1152 Results

New York Man Arrested for Threatening Law Enforcement and Democratic Politicians

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November 12, 2020 Federal agents with New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Brian Maiorana, 54, of Staten Island on November 10, 2020, charging him with making threatening interstate communications. According to the criminal complaint, Maiorana recently used social media accounts to threaten violence against Democratic politicians, law enforcement officers and social justice protestors. While Maiorana does not appear to have fully committed to an extremist ideology, and many…

November 12, 2020

At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism, Part 7

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November 12, 2020 In the weeks leading up to and after the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism (COE) in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society has been releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment. Here's Part 7: Extremists Plan to Attend “Million MAGA March” in Washington, D.C. Who/What:…

November 12, 2020

Diverse and Complex Narratives Cultivate Empathy and Action

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Image of a protest from NBC's Superstore TV show.

November 10, 2020 How people are portrayed on television – matters. Increasingly diverse storylines, characters and content creators are widely seen as positive, but how is this trend affecting the prevalence of stereotypes in our culture? Is it increasing our ability to empathize and act? In a recent study, Define American and USC’s Norman Lear Center examined depictions of immigrants on television and the impact of those portrayals. The study examined depictions of 129 unique…

November 10, 2020

QAnon proponent wins Georgia House race; ADL offering $3,000 reward for information on gravestone vandalism in Michigan

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November 06, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 As the country waited anxiously for all the votes to be counted in the U.S. presidential election, ADL urged calm and patience and reiterated our longstanding calls that every vote counts and every vote must be counted. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican candidate from Georgia who has espoused the antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theory and employed racist rhetoric during her congressional campaign was elected to the House of Representatives. And ADL…

November 06, 2020

Philadelphia Police Stop Potential Election-Related Attack by QAnon Adherent

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November 06, 2020 On November 5, 2020, Philadelphia police arrested two men from Virginia, thwarting a possible attack targeting people counting votes from Tuesday’s election at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 42, were arrested after police received a tip that the men were traveling to Philadelphia to allegedly engage in unspecified criminal activity. Police arrested the two men as they approached officers who were investigating their vehicle,…

November 06, 2020

Electoral Misinformation on Twitter: 39% of Problematic Tweets Reported by ADL Go Unaddressed by Platform in Crucial Post-Election Timeframe

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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…

November 05, 2020

Government 101: What is a Government?

Lesson Plan

Close up angled view of the U.S. Supreme Court

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What is a Government? What are Different Forms of Government? What is My Relationship to Government? Governments, and the act of governing, have been part of human society for thousands of years. Governments have shifted and changed in the way they represent, operate and control, but one thing remains the same: they are created to organize groups of people and provide structure and accountability. Understanding the concept of…

June 09, 2020

Words Matter: Reflecting on the 25 Years Since Yitzhak Rabin’s Assassination

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by: Ken Jacobson October 28, 2020 Note: This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel on Oct. 28, 2020. Twenty-five years have passed since the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his attempts to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinian Authority. Inevitably, a sad milestone like this causes us to look back at that day, to assess its significance from the perspective of a quarter of a century later, and to…

October 28, 2020

At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism | Part 6

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October 28, 2020 In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism (COE) in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society is releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment. Here's Part 6: As QAnon Tightens Its Paranoid Grip on the U.S., Here’s a Helpful Guide to the Lunacy [See here:…

October 28, 2020

Two Years After Synagogue Massacre, Gab Remains Extremists' Online Destination of Choice

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October 27, 2020 Two years ago, white supremacist Robert Bowers killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh after posting antisemitic, anti-immigrant rants on Gab. Today, supported by a founder who encourages hate speech, the social media site appears to be gaining traction among right-wing extremists, including white supremacists: Sixty percent of the 47 right-wing extremist groups currently on Gab were created this year. Gab is rife with white supremacist groups. …

October 27, 2020

At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism | Part 5

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October 22, 2020 In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism (COE) in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society is releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment. Here's Part 5: Extremists and non-Extremists alike target Michigan Governor with violent threats Who/What: Michigan…

October 22, 2020

Voting FAQ: How to Vote and Other Ways to Get Involved

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During election season, a lot of information gets circulated about what’s happening and what your options are. It can be hard to figure out what’s true, what isn’t, and what you can do. We’re here to help. This post is for you whether you’re eligible to vote or not – civic engagement is for everyone, because government affects us all. This is in Question & Answer form, so you can go straight to the issues that are most relevant to you. Who is eligible to…

October 22, 2020

Writing a Bill

Lesson Plan

Close up on a notary public hand signing a document

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School How Do I Write a Bill? When a change in the law is desired, whether at the community, state, or national level, people need to understand the processes of making that desired change, a bill, into a law. Submitting a bill for consideration by the legislature involves writing, revising and sharing bills with a focus on passing them in a Senate hearing. About the Lesson Plan In this lesson, students will brainstorm to identify changes they…

May 11, 2020

Facebook bans Holocaust denial posts; NYC Jewish man berated for not wearing mask on empty street; YouTube cracks down on QAnon conspiracy theory

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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 16, 2020

At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism | Part 4

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October 15, 2020 In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism (COE) in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society is releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment. Here's Part 4: Extremism Resources: What You Need to Know to Navigate the Last Three Weeks of the 2020 Election…

October 15, 2020

One Year of Backspacing Hate

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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…

October 15, 2020

The Supreme Court and the Right to Marry

Lesson Plan

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney during a Marriage Equality Rally stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What Were the Multiple Perspectives of the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court Based on During the Repeal of DOMA? According to the Supreme Court Decision, Who Has the Right to Marry? What Assurances Do We Have that the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are Able to Be Non-partisan and Avoid Bias When Deciding a Case? The Judicial branch of the U.S. government is headed by the Supreme Court. This court analyzes and judges cases…

May 04, 2020

Jewish lawmakers face ‘alarming’ antisemitic tweets; Facebook will ban groups that support QAnon; Feds thwart militia plot to kidnap Michigan governor

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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…

October 11, 2020

Thirteen Men Arrested for Plotting to Kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

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October 08, 2020 Update: October 13, 2020: Militia members charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, according to an FBI agent's testimony. “They discussed possible targets, taking a sitting governor, specifically issues with the governor of Michigan and Virginia based on the lockdown orders,” the agent told a Michigan courtroom. On October…

October 08, 2020

At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism | Part 3

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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…

October 08, 2020