Disinformation and the Seeds of Genocide: Understanding and Dismantling the Tools of Hate
November 13, 2025
6:00PM
Norma Walker Hall
Keene State College
229 Main St. Keene, New Hampshire 03435
The World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, in partnership with Bellwether International and the Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, invites you to a powerful and timely conversation on how disinformation, propaganda, and media manipulation have been used to enable genocide, and how individuals and communities can resist these tools of hate.
This public panel will feature three leading voices in genocide prevention and education: Rachel Miner, CEO of Bellwether International; Dr. Ashley Greene, Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State and a specialist in genocide prevention; and Dr. Brian Crim, the Cohen Chair for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and a noted Holocaust scholar. Together, they will explore how language, media, and messaging are used to dehumanize and divide, and how we can build resilience to prevent future atrocities.
Attendees will hear about historical patterns and present-day parallels, develop strategies for identifying and countering harmful narratives, and consider how education, civic engagement, and critical media literacy can disrupt the conditions that allow genocide to occur. The program will include a moderated panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A session.
This event is free and open to the public, and will take place in person at Norma Walker Hall at Keene State College with a livestream option available for remote participants.
About the Speakers
Brian Crim is the Cohen Professor for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. Between 2001 and 2005, Crim the Department of Homeland Security, where he worked on issues related to counter-terrorism and right-wing served as an intelligence analyst with the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security where he worked on issues related to counter-terrorism and right wing extremism.
Some of his publications include Antisemitism in the German Military Community and the Jewish Response, 1914-1938 (2014), Our Germans: Project Paperclip and the National Security State (2018), and Planet Auschwitz: Holocaust Representation in Science Fiction and Horror Film and Television (2020). Crim is currently researching a project about German and Austrian Jewish emigres serving in US military intelligence during the Second World War and the occupation of Germany.
Dr. Ashley L. Greene is Chair and Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, home to the country’s only undergraduate major in the field. She holds a joint Ph.D. in Peace Studies and History from the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Her research focuses on genocide prevention and twentieth-century Africa, with particular emphasis on modern-day slavery and education in conflict-affected societies. Her scholarship on history education and statecraft in Uganda earned the prestigious Dan David Prize for History and Memory, and she is also a recipient of the National Security Education Program Boren Fellowship.
Beyond academia, Dr. Greene is deeply engaged in policymaking and atrocity prevention initiatives. She serves as Academic Programs Associate for Africa and Transitional Justice at the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, where she develops training programs for government officials and civil society practitioners in Africa’s Great Lakes Region. She is a member of the international UN/UNESCO Advisory Group on genocide education in Africa and has worked with organizations such as RISE of PEACE to advance peace education initiatives. Her recent publications appear in the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, Historical Dialogue and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, and the third edition of Teaching About Genocide. A forthcoming chapter will be published in Decolonisation and Public Life: The Politics of Knowledge in Uganda (James Currey).
