ALTERNATE NAMES: TriskelionThe triskele (or triskelion) is an ancient symbol originating in pre-Christian Europe. The symbol consists of three curved or jointed segments spiraling from a common center. One version of the triskele, with three human legs, has been used in the coat of arms for the Isle of Man and the Kingdom of Naples. An abstracted triskele appears on the seal of the United States Department of Transportation. The triskele appears in many different variations, from a form that…
The Tyr rune is one of many ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis in their attempts to create an idealized "Aryan/Norse" heritage. This gave symbols such as the Tyr rune a new, racist significance that they did not originally have. Nazi Germany used the Tyr rune as a symbol for a number of Nazi entities, including the leadership schools (Reichsführerschulen) of Hitler's brownshirts, the Sturmabteilung, and a Waffen SS infantry division, among others.
Since World War II,…
The Valknot or "knot of the slain" is an old Norse symbol associated with the afterlife that has been appropriated by white supremacists as a racist symbol. Non-racist pagans may also use this symbol, so it should be carefully examined in context.
The Vinland Flag was designed in the 1990s by gothic metal musician Peter Steele for an album for his band, Type O Negative. "Vinland" was the name given by Viking explorers to the area of North America that they discovered in the Middle Ages. In the early 2000s, white supremacists (most notably, the Vinlanders Social Club, a racist skinhead gang) began to appropriate the flag as a white supremacist symbol. Common variants involve adding one or more other hate symbols to the flag. Despite its…
White Aryan Resistance (WAR) was a loosely organized racist skinhead movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s centered around white supremacist Tom Metzger. Now the symbol is associated with Metzger himself or used as a general hate symbol.
ALTERNATE NAMES: Wolf's Hook, DopplehakenThe Wolfsangel is an ancient runic symbol that was believed to be able to ward off wolves. Historically, it appeared in Germany in many places, ranging from guidestones on the sides of roads to heraldic use in the coats of arms of various towns; there is even a German city called Wolfsangel. Along with many other runic symbols, Nazi Germany appropriated the Wolfsangel. It appeared as part of the divisional insignia of several Waffen-SS units, including…
WPWW is a common white supremacist acronym that stands for "White Pride World Wide." The phrase is used as part of the logo for Stormfront, the largest white supremacist website on the Internet, which accounts for its widespread use by white supremacists. Additional Images:
Electoral Misinformation on Twitter: 39% of Problematic Tweets Reported by ADL Go Unaddressed by Platform in Crucial Post-Election Timeframe
Article
November 05, 2020 A subset of high-profile, misinformation-laden posts reached a combined potential audience of more than 108M followers, with over 1.1M likes and retweets prior to ADL reporting them to Twitter on November 4, 2020. From the time ADL reported the tweets to Twitter on November 4 until our final check on November 9, we found that the misleading tweets that remained unaddressed by the social media platform had been liked or retweeted more than 297,000 additional times. Tweets…
Zyklon B was the name of the sodium-cyanide-based gas used to kill over a million victims, most of them Jews, in the death camps constructed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Because of its association with killing Jews, Zyklon B has been adopted as a symbol by modern-day white supremacists, who often use it to make sick jokes about killing Jews. Additional Images:
ADL Finds Hateful Content on Telegram Exceeds That on Facebook
Press Release
Analysis also found sharp rise in anti-Black content as Black Lives Matter protests erupted in May 2020 New York, NY, October 21, 2020 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today released a new study evaluating anti-Black and antisemitic content in public groups on Facebook and private channels on Telegram since the start of the year, finding a much larger proportion of references to hateful content on Telegram. Reviewing content since the start of 2020 through September, there was a…
ADL Statement on Introduction of Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act
Press Release
New York, NY, October 20, 2020 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt issued the following statement regarding the introduction of the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA):
ADL has long fought against social media’s extraordinary amplification of violence and extremism, which is a profoundly harmful consequence of platforms optimizing for user engagement and revenue. Yet federal law has…
Facebook bans Holocaust denial posts; NYC Jewish man berated for not wearing mask on empty street; YouTube cracks down on QAnon conspiracy theory
Article
October 16, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
After years of urging from ADL and other civil rights organizations, Facebook will ban posts that deny the Holocaust. A video has gone viral on social media of a man shouting at a Hasidic Jewish man for not wearing a mask on an empty New York City street. YouTube on Thursday became the latest social media giant to take steps to stop QAnon, the sprawling right-wing conspiracy theory community whose online fantasies about a cabal of satanic pedophiles…
October 15, 2020 Nearly half of American adults experience online harassment and nearly one third experience severe harassment, but society still struggles with understanding the deep impact of online hate. Too often, we see “online hate” contrasted with “real world violence.” Trust us: to victims and targets of swatting, doxing, cyberstalking, and cyberharassment, the abuse they experience online is very real.
We know that digital abuse pushes targets offline…
After Long Fight, ADL is Relieved at Facebook Announcement That It Will Remove Holocaust Denial Content
Press Release
New York, NY, October 12, 2020 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) is relieved by Facebook’s announcement that it was updating its hate speech policy to prohibit any content “that denies or distorts the Holocaust.” This comes after nearly a decade of ADL advocating for such changes and just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, where users have been using the platform to perpetuate hate and conspiracy theories at alarming rates.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO,…
Jewish lawmakers face ‘alarming’ antisemitic tweets; Facebook will ban groups that support QAnon; Feds thwart militia plot to kidnap Michigan governor
Article
October 11, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Jewish members of Congress are facing antisemitic attacks on Twitter in the lead-up to the November election, according to a new report from ADL. Facebook said it is escalating the campaign against QAnon, pledging to remove any Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts aligned with the conspiracy group. The FBI says it thwarted what it described as a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Read on…
ADL Welcomes YouTube Banning Extremist Channels, Including Nation of Islam
Press Release
New York, NY, October 8, 2020 …ADL (Anti-Defamation League) today welcomed YouTube’s banning some extremist content, including white supremacists and the official channel of the stridently antisemitic Nation of Islam (NOI), led by Louis Farrakhan.
“For decades, Louis Farrakhan and many of his followers have been preaching vitriol and antisemitism, and in recent years they’ve found a wider audience on platforms like YouTube,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL…
ADL Report: Anti-Asian Hostility Spikes on Twitter After President Trump's COVID Diagnosis
Press Release
New York, NY, October 9, 2020 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today issued a new study showing a dramatic spike in anti-Asian sentiment and conspiracy theories about the spread of coronavirus in conversations on Twitter in the days immediately following the president’s first tweet about his positive diagnosis on October 2.
The new study of Twitter conversations and activity, conducted by ADL’s Center for Technology and Society, found that in the 12 hours after the…
At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism | Part 3
Article
October 08, 2020 At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism
In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society are releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremism plays in our current political environment.
Here's Part 3:
Conspiracy Theories and Anti-Asian Hostility on Twitter
Who/What: After President…