Evidence and references used

Labels describe the role of each source (data vs. advocacy vs. analysis) and its general editorial lean. They are approximate, not moral judgments.

Identity fusion, fixation, and psychology

• Extreme overvalued beliefs and identities (EOBI framework), Frontiers in Psychology (2025) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Review article on identity fusion and political psychology (ScienceDirect) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Moniz & Swann (2025), “Identity Fusion, Internalizing Misinformation, and Support for Trump” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Starr, “Cognitive Entanglement: How Thoughts Fuse With Identity” Verified Opinion/Analysis Independent
• Swann et al., “Identity Fusion and Political Extremism,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2012) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Swann et al., “What Makes a Group Worth Dying For? Identity Fusion and Self‑Sacrifice,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 18(5), 2009. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Merolla et al., “Ethnic Threat and Support for Draconian Policies,” Political Behavior 35(2), 2013. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Westen, Drew. The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. PublicAffairs, 2007. Verified Opinion/Theory Independent/Academic
• Kahan, Dan M. “The Politically Motivated Reasoning Paradigm,” Advances in Political Psychology 1, 2016. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Taber & Lodge, “Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs,” American Journal of Political Science 50(3), 2006. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research

Immigration system design, Congress, and ICE

• Perry World House, “Executive Actions Cannot Fix the Nation’s Broken Immigration System” Verified Opinion/Analysis Independent/Research
• Brookings, “ICE Expansion Has Outpaced Accountability: What Are the Remedies?” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center‑Left
• Niskanen Center, “Immigration Beyond the Extremes: A Blueprint That Actually Works” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center
• Vera Institute, “What Does Due Process Mean for Immigrants and Why Is It Important?” Verified Opinion/Analysis Left‑leaning
• ACLU, “95 Percent of Deaths in ICE Detention Could Likely Have Been Prevented with Adequate Medical Care” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• Migration Policy Institute, “U.S. Immigration Courts: A System in Crisis” (2024) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• ACLU, “Deaths in ICE Custody: 2025 Report” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• ACLU, “95% of Deaths in ICE Detention Could Likely Have Been Prevented with Adequate Medical Care” (alt URL) Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• ProPublica, “ICE Has Placed a Record 600 Immigrant Kids in Federal Shelters Without Custody Documentation” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• American Immigration Council, “The Public’s Oversight of Family Separations” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• The Guardian, “Why Are 600 Migrant Children Held in Federal Shelters With No Families?” Verified Factual Left‑leaning

Family separation, constitutional law, and trauma

• Amicus brief in 23‑334 (U.S. Supreme Court) on family unity and immigration Verified Opinion/Analysis Center/Legal
• Yale Law, “Federal Judge Holds Forcible Separation of Immigrant Children Unconstitutional” Verified Factual/Data Center/Legal
• Lawfare, “Legal Considerations in Separating Families at the Border” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center/Law
• Physicians for Human Rights, “You Will Never See Your Child Again” (effects of family separation) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research

ICE enforcement, deaths, and media investigations

• TIME, “How Trump’s ICE Became an Agency in Crisis” Verified Factual Center
• Deportation Data, “Immigration Enforcement in the First Nine Months of Trump” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Data
• Wikipedia, “Deportation in the Second Trump Administration” Verified Factual (secondary) Center
• Seattle Times, “How Many People Has Trump Deported So Far?” Verified Factual Center
• TRAC, “Trump Administration Record on Detention and Removals” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Data
• PBS NewsHour, “ICE Shootings Spark Outrage, Protests Across the Country” Verified Factual Center
• BBC, coverage of Pretti shooting and federal response Verified Factual Center
• Al Jazeera, “US Witnessed Many ICE‑Related Deaths in 2026” Verified Factual Left‑leaning
• Wikipedia, “List of Shootings by U.S. Immigration Agents in the Second Trump Administration” Verified Factual (secondary) Center
• AP News, “Six People Have Died in US Immigration Sweeps” Verified Factual Center
• The Trace, “How Many People Have Been Shot in ICE Raids?” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning (gun policy)
• The Guardian, “2025 Was ICE’s Deadliest Year in Two Decades” Verified Factual Left‑leaning
• Axios, “These Are the DHS Officer‑Involved Shootings in Trump’s Second Term” Verified Factual Center
• The Appeal, “Deaths in Detention Warn of Horrors Behind ICE’s Prison Walls” Verified Opinion/Analysis Left‑leaning
• American Immigration Council, “Protecting Immigrant Communities: How States Can Lead in 2026” Verified Opinion/Analysis Left‑leaning

Polarization, media incentives, and institutional trust

• Pew, “Partisan Animosity in the United States” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Pew, “Public Trust in Government: 1958–2025” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Pew, “Congress Job Approval Ratings” Verified Factual/Data Center
• CRS, “Legislative Activity of Congress” (incl. 118th Congress report) Verified Factual/Data Center/Official
• Council on Global Affairs, “Americans Increasingly Divided on Foreign Policy Challenges” Verified Factual/Data Independent
• Pew, “Immigration as a Policy Priority” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Pew, “Trust in Scientific Institutions During Pandemic” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Niskanen Center, “How Media Incentives Stoked the Culture War” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center‑Right
• Pew, “Local Governance Perceptions” Verified Factual/Data Center
• The Fulcrum, “How Congress Lost Its Capacity to Act and How to Get It Back” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center
• Miller Center, “The ‘Ratchet Effect’: Presidents, Emergency Powers, and Legitimacy” Verified Opinion/Analysis Independent/Academic
• Pew, “Supreme Court Favorability Ratings by Party” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Pew, “Trust in Scientific Community” Verified Factual/Data Center
• Pennycook & Rand, “Fighting Misinformation on Social Media Using Crowdsourced Judgments,” PNAS (2019) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Berkley et al., “Institutional Trust and COVID‑19 Vaccination,” Health Affairs (2023) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Tosi & Warmke, Grandstanding (OUP, 2020); Grubbs et al., “Moral Grandstanding and the Desire for Moral Status” (2021) Verified Opinion/Theory Independent/Academic
• Haidt & Rose‑Stockwell, “The Dark Psychology of Social Networks,” The Atlantic Verified Opinion/Essay Center‑Left
• Brady et al., “Emotion Shapes the Diffusion of Moralized Content on Social Media,” PNAS (2017) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Goel et al., “The Role of Digital Media in Polarization,” Stanford Internet Observatory (2021) Verified Factual/Data Independent
• Pew, “Cable News and American Politics” Verified Factual/Data Center

Gaza conflict, international humanitarian law, and humanitarian data

• Israeli Ministry of Health, “Gaza Casualty Figures,” Government Statistics, Jan 2026. Verified Factual/Data Center/Official
• CNN, “Israeli Military Data Shows 83% of Gaza War Dead Are Civilians” (Aug 21, 2025) Verified Factual/Data Center
• World Health Organization, “Gaza Health Crisis Overview” (2025–2026) Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• UN OCHA, “Gaza Humanitarian Snapshot” (2025) Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• UNOSAT, “Building Damage Assessment – Gaza,” UN report, 2025. Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• World Health Organization, “Hospital Damage in Gaza Conflict,” 2025. Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• UNICEF, “Water and Sanitation Facilities Destroyed in Gaza” Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• Lawfare, “Israel’s Excessive Destruction in Gaza Violates International Law” Verified Opinion/Analysis Center/Law
• International Criminal Court, “Prosecutor Requests Arrest Warrants for Israeli and Palestinian Officials” (2025) Verified Factual Center/Official
• WFP, “Gaza Food Security Assessment,” World Food Programme report, 2025. Verified Factual/Data Independent/UN
• “Legal opinion synthesis from international law scholars on proportionality assessment” (various law‑review pieces). Pending Opinion/Analysis

Gender identity care and sex education

• American Psychiatric Association. DSM‑5‑TR, entry on Gender Dysphoria (2023). Verified Factual/Data Center/Official
• Harvard School of Public Health, “Gender‑Affirming Surgeries Rarely Performed on Transgender Youth” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Boston Children’s Hospital, “Gender‑Affirming Care Study,” Med. Journal of Boston Children’s (2024). Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• JAMA Pediatrics, “Levels of Satisfaction and Regret With Gender‑Affirming Medical Care Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth” (2024) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Bariola et al., “The Relationship Between Gender‑Affirming Care and Mental Health Outcomes,” Psychology and Health 35(6), 2020. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Testa et al., “Longitudinal Impact of Gender‑Affirming Medical Care on Mental Health,” Pediatrics 145(4), 2020. Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• SIECUS, “National Sex Education Standards 2020” Verified Factual/Data Left‑leaning
• NCSL, “State Policies on Sex Education in Schools” Verified Factual/Data Center
• CDC, “Sexual Health Education in Schools” Verified Factual/Data Center/Official

Protests, political violence, and conspiracy narratives

• ACLED, “Demonstrations and Political Violence in America: Summer 2020” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Data
• Axios, “$1 Billion‑Plus Riot Damage Is Most Expensive in U.S. History” Verified Factual/Data Center
• FBI, “Violence and Extremism in the 2020 Protests” Verified Factual/Data Center/Official
• Stanford Open Policing Project, “Police Use of Force During 2020 Protests” Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Wikipedia, “Attack on Paul Pelosi” Verified Factual (secondary) Center
• Rolling Stone, “Paul Pelosi Conspiracy Theories Debunked by Attacker David DePape” Verified Opinion/Analysis Left‑leaning

Information disorder, social media, and echo chambers

• Wardle & Derakhshan, “Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework” (Shorenstein Center, 2017) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Knight Foundation, “How Cable News Shapes America’s Politics” (2019). Verified Factual/Data Center
• Science, “Reranking Partisan Animosity in Algorithmic Social Media” (2025) Verified Factual/Data Independent/Research
• Mozilla Foundation, “Misinformation and Social Media Platforms” (2024) Verified Factual/Data Independent
• Pew, “Public Attitudes Toward Political Reform” (2026) Verified Factual/Data Center

User Submitted Sources

Template labels for future sources

• Pending – Source added but not yet categorized.
• Factual/Data – Primary data, official stats, peer‑reviewed empirical work.
• Opinion/Analysis – Argument or interpretation of facts.
• Left‑leaning – Generally progressive editorial line.
• Right‑leaning – Generally conservative editorial line.
• Center/Official – Institutional, mixed‑audience, or government sources.
• Independent – Academic or nonprofit research projects.
• True (claim‑level) – Use in prose only when a specific statement has been cross‑checked.