Two years after Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, the false claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen” continues to inform America’s political landscape. As the 2022 midterms draw near, individuals animated by these false claims—including election deniers, QAnon adherents, conspiracy theorists and extremists—are attempting to insert themselves and their beliefs into the electoral process. Their goal: to prevent the…

On October 12, a 19-year-old man opened fire in front of an LGBTQ+ bar in Bratislava, Slovakia, killing two people and injuring a third before he was found dead the following morning. A review of a screed shared on Twitter by the shooter a few hours before the attack, as well as his broader social media presence, makes it clear that he harbored anti-LGBTQ+ and antisemitic beliefs, and subscribed to an accelerationist, white supremacist worldview. The ADL Center on Extremism’s…

Intro The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has identified 40 white supremacist artists with a presence on Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform. Music has long been an effective way to radicalize extremists, allowing artists to both entertain and indoctrinate vulnerable listeners. At a time of increasing hate-motivated extremist violence, Spotify is not only allowing the racism and incitement of white supremacist music, it is actively promoting that content on its own…

The WESPAC (Westchester People’s Action Coalition) Foundation is a progressive nonprofit organization that, for decades, has engaged in anti-Israel activity by serving as a major node in the funding and administration of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) groups. WESPAC has hosted rhetoric on its website that espouses disturbing and inflammatory ideas about Zionism and Jews, though it more notably provides administrative support to groups that…

In response to the recent fighting between Israel and terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), anti-Zionist groups around the world mobilized to protest Israel’s military operations targeting PIJ sites inside Gaza, with many groups specifically expressing outrage over the number of civilian casualties there. According to reports, PIJ misfires were responsible for the deaths of at least eight Palestinian civilians, and the Israeli military acknowledged responsibility for the…

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, denying Americans’ constitutional right to abortion. Immediately, antisemites and extremists saw the decision as an opportunity to attack abortion rights and to link their hatred of abortion to their antisemitism. Antisemites took to online platforms, some pushing age-old antisemitic tropes of Jewish control and conspiracy, while others demonized Judaism as a baby-killing religion. This piece explores the phenomenon&nbsp…

UPDATE 8/18: Following ADL's investigation, YouTube terminated both the First Works Baptist Church and Verity Baptist Church channels. In recent months, pastors affiliated with the virulently antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement have taken advantage of YouTube Shorts, significantly expanding the reach of their hateful content. Using this relatively new social media tool, some New IFB pastors have increased the average viewership on their…

Antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly in regard to a Florida-based Jewish judge, are circulating widely online in response to the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago.

As the primary season comes to an end, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) continues to monitor a range of candidates who hold extreme views, associate with extremists, spread disinformation and/or promote potentially dangerous conspiracy theories. In the course of this research, the COE has identified two particularly concerning failed extremist candidates who hold anti-government and white supremacist ideologies and have shared antisemitic views online. These men did not openly express or…

An analysis of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' online GiveSendGo campaign shows that conspiratorial narratives and figures are motivating donors to contribute.

On August 11, 2022, Ricky Shiffer reportedly attempted to breach the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the attack he fired a nail gun and brandished an assault rifle, fleeing initially in his car then on foot and exchanging gunfire with police. After a lengthy standoff in a cornfield, he was shot and killed by police.  Shiffer, 42, of Columbus, Ohio, is a former Navy sailor. He appears to be an extreme supporter of former president Trump who, like others, considered the FBI…

UPDATE: August 16, 2022: Adam Bies, a photographer from Mercer, PA, was arrested on August 12 for making violent threats against the FBI on Gab. While the threats appear to be in response to the FBI search of Mar-A-Lago, there is no evidence that Bies is an extreme supporter of former president Trump. Bies, who has expressed strong anti-government and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, does echo some QAnon rhetoric, claiming, for instance, that members of the federal government are &ldquo…

Islamist extremists online are taking note of three new English language publications—two linked to Al Qaeda and one from ISIS. All three magazines are positioned to fill the void left by the dissolution of Al Qaeda’s notorious Inspire magazine.   Founded by American jihadist Anwar al Awlaki, Inspire quickly gained the attention of Islamist extremists and the researchers who monitor them. The first English-language, Western-focused jihadist magazine, Inspire included…

During the 2022 primary season, a significant number of candidates espousing anti-Israel views are running for office across the country. Some have engaged in inflammatory or antisemitic rhetoric related to Israel. As the primary elections enter their final weeks, voters have voiced their preferences at the ballot box for many of these candidates, and most have lost. While their defeat may reflect a rejection of their views by the electorate, strong showings by some radical anti-Israel…

Note: this article was updated on August 12, 2022 to reflect the finalized results of two primary elections. This story was originally published on August 4, 2022.  In January 2022, the ADL Center on Extremism identified more than 100 right-wing extremists running for elected office nationwide, and warned that these candidates had the potential to shift the Overton Window -- what is considered “normal” or “acceptable” in political and social discourse. While…

Prominent white supremacists are promoting, discussing and sometimes donating to, a crowdfunding campaign for two of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers, Gregory and Travis McMichael. Arbery, a Black man, was murdered on February 23, 2020 while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood by Gregory McMichael, his son Travis and William Bryan. In the months since, both McMichaels and Bryan were convicted of hate crime charges and murder. In response, Gregory and Travis McMichael have filed separate appeals…

Teachers are increasingly under attack from extremist groups and government officials, who accuse them of “indoctrinating” children or express anger over coronavirus prevention policies. These sustained disinformation campaigns have led to harassment and threats against teachers, and as a result many educators are leaving teaching altogether. While these external extremist pressures are creating significant challenges for American teachers and school boards, there is also an…

Background The Jisr Collective is an antisemitic, anonymous, self-identified “anti-imperialist diaspora media collective” that re-posts hardline anti-Zionist analysis on its website and frequently propagates inflammatory messages on social media. Their website states that they aim to “counter what can only be described as increased normalization with imperialism and zionism [sic] in our communities in the western diaspora.” They explicitly assert their opposition to…