Washington, DC, October 21...The technology that enables millions of Americans to be interconnected through the Internet and the World Wide Web, has proven to be a boon for racists, anti-Semites, anti-government extremists and other hatemongers, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). High-Tech Hate: Extremist Use of the Internet, documents the growth of hate and extremism on the Web and how groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, anti-government militias, white supremacists, and Holocaust deniers go on-line to recruit and propagandize, especially targeting youth. To counter the propaganda and provide users with options to challenge the hatemongers, ADL is working with America Online and other technology and legal experts to explore ways to help Internet users, especially parents and educators. ADL's own Web site (www.adl.org) offers information that identifies hate groups and counters their "facts."

"Hate is polluting the Internet," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

"Racists, anti-Semites and extremists now spew their hate easily, cheaply, and often deceptively, potentially reaching numbers of individuals they could have only dreamed about before the telecommunications revolution. Through Web sites and e-mail they intrude into our home, workplace, school, and university as never before."

"Shrewd bigots of all kinds are rushing to use the enormous power of this new communications medium, and we must match and surpass them," Mr. Foxman added. "We will continue to expose them, to hold them up to public scrutiny and to counter their messages of hate. We are working with America Online to create an atmosphere of responsibility on-line, to set standards within the framework of the First Amendment that will give assurances to parents, educators and communities that there is no tolerance for hate on-line." Mr. Foxman said that ADL was developing a "filter" software product that would act as a "gatekeeper" between the user and the Internet.

High-Tech Hate: Extremist Use of the Internet documents who's who in the "hate establishment" currently on-line. Among those cited are the KKK, David Duke, the Identity Church, Ernst Zundel, Bradley Smith, Militias, "Common Law Courts," Neo-Nazi Skinheads, and Resistance Records.

Issues such as "Hate Mail on the Internet," "Universities and the Web: To Control or Not Control," and "Keeping Data Confidential - Privacy vs. Security" are discussed in High- Tech Hate. The report describes how haters use the Web as on-line malls to peddle their propaganda ware, such as t-shirts, jewelry and beer mugs. Some have become "publishers," with "e-zines" -- magazines on-line. Audio-on-demand "Internet Radio," a technology that allows users to hear a live or taped message through their computers, is being used by David Duke.

High-Tech Hate contains graphics from the Web sites of extremists, sections on understanding the Internet and the World Wide Web, and a glossary of computer terms. The 86-page report is the third in a series of reports on hate in cyberspace. Previous reports were The Web of Hate: Extremists Exploit the Internet (February 1996) and Hate Group Recruitment on the Internet (November 1995).

EDITORS/PRODUCERS NOTE: High-Tech Hate is available on-line on NEXIS, search code USNWR, and from the ADL Media Relations Department.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti- Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.