Responding to Buffalo Shooting, Far-Right Politicians, Pundits Parrot Extremists
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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.
Striking Similarities Between Gendron and Tarrant Manifestos
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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.
Footage of Buffalo Attack Spread Quickly Across Platforms, Has Been Online for Days
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The livestream of the accused Buffalo shooter’s deadly May 14, 2022, attack at a Buffalo supermarket was available briefly via Twitch, but the footage spread quickly across online platforms, and remains online for public consumption. Five full days after the shooting rampage, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) was able to find the footage on platforms as diverse as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Telegram, Bitchute and Gab.
On May 7, 2022, a small group of neo-Nazis stationed themselves outside the entrance to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, waving swastika flags and shouting into a megaphone. Among them was a man who goes by the name “Grandfather” on social media. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has identified him, with a high degree of certainty, as 74-year-old veteran David Howard Wydner, who has a significant history of antisemitic stunts.
Agnostic About Extremism: Tech Companies' Roles in Spreading Dangerous Content from the Buffalo Shooting
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On May 14, 2022, an alleged extremist streamed video footage online as he murdered 10 people and injured three more inside a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The shooter livestreamed his rampage on the social media platform Twitch, which Amazon owns. Preceding the murders, the shooter allegedly plotted his attack on the chat platform Discord and spread white supremacist dogma on fringe websites such as 4chan and Kiwi Farms.
After the shooting, a video…
The Horrific Mass Shooting in Buffalo: How to Talk with Young People
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Another mass shooting has taken place, a violent massacre in which the shooter targeted a Black community after posting a white supremacist tract online that espoused virulently antisemitic and racist beliefs.
On May 14, 2022, a gunman entered a supermarket in a largely Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York and shot thirteen people, killing ten people and injuring at least three others. Almost all of the victims are Black. The gunman was identified by law enforcement as eighteen…
Buffalo Shooter’s Weapons Covered in White Supremacist Messaging
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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…
Buffalo Shooter's Manifesto Promotes "Great Replacement" Theory, Antisemitism and Previous Mass Shooters
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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…
The Rise Above Movement Plants a Flag in the White Power Music Scene
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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.
Support for Terror Groups, Negation of Israel’s Existence Mark Quds Day in U.S.
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Some U.S. rallies marking Quds Day, April 29, 2022, included explicit support for terror groups, opposition to Israel’s existence, propagation of the Khazar conspiracy theory and a call to exclude “Zionists” from public life.
Quds Day Exposes Iran’s Genocidal Ambitions – Again
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By Aykan Erdemir
Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the clerical regime has observed the last Friday of the month of Ramadan as International Quds (i.e. Jerusalem) Day, using it as an opportunity to spread antisemitic hate, incite violence against the Jewish people, and call for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Last year, for example, the main English-language Twitter account attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (@khamenei_ir)…
Holocaust Analogies Frequently Used as Fodder for Social and Political Commentary
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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…
ADL Statement on Postponement of Vote on Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act
Press Release
New York, NY, April 26, 2022 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) released the following statement concerning reports that an upcoming House vote on the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act was postponed:
“Domestic terrorism is a top security threat, according to the intelligence community, law enforcement, and independent organizations like ADL. Because of this, we strongly reiterate our calls to promptly pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. This legislation marks a…
Elon Musk Plans to Buy Twitter. Right-wing Extremists Rejoice.
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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.
ADL Audit Finds Antisemitic Incidents in United States Reached All-Time High in 2021
Press Release
Incidents reported in all 50 states, including a dramatic spike during Hamas-Israel conflict; Attacks against synagogues and JCCs increased 61 percent New York, NY, April 26, 2022 … Antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in the United States in 2021, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). This represents the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979 …
New ADL Research Center Will Offer Grants for Projects Probing Causes and Manifestations of Contemporary Antisemitism
Press Release
Center will sponsor fellowships and grants, while bolstering ADL’s own empirical research New York, NY, April 21, 2022 … Building on its more than a century of knowledge and research into core antisemitic beliefs and attitudes, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today announced the creation of a new research arm that will deepen understanding of the world’s oldest hatred through a combination of scholarly investigation and empirical research.
The ADL Center for…
ADL Task Force on Middle East Minorities Calls for U.S. to Keep IRGC on Foreign Terrorist Organization List
Press Release
The Task Force also calls for reinstatement of FTO designation for Iran-backed Houthis New York, NY, April 20, 2022 … The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities stated today that it opposes any effort to remove the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from the United States’ government’s Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. The Task Force also calls upon the Department of State to reinstate the FTO…
Some Glorify, Others Excuse Palestinian Terror Against Israelis
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April 14, 2022 Since March 22, 2022, there have been four major terrorist attacks across Israel– Be’er Sheva, Hadera, Bnai Brak and Tel-Aviv – which resulted in 14 deaths and many wounded. The attacks, which were carried out by both Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Arab citizens of Israel, targeted both Israeli civilians and law enforcement officials. These incidents coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is generally a time of heightened tensions in…
ADL Finds Facebook Posts Linking to Problematic Sites at Alarming Rates
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April 11, 2022 Over a hundred million American adults read news on social media, but in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine, antisemitism, hate speech, and disinformation have spread widely on Facebook. ADL researchers found evidence of the continued presence of problematic posts on the platform, the most popular site for getting news, as well as the prevalence of external links directing users to alternative platforms and sites popular among extremists. Roughly 61% of these posts included links…