurled a large banner</a> from the upper deck of Nationals Park displaying a link to a white nationalist website.</p><p>The website, warning of the replacement of whites by people of color, called for <a class="Link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7287471/2026/05/17/nationals-white-nationalist-sign-ban/" target="_blank" >the deportation of 100 million people</a> from the United States.</p><p>The disturbing incident reflects the broader <a class="Link" href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-great-replacement-theory-a-scholar-of-race-relations-explains-224835" target="_blank" >ascendance of the “great replacement theory</a>,” the xenophobic conspiracy theory asserting that shadowy elites are embracing permissive immigration policies to replace native-born white Americans with immigrants of color.</p><p><a class="Link" href="https://www.mediamatters.org/new-york-times/trump-pushed-replacement-theory-during-debate-mainstream-media-fact-checks-sanitized" target="_blank" >Prominent Republicans</a>, including <a class="Link" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/13/g-s1-22583/trump-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory" target="_blank" >President Donald Trump</a>, <a class="Link" href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/trump-mike-johnson-promote-great-222624801.html" target="_blank" >Speaker of the House Mike Johnson</a> and <a class="Link" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/25/1171800317/how-tucker-carlsons-extremist-narratives-shaped-fox-news-and-conservative-politi" target="_blank" >conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson</a>, have echoed ideas associated with the great replacement theory. And <a class="Link" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/25/1171800317/how-tucker-carlsons-extremist-narratives-shaped-fox-news-and-conservative-politi" target="_blank" >conservative media outlets</a>, such as <a class="Link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/us/replacement-theory-shooting-tucker-carlson.html" target="_blank" >Fox News</a>, have disseminated them to millions of viewers.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-c70000" name="module-c70000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>But are the xenophobic ideas recently expressed at Nationals Park limited to a small number of extremists, or are they also endorsed by the broader public? If the latter, how do political and media elites contribute to their spread?</p><p>To answer these questions, our team has conducted several <a class="Link" href="https://www.umass.edu/political-science/umass-amherst-poll" target="_blank" >nationally representative surveys</a> that ask Americans about their support for key tenets of the great replacement theory.</p><h3>New immigrants as a threat</h3><h3></h3><p>We consistently found that <a class="Link" href="https://www.umass.edu/political-science/about/reports/2026-4" target="_blank" >a substantial minority of Americans</a> agree with the sentiment that new immigrants threaten the political, cultural and economic power of white Americans.