New ADL Belfer Fellow analysis shows extremists can dodge basic social media filters by not using profanity New York, NY, January 6, 2022 … Social media content moderation efforts regularly fall short when it comes to detecting white supremacist speech, including discussions of conspiracy theories related to white genocide, Jewish power and malicious grievances toward Jews and people of color, according to a new report from ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).
“This important…
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The project from the Center on Extremism outlines eight ways in which extremism and hate have expanded and evolved since Jan. 6, 2021, and highlights ten representative examples of each trend New York, NY, January 6, 2022 … One year after the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today unveiled an interactive map highlighting the ways in which elements of extremism and hate have been normalized over the past 12 months, and providing a roadmap of…
New York, NY, January 5, 2022 … More than a year since claims surfaced of a “stolen” or “rigged” election, and 12 months after the Capitol insurrection, conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election are alive and well. These lies have the potential to fuel future domestic extremist attacks, according to a new report from ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).
For its new report, “A Year After the Insurrection, 2020 Election Lies Continue to…
December 31, 2021
On December 27, 2021, Lyndon McLeod carried out a shooting spree spanning the Denver metropolitan area, murdering five people and wounding at least three others. Ultimately, McLeod died during a shoot-out with responding police. According to a review of his online footprint conducted by the ADL’s Center on Extremism, McLeod held numerous extreme or fringe beliefs but did not belong to a particular extremist movement, nor was he an active member of an organized…
December 20, 2021 Banners dropped in California December 18-19, 2021
In a nationwide display of bigotry and hate during the weekend of December 18-19, 2021, individuals associated with the antisemitic Goyim Defense League (GDL) distributed propaganda in multiple states, while people supporting the “White Lives Matter” movement distributed propaganda and held roadside flash demonstrations in several states. Some people participated in both efforts.
The distribution of…
December 16, 2021 In the wake of a deadly SUV incident in Waukesha, Wis., white supremacists are leveraging the tragedy by sowing racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories on the ground and online.
On November 21, 2021, Darrell E. Brooks Jr. allegedly drove his SUV into a crowded Christmas parade, killing six and injuring over 60 others. While a harrowing tragedy, Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson said Brooks was apparently fleeing a domestic disturbance and declared the incident …
Mohammed El-Kurd is a prominent Palestinian activist hired in 2021 as the Palestine Correspondent by the left-wing magazine The Nation. He has published articles and been interviewed in a wide array of media. Unfortunately, even a cursory analysis of his social media and his book “Rifqa” reveals an indisputably troubling pattern of rhetoric and slander that ranges far beyond reasoned criticism of Israel. It is unvarnished, vicious antisemitism. El-Kurd has accused Israelis of…
December 15, 2021 Gab CEO Andrew Torba claims he’s not an antisemite, but he tells a very different story via Gab’s Twitter feed and his personal Gab account. In October 2021, Torba engaged in multiple antisemitic tirades on Twitter and Gab, posting and sharing a wide array of bigoted content. These posts – which had the potential to reach millions of people via Gab’s 390,000 Twitter followers and Torba’s 3.3 million Gab followers – promoted a range of…
Civil Lawsuit is the First Filed by a Government Entity Against Proud Boys and Oath Keepers; Seeks Damages Caused by Violent & Deadly Attack New York, NY, December 14, 2021 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) joined with D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, States United Democracy Center, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Dechert LLP today in filing a federal lawsuit to hold two violent groups accountable for the role they played in planning and carrying out the…
December 14, 2021
Thank you, Attorney General Racine, Delegate Norton, and Councilmember Charles Allen, for having me here today along with Joanna Lydgate of States United.
ADL is the oldest anti-hate organization in the world and we truly are honored to work with you on this landmark lawsuit on behalf of the District of Columbia against the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and more than 30 individuals who coordinated an act of domestic terrorism against our democracy.
We…
December 09, 2021 In August 2021, Instagram announced an update to its work against the spread of abuse on the platform, reiterating a zero tolerance policy for hate speech and abusive content, and adding new features aimed at reducing abuse, especially as it occurs via direct messaging (DM) and comments. Despite this update – and a previous iteration in February, 2021 – extremist content remains easily accessible on Instagram.
ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) researchers…
December 01, 2021 A vehicle allegedly driven by Darrell E. Brooks Jr. speeds through the Waukesha Christmas parade route on November 21, as captured on the city’s livestream video of the event. (source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Darrell Edward Brooks Jr., who faces six counts of first-degree intentional homicide after he drove into a Christmas Parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, apparently shared several conspiracy theory-themed social media posts in 2015, according to a review of his…
December 01, 2021 UPDATE: As of December 9, 2021, Facebook has removed all nine posts reported on the platform in conjunction with our research.
October 2021 marked one year since Facebook banned Holocaust denial from its platform and officially classified Holocaust denial as hate speech instead of misinformation. On the first anniversary of this policy’s enactment on Facebook properties, analysts in ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) sought to determine whether the…
November 29, 2021 Photo credit: Getty
On November 23, 2021, a jury returned its verdicts in the civil lawsuit against the organizers of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. All defendants were found liable of Virginia state civil conspiracy charges, and the jury agreed to award the plaintiffs more than $25 million in damages. Jurors were unable to reach a decision on federal conspiracy charges.
Sines v. Kessler, the civil suit filed by…
Jury found 2017 Charlottesville rally organizers owe more than $25 million in punitive damages New York, NY, November 23, 2021 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today celebrated the jury’s verdict in the civil lawsuit against the organizers of the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. in which the plaintiffs were backed by ADL partner Integrity First for America (IFA).
“We welcome the jury’s verdict today that found the defendants liable…
November 19, 2021 On Friday, November 19, 2021, a jury delivered a unanimous verdict in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse: not guilty on all five counts, which included homicide and reckless endangerment. The presiding judge warned those in the courtroom against expressions of emotion, but right-wing extremists were bound by no such restrictions, and they reacted online to the ruling with praise for Rittenhouse, vitriol towards “antifa” and the left, and excitement about the…
New ADL Finding Hints at Much Broader Failure of Enforcement by Facebook by: David Andrew Weinberg | November 17, 2021 In the wake of a whistleblower complaint, Facebook has come under criticism for failing to take adequate measures to address hate speech on its platform. ADL has repeatedly noted that the company relies too heavily on artificial intelligence to manage hateful content, and that instead, social media companies such as Facebook need to step up enforcement at scale and by design,…
November 08, 2021 A graphic shared on social media by the Nation of Islam warning against the COVID-19 vaccine (source: Twitter)
Months before the first COVID-19 vaccine began to be distributed in the United States, the Nation of Islam (NOI) had already widely disseminated its directive that Black people refuse the vaccine. Over a year later, the NOI and its leading members have continued their unrelenting promotion of anti-vaccine messages in social media posts, print materials, sermons…
November 05, 2021 Political prognosticators feared the 2021 off-year elections could usher in a new era of extremists in elected office. And while the worst-case scenario did not materialize, the election results appear to show an electorate that is not entirely averse to candidates with extremist (and extremist-adjacent) platforms and ideologies, signaling a potentially alarming trend ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
At least eight candidates who attended the January 6 …
November 03, 2021 Tucker Carlson’s special “documentary” series, “Patriot Purge,” which aired online the first week of November, 2021, via the Fox Nation streaming service, promotes many of the false conspiracy theories Carlson promotes on his regular show on Fox News—the Biden Administration is on a “manhunt” for conservatives; the FBI played a role in the January 6 insurrection; the military wants to purge any soldier whose point of view…