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Deprogrammed: Former DSA insider reveals ‘frightening’ socialist agenda drove him from ‘extreme’ ideology

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Cuebas-Fantauzzi, A. (2026, September 19). Deprogrammed: Former DSA insider reveals ‘frightening’ socialist agenda drove him from ‘extreme’ ideology. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/deprogrammed-former-dsa-insider-reveals-frightening-socialist-agenda-drove-him-extreme-ideology

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-19 · by Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi

Quick Summary

Jake Altman, who was once an executive board member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in Boston, is warning about what he perceives as the organization's increasingly extreme and uncompromising stance on policy and international issues. He cited concerns over the DSA’s ties with a police union and its supportive statements regarding the Maduro regime in Venezuela. Altman also expressed worry that critical voices within the DSA are being silenced or leaving, advising others to reconsider their membership due to these developments.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Jake Altman, a former executive board member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in Boston, has criticized the organization's extreme leftist agenda. He joined DSA looking for a pragmatic approach focused on economic policy but quickly noticed similarities with frighteningly radical left-wing groups. In 2017, concerns were heightened when Danny Fetonte, an Austin activist and new member of DSA’s National Political Committee, abruptly resigned after it was discovered he had worked for the police union Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT). Altman described this as a troubling reality that indicated DSA's willingness to overlook ethical issues in pursuit of their goals.

Written for “DSAs Inner WorkingsExposed” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 DSAs Inner WorkingsExposed
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6257 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Shaikh’s introduction to radicalization began after a house party, where his uncle "guilt tripped" him into thinking the party was the "most heinous thing possible" he could’ve done that "dishonored" his family.
🔮 Hirsh founded "Kept by Grace Ministry" shortly after reconnecting with her faith, and visits strip clubs regularly to pull women out of the sex industry. "For the Christians that believe strippers are beyond saving, I would say that they don't have a true relationship with the Lord…
🔮 "They're willing to fall over themselves apologizing for any regime that opposes the United States, simply because it opposes the United States," he added.
🔮 "I had to accept being beaten by him, being raped by him and my mom would give me religious justifications…
Also by Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi →

Topics

Boston DSA Fox News Digital the Democratic Socialists of America the United States

Subjects

DSA ORG · 11× Altman PERSON · 6× Maduro PERSON · 3× Fetonte PERSON · 2× Fox News Digital ORG · 2× the United States GPE · 2× Austin PERSON · 1× Boston GPE · 1× Jake Altman PERSON · 1× the Democratic Socialists of America ORG · 1×

Narrative

His departure from the organization came after the DSA found that Fetonte had worked for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) — a police union — and a reality that Altman called "troubling."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 "They're willing to fall over themselves apologizing for any regime that opposes the United States, simply because it opposes the United States," he added.

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Jake Altman, a former executive board member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in Boston, is sounding the alarm about the organization’s efforts to "force their agenda down other people's throats. asserted
Altman → sound → throats
"I had been involved in my local union and met some people who were far, far to the left, in like, a frightening way. asserted
who → involve → way
I was looking for a more pragmatic and thoughtful option on the left that was focused on economic policy," Altman told Fox News Digital. asserted
Altman → look → Digital
"One of the concerns I had very quickly was that [the] DSA was beginning to sound more and more like those extreme groups on the left that I, you know, certainly didn't want anything to do with," he continued. asserted
he → have → anything
Altman went on to recall an incident in 2017 that raised his concerns, when the DSA elected longtime Austin, Texas, activist Danny Fetonte to its National Political Committee. asserted
DSA → go → Committee
A few weeks after his election, Fetonte "abruptly resigned from his position at DSA, and encouraged others to question their membership with the group." asserted
Fetonte → resign → group
His departure from the organization came after the DSA found that Fetonte had worked for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) — a police union — and a reality that Altman called "troubling." asserted
Altman → come → that
The former DSA leader recalled voicing concern in 2019 after the DSA issued a statement that he characterized as "defending or apologizing for the Maduro regime." asserted
he → recall → regime
"I raised a concern about that … and I said, DSA should be denouncing Maduro … asserted
DSA → raise → Maduro
the Democratic socialists and social Democrats in Venezuela are in the opposition — there should be free and fair elections," he continued. asserted
he → continue → opposition
"The person disagreed with me and defended, you know, essentially defended the Maduro regime," Altman revealed. asserted
Altman → disagree → regime
"Flash forward to today … you have DSA members saying, Bernie Sanders, AOC, they're not socialists," Altman relayed. asserted
Altman → flash → today
"They're willing to fall over themselves apologizing for any regime that opposes the United States, simply because it opposes the United States," he added. asserted
he → fall → States
"In [the] DSA right now, you've seen a marriage between more traditional Marxist utopianism and what you might call third worldism … boiling it down [it’s] this view that America is a unique evil in the world and that its enemies have a point," he said. uncertain
he → see → point
"I personally think that just given the organization and the structure inside, that a lot of dissident voices have been silenced. asserted
lot → think → voices
A lot of dissident voices have left the organization. asserted
lot → leave → organization
My advice would be [to] leave," Altman said. asserted
Altman → leave → ?
Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA for comment but did not immediately receive a response. asserted
Digital → reach → response
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