August 13, 2020 As Facebook continues to grapple with hate speech and violent extremism across the platform, QAnon conspiracy theorists are using public and private Facebook pages and groups to spread disinformation, racism, and thinly veiled incitement to violence. QAnon, the wide-reaching conspiracy theory popular among a range of right-wing extremists and supporters of President Trump, follows an anonymous personality “Q.” Followers of Q believe a pedophiliac global elite…

June 18, 2020 Amid the ongoing threat of the coronavirus, there are surging reports of xenophobic and racist incidents targeting members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the U.S. Since January 2020, there have been a significant number of reports of AAPI individuals being threatened and harassed on the street. These incidents include being told to “Go back to China,” being blamed for “bringing the virus” to the United…

June 16, 2020 On June 15, 2020, a federal grand jury indicted Matthew Patrick Slatzer of Canton, Ohio, on weapons charges. Slatzer, a known neo-Nazi, was arrested in February after bringing a gun into a Canton bar, and was charged with possession of a firearm by a person with a domestic violence conviction. The investigation began after Slatzer -- who, according to police reports, was wearing a sword and hatchet on his belt -- entered a business in Stow, Ohio, on May 3, 2020. He allegedly…

June 10, 2020 Some vocal extremists are showing up at the ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd and police brutality. The extremists, who subscribe to a range of right wing ideologies, do not appear to be following any overarching plan or strategy, and are turning up at protests of all sizes, nationwide. Some who share the protesters’ opposition to law enforcement and government are joining the demonstrations. Others, carrying weapons, are acting as self-appointed security…

May 22, 2020 On May 1, 2020, when boogaloo activists organized a protest against coronavirus public safety measures in Raleigh, North Carolina, many attendees carried firearms in defiance of state laws prohibiting guns at public demonstrations. It was a scene played out across the country in recent weeks, as boogalooers are energized by resistance to lockdown restrictions, which they view as tyrannical government overreach. Boogaloo adherents have shown up at numerous lockdown protests, waving…

April 21, 2020 Headline: Coronavirus: Anti-Immigration, Xenophobia and Homophobia Short description: Extremists are using fear of the virus to stoke nativist, homophobic hate As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these…

April 20, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. Conspiracy theorists are positing that the coronavirus was manufactured by humans,…

April 20, 2020 Americans’ response to the coronavirus pandemic now includes a spate of nationwide rallies decrying stay-at-home orders and calling for “reopening” the economy. While many of the protests calling for the reopening of the economy and the lifting of state-issued quarantine mandates have been organized by more mainstream conservative organizations, a number have been sponsored in whole or part by identified extremists and a range of rally participants have carried…

April 20, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. ADL is tracking some of the coronavirus-related anti-Asian incidents here. Sinophobia …

April 17, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. Extremists are imagining weaponizing the coronavirus On fringe platforms, extremists…

March 10, 2020 “Finally! Science has discovered a cure for the most insidious disease of our time…Jewishness.” Shortly after posting this to Telegram, referring to a news report that three Israelis had been quarantined as possible carriers of the coronavirus, the same poster wrote, “3 down, 5,999,997 to go!” As the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus surges globally, extremists continue to use the virus  to advance their bigotry and antisemitism…

February 13, 2020 Last month, the Trump Administration proposed sweeping changes to federal rules governing taxpayer-funded social services, changes that threaten the religious freedom of the most vulnerable in our nation. Over 20 years ago, the federal government made a sea change in how it provided taxpayer-funded social services by allowing houses of worship to compete for grants and contracts through a program called the “Faith-Based Initiative.”  This change…