Whether it is about a global pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the latest mass shooting, lies continue to thrive on social media platforms. According to a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of Americans get their news from social media. While many people feel confident in their media literacy, YouGov found that only 4% of those surveyed could correctly distinguish false news stories from true ones.
In order to assess platforms…
458 Results
On July 4, 2022, 21-year-old Robert Crimo allegedly opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people and wounding nearly two dozen others. Crimo, who reportedly considered a second attack in Madison, Wisconsin, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.
Crimo’s motivation for the shooting remains unknown, and there is no evidence at this time that he adhered to any specific political or hate-driven ideology. Amidst this…
The Mapping Project, an antisemitic website that calls for the “dismantling” of organizations key to the infrastructure of the Massachusetts Jewish community, has garnered broad support from U.S. State Department-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Iranian government-controlled Press TV. This endorsement is representative of an entrenched dynamic via which PFLP, Press TV and some U.S. anti-Zionist activists offer mutual support,…
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, pastors affiliated with the New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement are advocating for the state-sanctioned execution of people who perform or get abortions.
On the evening of June 24, 2022, “Q,” the anonymous figure whose online posts sparked the widespread QAnon conspiracy movement, re-emerged after more than 18 months of silence.
This article was originally published for Just Security By Ryan Greer, National Security Director and Chief of Staff for Government Relations, Advocacy, and Community Engagement at ADL Early in the Biden administration, the president tasked the intelligence community with evaluating the domestic terrorist threat – intelligence officials concluded that it’s severe. On June 15, 2021, the Biden administration released the National Strategy to Counter Domestic Terrorism. Now that…
The ADL Center on Extremism documented 187 incidents from 2012-2021 in which extremists used firearms to commit murder or violently engage with law enforcement. During these incidents, extremists killed 325 people and wounded 252.
With Pride month in full swing, extremists are making news by targeting LGBTQ+ events, groups and people. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has tracked a spate of extremist activity around Pride celebrations nationwide, fueled in part by the claim that members of the LGBTQ+ community are pedophiles who are “grooming” children.
In May 2022, young American right-wing activists attended the CPAC Hungary conference and held their own meeting with youth leaders of xenophobic and ethno-nationalist European political parties. This gathering, along with the CPAC Hungary event, demonstrates the interconnectedness of American and European far-right thinking, and highlights the xenophobic, nationalistic rhetoric that is being promoted – and applauded – on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of the young American attendees also have ties to right-wing extremists.
The May 2, 2022, leak of the draft opinion overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling has animated people on both sides of the abortion debate. And as pro-choice advocates are vowing to protest the potential loss of reproductive freedom, right-wing extremists advocating for -- and in some cases threatening -- violence against them.
The following letter was submitted to the Washington Post in response to "Beware the data on American right-wing violence" (May 23) To the Editor:
In “Beware the data on American right-wing violence,” Megan McArdle admits that far right violence is a problem, but insinuates it isn’t necessarily a bigger problem than other kinds of ideological violence. She offers no evidence but tries to make her case by second-guessing ADL’s annual reports on extremist-connected…
In recent years, several college campuses across the Midwest have seen a troubling pattern of antisemitic anti-Israel activity. Recent examples have included: the targeting of Hillel, the premier center for Jewish student life on college campuses, with graffiti reading “Free Palestine” and an object thrown during an anti-Israel protest; the dissemination of a pamphlet depicting Israeli Jews as pigs; a call to “LEAVE [Israel] if you are Jewish” and a meme posted on social media encouraging others to “start shaming Zionists” to “go back to Brooklyn.”
Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) Day, held on May 15 each year, is marked by Palestinians and their supporters, including many anti-Israel activists, as a day to mourn the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and advocate for the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees.
After news broke of the deadly white supremacist shooting in Buffalo on Saturday, May 14, 2022, extremists, politicians and ideologues offered their takes on the attack.
The ADL Center on Extremism has found remarkable parallels and overlap between online manifestos posted by accused Buffalo shooting perpetrator Payton Gendron and Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant. While Gendron’s language is notably more antisemitic than Tarrant’s, entire portions of the texts are identical.
In the aftermath of the May 14, 2022, mass shooting that left 10 people dead and three more injured in Buffalo, NY, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has reviewed images of what appear to be weapons, armor and other gear owned by the alleged shooter, Payton Gendron.
Gendron, who wore a sonnenrad, a symbol appropriated by the Nazi Party and widely used by modern white supremacists, mimicked a tactic used by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, scrawling white supremacist…
On May 14, 2022, a gunman killed 10 people and injured 3 more inside a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, after espousing violent white supremacist and antisemitic views online. In court following his arrest, the alleged gunman, identified as 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, from Southern Tier, New York, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail.
According to an online screed Gendron allegedly posted shortly before the attack, his goal was to &ldquo…
In January 2022, the white supremacist Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.) announced the creation of Will2Rise Records, a music production company catering to white supremacist artists.
The Holocaust – the systematic murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II – stands out as a preeminent example of modern-day state-sponsored mass murder. Despite the Holocaust’s distinctive status, or perhaps because of it, politicians, activists and other public figures often invoke inappropriate Holocaust comparisons to highlight the ostensible “danger” of a social or political act.
Even with…
Right-wing extremists cheered the announcement; they believe Musk will usher in a new era on the social media platform, free from “left-wing” censorship.