Christopher Rufo

[[File:Chris Rufo 2022.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Rufo in 2022 from a video interview with [[Reason (magazine)|''Reason TV'']]]]{{Pundits}}
{{cquote|"If conservatives want to protect the American way of life, they must be willing to lay siege to the institutions, and reorient them according to their own values. Whatever the odds, it’s never too late for counterrevolution in our time."|||Christopher Rufo<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/critical-race-theory/anti-civil-rights-activist-chris-rufo-what-nixon-did-black-panther-party-next "Anti-civil rights activist Chris Rufo: “What Nixon did to the Black Panther Party, the next president must do to the violent factions of our time”"] by Media Matters, 2023 August 14</ref>}}

'''Christopher Ferguson Rufo''' {{lived|1984}} is an [[American]] far-right activist. Rufo is an anti-[[LGBTQ]] [[culture war]]rior,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ebner |first=Julia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GT29EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT111 |title=Going Mainstream: How extremists are taking over |date=2023-06-22 |publisher=Bonnier Books UK |isbn=978-1-80418-314-4 |pages=~111 |language=en |quote=In 2022, the new 'Don't Say Gay' legislation in Florida caused a major controversy in the US. It started with the conservative American activist Christopher Rufo initiating a large campaign to punish Disney for releasing its new animated series ''The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder''. The series introduced a pair of homosexual dads, featuring voice-overs by LGBTQ actors, as well as recurring queer character Michael Collins. After Rufo claimed that ''The Proud Family'' was grooming children with radical sexual propaganda and helping advance a 'gay agenda', waves of anti-LGBTQ campaigns kicked off.}}</ref><ref>Adrian Horton (October 17, 2022). [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/17/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-recap-trans-rights "John Oliver: 'Some on the right have truly lost their minds about trans rights'"]. ''The Guardian''. Quote: "Rufo has suggested branding the discussion of trans issues as 'radical gender theory', and tweeted that [[drag queen]]s should be referred to as 'trans strippers' because it’s more 'lurid' and has a 'sexual connotation' – part of the conservative strategy of linking transgender issues with sexual predation or social contagion."</ref><ref>Trip Gabriel (April 24, 2022). [https://web.archive.org/web/20231222151613/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/us/politics/christopher-rufo-crt-lgbtq-florida.html "He Fuels the Right's Cultural Fires (and Spreads Them to Florida)"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>Paul Matzko (July 21, 2023). [https://reason.com/2023/07/21/how-chris-rufo-became-the-thing-he-hates/ "How Chris Rufo Became the Thing He Hates"]. ''Reason''.</ref> a [[racist]] anti-[[Alt-right glossary#Woke|"woke"]] and anti-[[DEI]] crusader,<ref>[https://theconversation.com/yes-efforts-to-eliminate-dei-programs-are-rooted-in-racism-227028 "Yes, efforts to eliminate DEI programs are rooted in racism"] by Tatishe Nteta, Adam Eichen, Douglas Rice, Jesse Rhodes, and Justin H. Gross, The Conversation, 2024 April 5</ref> a professional [[bullshit]] artist,<ref>[https://conceptualdisinformation.substack.com/p/chris-rufo-professional-bullshit "Christopher Rufo: Professional Bullshit Artist"] by Samuel Hoadley-Brill, Conceptual Disinformation, 2021 May 25</ref> and senior fellow of the [[Manhattan Institute]]. He is also an [[intelligent design]] advocate and former director of the [[Discovery Institute]]’s Center on Wealth & Poverty.<ref>[https://www.discovery.org/p/rufo/ Christopher Rufo]. discovery.org. accessed 15 July 2023.</ref><ref name="Profile">[https://manhattan.institute/person/christopher-f-rufo "Christopher F. Rufo"], Manhattan Institute, personal profile.</ref> He has [[Credentialism|falsely claimed to have a degree from Harvard University]], when he has only a degree from the open-enrollment Harvard Extension School.<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/170647/christopher-rufo-harvard-degree-misleading Christopher Rufo Claims a Degree from “Harvard.” Umm … Not Quite: The activist who is now a leading education policy figure on the right actually matriculated at Harvard Extension School. There’s a difference.] by Daniel Strauss (February 17, 2023) ''The New Republic''.</ref>

==Early activity==
[[File:Rufo and Ochwat 2014.jpg|left|thumb|Rufo (left) and Ochwat (right) on location in 2014.]]
===Documentary career===
Christopher Ferguson Rufo was born to [[Italy|Italian]] [[immigration|immigrants]] on August 26, 1984 in {{w|Sacramento, California|Sacramento|,}} [[California]], where he was raised.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Christopher Ferguson Rufo|url=https://californiabirthindex.org/birth/christopher_ferguson_rufo_born_1984_16543863|publisher=California Birth Index}}</ref><ref name="wallacewells1">{{cite news |last=Wallace-Wells |first=Benjamin |date=
June 18, 2021|title=How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory | work=The New Yorker | publisher= | url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory|location= | access-date=}}</ref> He received a degree in foreign service from Georgetown University in 2006.<ref name="wallacewells1" /><ref name="sarahjones1">{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Sarah |date=July 11, 2021|title=How to Manufacture a Moral Panic | work=Intelligencer | publisher= | url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/christopher-rufo-and-the-critical-race-theory-moral-panic.html|location= | access-date=}}</ref><ref name="cauterucci1">{{cite news |last=Cauterucci |first=Christina |date=2011|title=Four Georgetown Alumni Featured at Silverdocs Film Festival | work=| publisher= Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201925/https://www.gema-hoyas.org/four-georgetown-alumni-featured-at-silverdocs-film-festival/|location= | access-date=}}</ref> For the next decade he travelled and worked as a documentary filmmaker.<ref name="wallacewells1" /> In 2008, he and his childhood friend, Keith Ochwat, released ''Roughing It: Mongolia'', a half-hour travelogue about the pair's time in [[Mongolia]].<ref name="wallacewells1" /><ref name="genzlinger">[https://archive.is/48HoY A Memoir of the Far East, With Kisses From Reindeer] by Neil Genzlinger (Aug. 16, 2008) ''The New York Times'' (archived from 4 Jun 2023 02:32:47 UTC).</ref><ref name="floridadream">{{cite news |last=|first=|date=November 11, 2015|title=Documentary Filmmaker Keith Ochwat Learns By Doing | work= | publisher= Our Florida Dream | url=https://livingourfloridadream.com/innovation/documentary-filmmaker-keith-ochwat-learns-by-doing/
|location= | access-date=}}</ref>  This was followed by ''Diamond in the Dunes'' in 2009, a documentary focused on a mixed [[Uyghur genocide|Uyghur]]-Han Chinese baseball team in Xinjiang, [[China]].<ref name="wallacewells1" /><ref name="fernandez1">{{cite news |last=Fernandez |first=Josh |date=June 11, 2009|title=Keith Ochwat and Chris Rufo's school of doc | work= Sacramento News & Review| publisher= | url=https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/keith-ochwat-and-chris-rufos-school-of-doc/1009012/|location= | access-date=}}</ref> 

===Rightward shift and think thinks===
Rufo and Ochwat began work on a [[PBS]] documentary about [[poverty]] and urban decay called ''America Lost'' in late 2014.<ref name="wallacewells1" /><ref name="james1">{{cite news |last=James |first=Will |date=June 20, 2023|title=How liberal Seattle created a powerful conservative influencer: Christopher Rufo | work= KNKX| publisher= | url=https://www.knkx.org/politics/2023-06-20/how-liberal-seattle-created-a-powerful-conservative-influencer-christopher-rufo|location= | access-date=}}</ref><ref group="note">It's unclear when exactly production began. The ''New Yorker'' [https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory stated] Rufo "began work" on the film in 2015. [[NPR]] affiliate KNXK [https://www.knkx.org/politics/2023-06-20/how-liberal-seattle-created-a-powerful-conservative-influencer-christopher-rufo claimed] he was in the "early stages" of his work when he moved to Seattle "around 2015." However, there is a [[:File:Rufo and Ochwat 2014.jpg|photo]] of Rufo and Ochwat on location in Youngstown, [[Pennsylvania]] in November 2014.</ref> One of the film's interviewees remembered Ochwat as "a little [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], but well-intentioned," while Rufo was reportedly "affable and not overtly political."<ref name="james1" /> However, it was during this period that Rufo's beliefs took a hard right turn.<ref name="wallacewells1" /><ref name="james1" /> He became convinced that poverty is caused by "[[Just world fallacy|social, familial, even psychological]]" factors and [[Rugged individualism|cannot be solved by public policy]].<ref name="wallacewells1" /> 

Rufo quickly forged connections with [[conservatism|conservative]] [[think tank]]s. He was made a Lincoln Fellow at the {{w|Claremont Institute}} alongside [[James O'Keefe]] in 2017.<ref name="sarahjones1" /><ref>"[https://www.claremont.org/2017-lincoln-fellows/ 2017 Lincoln Fellows]," Claremont Institute</ref> By 2018, he had joined the pro-[[creationism|creationist]] [[Discovery Institute]] as a research fellow, writing a "flurry of essays" on Seattle's homelessness crisis.<ref name="sarahjones1" /><ref name="james1" /><ref name="seattle3">{{cite news |last=Herzog |first=Katie |date=November 16, 2018|title=Former City Council Candidate Chris Rufo Presents His Evidence of Online Harassment | work=The Stranger | publisher= | url=https://www.thestranger.com/articles/2018/11/16/35689714/former-city-council-candidate-chris-rufo-presents-his-evidence-of-online-harassment|location= | access-date=}}</ref> He continued to focus on poverty and homelessness as a fellow of the [[Heritage Foundation]].<ref>"[https://www.heritage.org/staff/christopher-rufo Christopher Rufo]", The Heritage Foundation</ref>

Rufo and Ochwat co-founded the Documentary Foundation in 2015 with the aim of making "character-driven social commentary films."<ref name="floridadream" /> While this organization is registered as a non-profit, the pair have boasted about making $1.5 million on their third doc, 2011's ''Age of Champions'', which focused on elderly athletes.<ref name="floridadream" /><ref name="ofalt1">{{cite news |last=O'Falt |first=Chris |date=September 1, 2016|title=How We Made $1.5 Million Self-Distributing Our Doc: The Six-Step Playbook | work= IndieWire| publisher= | url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/how-to-self-distribute-documentary-age-of-champions-christopher-rufo-keith-ochwat-1201721813/|location= | access-date=}}</ref> This lucrative scheme included selling DVDs to universities for $250USD a pop.<ref name="ofalt1" /> A report by ''The Intercept'' in 2021 revealed that the Documentary Foundation "received millions of dollars" in donations following Rufo's rise to fame (including "hundreds of thousands" from dark money sources).<ref name="boguslaw1">[https://theintercept.com/2023/06/08/christopher-rufo-nonprofit-dark-money/  Funded by Dark Money, Chris Rufo’s Nonprofit Stokes the Far Right’s Culture War. Rufo’s Documentary Foundation received an influx of untraceable money in 2021, as his national profile grew.] by Daniel Boguslaw (June 8 2023, 2:24 p.m.) ''The Intercept''.</ref> According to the article, "Rufo's salary and donations to the National Progress Alliance comprised the overwhelming majority of the Documentary Foundation's $1.3 million in spending in 2021."<ref name="boguslaw1" /> The National Progress Alliance is another right-wing lobby group with the stated goal of fighting "far-left ideological takeover" while supporting "[[free speech]] and open inquiry."<ref name="boguslaw1" /> Rufo told ''The Intercept'' that he "wound down operations for the Documentary Foundation" in 2021.<ref name="boguslaw1" /> The organization was "administratively dissolved" in February 2023.<ref name="boguslaw1" />

===Seattle City Council and family===
In November 2018, Rufo announced he was dropping out of a bid for {{w|Seattle|Seattle's}} {{w|Seattle City Council|City Council|,}} citing an alleged campaign of "ongoing harassment against his family."<ref name="seattle1">{{cite news |last=Herzog |first=Katie |date=November 14, 2018|title=City Council Candidate Drops Out After Family is Allegedly Harassed | work=The Stranger | publisher= | url=https://www.thestranger.com/news/2018/11/14/35573344/city-council-candidate-drops-out-after-alleged-harassment|location= | access-date=}}</ref> Rufo told ''The Stranger'''s [[Katie Herzog]] that "activists" had made "vile [[racism|racist]] attacks against [his] wife, attempted to get her fired from [[Microsoft]], and threatened sexual violence."<ref name="seattle1" /> Rufo posted a statement addressing the "rumors," in which his [[Thailand|Thai]]-born wife, Suphatra, revealed she "came to the United States as an [[Undocumented immigration|undocumented immigrant]] in the late 1980s."<ref name="seattle2">[https://x.com/ZaidJilani/status/1836567170639126969 Screenshot] of the [https://www.facebook.com/share/L5UFo86PcmV3zDbQ/?mibextid=WC7FNe original 2018 Facebook] post that Rufo made private shortly after it went viral in September 2024.</ref><ref name=zuylenwood>[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/christopher-rufos-big-campaign.html Christopher Rufo’s Big Campaign Can the conservative journalist-activist make a new counter-elite?] by Simon van Zuylen-Wood (Oct. 18, 2024) ''New York Intelligencer''.</ref> She explained that her mother brought her to the U.S. to "escape abuse and [[human trafficking]]" and recounted several experiences with racism in elementary school and college.<ref name="seattle2" /> When pressed for evidence of harassment, Rufo pointed to "several dozen posts" on [[social media]], including one calling him an "absolute [[fascism|fascist]]".<ref name="seattle3" /> Another post – seemingly the basis for the "sexual violence" threat claim&nbsp;– told his wife to "get f*cking bent"{{efn|"get bent" is just a dismissive slang term to end a conversation and go away, and has no implication of violence.<ref>[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_bent get bent] ''Wiktionary''.</ref>}} (asterisk included).<ref name="seattle3" /><ref name="seattle4">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Rich |date=November 16, 2018|title=If Christopher Rufo Wants to Promote 'Civil Debate,' He Should Start With the Man in the Mirror | work=The Stranger | publisher= | url=https://www.thestranger.com/city/2018/11/16/35693198/if-christopher-rufo-wants-to-promote-civil-debate-he-should-start-with-the-man-in-the-mirror|location= | access-date=}}</ref> Herzog concluded that the "hostile posts" had come from "a small number of local residents" concerned over Rufo's right-wing views and "stance on homelessness."<ref name="seattle3" /> Fellow ''Stranger'' reporter Rich Smith got Rufo to admit that the campaign amounted to "10-20 people."<ref name="seattle4" /> Despite his wife's immigration history, Rufo [[hypocritical]]ly stated, "My intention is obvious, I’m open about it. I want to abolish DEI, I want the [[FBI]] to dismantle violent, left-wing networks, and I want to rein in illegal immigration."<ref name=zuylenwood/> 

In September 2024, journalists {{w|Lauren Windsor}} and Steven Monacelli linked the e-mail Rufo used to register for the 2018 Seattle election to an [[Ashley Madison]] account.<ref name="ashleymadison1">[https://x.com/lawindsor/status/1836932778933313704 Tweet] by Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor)</ref><ref name="ashleymadison2">[https://x.com/stevanzetti/status/1837172969367359653 Tweet thread] by Steven Monacelli (@stevanzetti)</ref> The company – a dating site for people seeking [[adultery|extramarital affairs]] – suffered a massive {{w|Ashley Madison data breach|data breach}} in 2015. Rufo called the claim "complete bullshit" and stated he has "never used" Ashley Madison.<ref name="ashleymadison3">[https://x.com/realchrisrufo/status/1837160477853372711 Tweet thread] by Christopher Rufo (@realchrisrufo)</ref> He posted screenshots of negative results on two data breach check websites as evidence.<ref name="ashleymadison3 /> However, one of the sites, {{w|Have I Been Pwned?||,}} excludes the Ashley Madison breach from searches due to [[privacy]] concerns.<ref name="ashleymadison4">"[https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites Pwned websites]" on HaveIBeenPwned.com</ref> A software developer examined the code of the second site and found it intentionally returns negative results for everyone except [[Josh Duggar]].<ref name="ashleymadison5>[https://x.com/djnemec/status/1837681983314428205 Tweet by Nemec (@djnemec)]</ref> Rufo seemingly only had a [[misogyny|problem with Windsor airing his dirty laundary]].<ref name="ashleymadison2" /> After implying an obviously fake {{w|OnlyFans}} account might belong to her, he [[SLAPP|threatened her with legal action]] for "false and defamatory posts," prompting her to delete the tweets in question.<ref name="ashleymadison2" /> Monacelli pointed out that the Ashley Madison account's location was listed as {{w|Topanga, California|Topanga|,}} [[California]], where Rufo has indicated he lived in 2014.<ref name="ashleymadison2" /><ref group="note">Specifically, Rufo [https://x.com/stevanzetti/status/1837172969367359653 tweeted] in 2019 that he lived in [[Marianne Williamson]]'s district "when she was running for Congress", which she did unsuccessfully in 2014. He tweeted in 2023 that he "spent five years living in Berkeley and Topanga Canyon, California." These tweets have since mysteriously vanished.</ref> In simple terms, Rufo lived in Topanga, California one year before the 2015 Ashley Madison breach exposed an account registered with his e-mail by someone in Topanga, California. Through his attorney, Rufo stated that he "was single and in his twenties in 2014, met his wife in 2015, married her in 2016, and legally adopted [her] son."<ref>[https://x.com/realchrisrufo/status/1837290292866916412 Tweet by Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo)]</ref><ref group="note">The marriage year can be independently verified through a [https://archive.ph/RIYK6 wedding registry] on {{w|MyRegistry.com}}.</ref> The adoption disclosure was prompted by confusion over a 2018 statement by Rufo that he had an "8-year-old son."<ref name="seattle5">{{cite news |last=Hyde |first=David |date=November 15, 2018|title=Seattle Council candidate ends campaign over 'threats of sexual violence' and 'racism' | work=[[NPR|KUOW]] | publisher= | url=https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-council-candidate-ends-campaign-over-threats-of-sexual-violence-and-racism|location= | access-date=}}</ref> As of 2024, the couple have had two more children, and are expecting a fourth.<ref>[https://x.com/realchrisrufo/status/1828096723170054170 Tweet by Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo)]</ref>

==Anti-public education activities==
{{main|public education}}
{{cquote|Part mercenary and part emissary, a mix of a think-tank wonk and a [[Social media platforms|social-media]] [[troll]], Rufo for the last year and a half has been a main source and surrogate for what [[DeSantis]] has sought to make his signature&nbsp;— school boards and higher ed, [[Disney]] and issues of teaching and tolerance of [[gender]] and [[sexuality]], the overarching palette of policies that DeSantis describes as "anti-woke" and that has been the primary political fuel of his post-[[COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic]] ascent.|||Michael Kruse<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/24/chris-rufo-desantis-anti-woke-00088578  DeSantis’ Culture Warrior: ‘We Are Now Over the Walls’: In Chris Rufo, the Florida governor has found a useful weapon for the multi-front culture war he hopes will launch his presidential run.] by Michael Kruse (03/24/2023 04:30 AM EDT) ''Politico''.</ref>}}
Rufo is obsessed with the idea that colleges have been taken over by the [[radical]] left, and in particular is ticked by university diversity efforts. Rufo's obsession is so strong, he believes that universities must be forcefully changed by a "counterrevolution". In an article for ''City Journal'', he pleaded for the next conservative federal government to punish universities that "enforce [[left-wing]] orthodoxy", and admitted that such a plan could be described as "right-wing [[Leninism]]".<ref name="cityrufo">[https://www.city-journal.org/article/bring-on-the-counterrevolution "Bring on the Counterrevolution"] by Christopher F. Rufo, City Journal, Summer 2023</ref> 

Rufo has expressed admiration for [[Viktor Orbán]]'s [[authoritarian]] government in [[Hungary]]. In particular, Rufo seems to desire a similar path that Orbán took in transforming the country's university system into political [[propaganda]] mills.<ref>[https://time.com/6309612/christopher-rufo-public-universities-deceptive-essay/ "Christopher Rufo’s Alarming and Deceptive Crusade Against Public Universities"] by Jeremy C. Young, Time, 2023 August 30</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/11/viktor-orban-university-propaganda-london "Viktor Orbán’s pet university is all about propaganda – I know, I was there"] by Bence X Szechenyi, Guardian, 2023 September 11</ref> Rufo's [[authoritarian]] leanings also extend to historical American politics. The same article ''City Journal'' article that talked about a "counterrevolution" also featured open admiration, and calls for the return of, the thuggery of [[Richard Nixon]]. (Rufo particularly seemed impressed with Nixon's thuggery against [[African American|Black]] [[New Left]] organizations like the [[Black Panthers]].) In addition, Rufo [[hand-wave]]d away the illegalities and [[civil rights]] violations committed by [[J. Edgar Hoover]].<ref name="cityrufo"/>

===Destroying New College of Florida===
In early 2023, [[Ron DeSantis]] appointed Rufo to the board of {{wpl|New College of Florida}} as part of an effort by DeSantis to replace the board of the small college with conservative firebrands and DeSantis-aligned stooges, remaking it in the model of the private [[conservative]] [[Christian]] [[Hillsdale College]].<ref>[https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2023/01/31/richard-corcoran-becomes-interim-president-of-sarasotas-new-college/69858928007/ "New College board fires president, installs former GOP House speaker, DeSantis ally"] by Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2023 January 31, reprinted in the Tallahassee Democrat</ref><ref>[https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/03/new-college-trustee-christopher-rufo-blasts-fsu-diversity-programs-florida-state-says-its-rubbish/69869875007/ "FSU faculty say it's 'rubbish' as Christopher Rufo targets FSU 'radical' diversity programs"] by James Call, Tallahassee Democrat, 2023 February 3</ref><ref>[https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/02/23/rufo-new-college-lawsuit-center-government-accountability-texts-calls/ "Records lawsuit filed against Christopher Rufo, New College"] by Omar Rodriguez Ortiz, Miami Herald, 2023 February 23, reprinted by the Tampa Bay Times</ref> Under Rufo's direction, professors have been terminated merely for having left-wing political views and being publicly critical of the DeSantis board takeover,<ref>[https://reason.com/2023/06/09/firing-a-professor-for-left-wing-views-is-unconstitutional/ "Firing a Professor for 'Left-Wing' Views Is Unconstitutional"] by Emma Camp, Reason, 2023 June 9</ref> what basically amounts to [[thoughtcrime]].

Before Rufo and DeSantis took over, roughly two-thirds of New College's students were women, a situation that [[sexism|seemed to trouble Rufo]]. ("This is a wildly out-of-balance student population, and it caused all sorts of cultural problems.") Rufo claimed that having so many more women then men at New College turned it into "what many have called a [[social justice]] ghetto."<ref name="nytimesgoldberg">[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/opinion/columnists/gender-studies-ron-desantis-florida.html "At a College Targeted by DeSantis, Gender Studies Is Out, Jocks Are In"] by Michelle Goldberg, New York Times, 2023 August 14</ref> True to this [[misogynistic]] outlook, Rufo boasted about the college "rolling back the encroachment of [[gender ideology]] and queer theory" under the DeSantis administration.<ref name="nytimesgoldberg"/>

The result was a predictable [[brain drain]] from New College: in August 18 2023, it was reported that 38 of the 90 full time faculty members resigned. Similarly, 88 of the 697 students took advantage of one transfer deal alone, offered by {{wpl|Hampshire College||.}}<ref>[https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article278368274.html "New College students, faculty are leaving after DeSantis takeover. Here’s how many" by Jim Dela, Bradenton Herald, 2023 August 18]</ref> New College tried to compensate for the brain drain by heavily focusing on recruiting student-athletes, at the cost of its previous highly-ranked academic reputation.<ref>[https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/education/2023/07/27/new-college-of-florida-pursues-student-athletes-at-academic-cost-richard-corcoran/70445567007/ "New College of Florida nets record number of new students, but at academic cost"] by Steven Walker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2023 July 27</ref> This shift in focus was reflected by one of the new degrees offered by New College by the DeSantis administration: {{wpl|sports psychology||.}}<ref name="nytimesgoldberg"/>

===Battling Harvard University===
In December 2023, Rufo continued his theme of attacking education institutions by focusing on ousting the president of {{wpl|Harvard University||.}} 

Beginning in October 2023, Harvard (along with several other universities) was battling with the hedge fund billionaire investor and college donor {{wpl|Bill Ackman||.}} Ackman was ''very'' concerned ([[freedom of speech]] be damned)<ref>[https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/1/8/wynn-ackman-free-speech/ "Bill Ackman and the Crusade Against Free Speech"] by Jasmine N. Wynn, Harvard Crimson, 2024 January 8</ref> with possible [[antisemitism]] within campus protests of the {{wpl|2023 Israel–Hamas war||,}} and directed ire at school boards that supposedly weren't combating his perceived antisemitism enough.<ref name="nytimesharvard"/> Such was the fervor of his crusade, at one point, he demanded that schools [[doxxing|reveal the names]] of any student blaming [[Israel]] for the [[Hamas]] attacks.<ref>[https://fortune.com/2023/10/11/bill-ackman-larry-summers-harvard-critics-student-israel-statement-palestine-solidarity-committee-psc/ "Bill Ackman wants Harvard to name the students blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks so that he and other CEOs don’t hire them by accident"] by Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 2023 October 11</ref> With Harvard in particular, Ackman was also personally ticked that the university had not heeded his advice on a variety of topics.<ref name="nytimesharvard">[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/business/bill-ackman-harvard-antisemitism.html "Bill Ackman’s Campaign Against Harvard Followed Years of Resentment"] by Maureen Farrell and Rob Copeland, New York Times, 2023 December 12</ref> Due to these grievances, Ackman publically called for the university president at the time, {{wpl|Claudine Gay||,}} to resign.<ref name="nytimesharvard"/> 

When that effort failed, Ackman teamed up with Rufo to push another way to oust Gay: accusations of [[plagiarism]].{{efn|Before the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, Ackman was primarily known for supporting [[Democrats]]. However, during and after the pandemic, Ackman became more active on [[Twitter]], marking a shift in his politics. By October 2023, ''Business Insider'' reported that Ackman had a reputation for being the "king of uninformed, unnecessary, and seemingly unlimited tweets," with greater support for reactionary figures like [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]], [[Kyle Rittenhouse]], and [[Elon Musk]].<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-bill-ackman-billionaire-investor-harvard-antisemitism-claudine-gay-2023-12 "Bill Ackman is bringing the same ruthless energy that made him a hedge fund billionaire to politics"] by George Glover, Business Insider, 2024 January 5</ref>}} On December 10 2023, in his Substack, Rufo published an article accusing Gay of plagiarizing in sections of her Ph.D. thesis.<ref>[https://christopherrufo.com/p/is-claudine-gay-a-plagiarist "Is Claudine Gay a Plagiarist?"] by Christopher F. Rufo and Christopher Brunet, christopherrufo.com, 2023 December 10</ref> Rufo then worked diligently to promote the story in order for it to eventually appear in mainstream media.<ref name="politicogay"/> Like the critical race theory [[manufactroversy]], the campaign against Gay was well coordinated and highly organized.<ref name="politicogay">[https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/03/christopher-rufo-claudine-gay-harvard-resignation-00133618 "We Sat Down With the Conservative Mastermind Behind Claudine Gay’s Ouster"] by Ian Ward, Politico, 2024 January 3</ref>

While what Rufo pointed out was indeed plagiarism, many in academia found the allegations to be relatively trivial.<ref>[https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00035-6 "What counts as plagiarism? Harvard president’s resignation sparks debate"] by Jeff Tollefson, Nature, 2024 January 11</ref> Even one of the plagiarized authors, the political science professor David Canon, declared that he wasn't concerned at all about the passages Gay had plagiarized from him. ("This isn’t even close to an example of academic plagiarism.")<ref name="guardplag">[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/jan/06/harvard-claudine-gay-plagiarism "Harvard’s Claudine Gay was ousted for ‘plagiarism’. How serious was it really?"] by Andrew Lawrence, ''The Guardian'', 2024 January 6</ref> Of those people whom Gay plagiariazed, there appeared to be only one person who found it a serious offense, [[PragerU]]'s {{wpl|Carol M. Swain||,}} who was plagiarized at time when she was an early career academic; other plagiarized academics were either mid-to-late career or did not find the misappropriation particularly serious.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/01/04/claudine-gay-plagiarism-examples-harvard/ The plagiarism allegations against ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay, explained] by Sophia Nguyen (January 4, 2024 at 8:03 p.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Nonetheless, Rufo and Ackman's efforts to oust Gay was successful; Gay resigned as Harvard president on January 2 2024.<ref name="guardplag"/>

Gay was the first [[African-American|Black]] president of Harvard. Therefore, many [[civil rights]] organizations and leaders (ranging from [[Al Sharpton]] to the [[NAACP]]) detected strong whiffs of [[racism]] in the controversy.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/02/harvard-presidents-resignation-fuels-accusations-of-racism-from-black-leaders-00133543 "Harvard governing board, activists say former president was a victim of racism"] by Bianca Quilantan, Politco, 2024 January 2</ref> Rufo certainly helped fuel this impression when he penned a long screed in ''City Journal'' that essentially accused Gay's career of completely being a product of [[reverse racism]].<ref>[https://www.city-journal.org/article/claudine-gays-dei-empire "Claudine Gay’s DEI Empire"] by Christopher F. Rufo, City Journal, 2023 December 18</ref>

[[Ironically]], the news website ''{{wpl|Business Insider}}'' found on January 4 2024 that Ackman's wife ({{wpl|Neri Oxman}}) had also committed similar acts of plagiarism in her doctoral dissertation.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackman-wife-neri-oxman-mit-dissertation-plagiarism-2024-1 "Bill Ackman's celebrity academic wife Neri Oxman's dissertation is marred by plagiarism"] by Katherine Long and Jack Newsham, Business Insider, 2024 January 4</ref> While Oxman admitted to the plagiarism and apologized for the problematic passages,<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/neri-oxman-admits-plagiarism-business-insider-article-apology-2024-1 "Neri Oxman admits to plagiarizing in her doctoral dissertation after BI report"] by Katherine Long, Business Insider, 2024 January 4</ref> Ackman naturally got extremely pissed and threatened to sue ''Business Insider''.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/01/09/ackman-escalates-attack-on-business-insider-and-musk-eggs-him-on/?sh=dced4b527b1f "Ackman Escalates Attack On Business Insider—And Musk Eggs Him On"] by Brian Bushard, Forbes, 2024 January 9</ref>

==Views and activism related to race==
===Critical race theory panic===
The [[manufactroversy]] of [[critical race theory]] was spearheaded by Rufo.<ref name="Profile"/> Over the course of 2020, the former documentary filmmaker turned conservative activist gathered curricula and documents from anti-bias training sessions in the city of Seattle. From these, he postulated (using [[cherry picking]], according to critics) that the anti-racism seminars did not just merely represent a progressive view on race, but that they were purportedly expressions of a distinct ideology&nbsp;— critical race theory&nbsp;— with purported radical [[Marxist]] roots.<ref name="wallacewells1" />ny This despite Rufo not completely understanding (or even [[Willful ignorance|caring to understand]]) the actual intellectual underpinnings behind critical race theory.<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/diversity-discrimination/key-figure-behind-critical-race-theory-scare-campaign-admitted-he-doesnt "A key figure behind the “critical race theory” scare campaign admitted he doesn’t care about actually understanding it"] by Eric Kleefeld, Media Matters, 2021 June 23</ref> Rufo initially reported his findings on both his {{wpl|Substack}} and the Manhattan Institute's ''City Journal''. Rufo's "theory" later gained huge amounts of currency in conservative politics after Rufo was featured on [[Tucker Carlson]]'s show.<ref name="wallacewells1" />

===Promoting racist conspiracy theories===
In September 2024, Rufo offered a "$5,000 bounty" for evidence supporting the {{w|Springfield, Ohio, cat-eating hoax|cat-eating Haitians hoax}} after Donald Trump's referenced it during his debate with [[Kamala Harris]].<ref name="cats1">{{cite news |last=Polgreen |first=Lydia |date=September 14, 2024|title=Trump Has Crossed a Truly Unacceptable Line | work=[[The New York Times]] | publisher= | url=https://archive.ph/QUmXH|location= | access-date=}}</ref><ref name="cats2">{{cite news |last=Aleem |first=Zeeshan |date=September 17, 2024|title=JD Vance is openly defending the idea of making things up | work=[[MSNBC|MSNBC News]] | publisher= | url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/jd-vance-make-up-pet-eating-story-haitian-rcna171326|location= | access-date=}}</ref> 

Also in September 2024, Rufo himself posted (in the best tradition of conspiracy theorists) a very low quality video, originally posted to social media in August 2023, of animal carcasses on a grill. The man in the video, as well as Rufo himself, alleged that the animal carcasses looked like cats; in addition, Rufo claimed to have interviewed neighbors who alleged that the grill belonged to [[African-American]] immigrants. To much of social media not caught up in the conspiracy theory however, the animal carcasses clearly did not look like cats, and looked far more like chickens.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-police-dispute-new-allegations-immigrants-are-eating-pets-in-dayton/ "Ohio police dispute new allegations immigrants are eating pets in Dayton"] by Rhona Tarrant, CBS News, 2024 September 16</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jd-vance-cats-grill-chicken-ohio-b2612999.html "‘Clearly chicken you weirdo’: People respond to JD Vance sharing video he claims shows migrants grilling cats"] by Justin Rohrlich, Independent, 2024 September 15</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufo, Christoper}}
[[Category:Anti-LGBT bigots]]
[[Category:Anti-immigration]]
[[Category:Anti-intellectualism]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Creationists]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Propagandists]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Racialism pseudoscientists]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Sexists]]
[[Category:Transphobes]]
[[Category:Trolls]]
[[Category:Xenophobes]]

Categories: Anti-LGBT bigots, Anti-immigration, Anti-intellectualism, California, Conspiracy theorists, Creationists, Fascists, Homophobes, Living people, Propagandists, Pseudoscience promoters, Racists, Racialism pseudoscientists, Right-wing activists, Sexists, Transphobes, Trolls, Xenophobes