April 18, 2019 As Cinco de Mayo festivities commence, it is important to stop and consider whether classroom observances and celebrations in general are inclusive and respectful and whether they do or do not promote stereotypical portrayals of groups of people—in this case, people who are Mexican and Mexican-American. Cinco De Mayo is a fun and festive holiday in the U.S. that it is often wrought with problematic choices made by people wanting to have a good time and celebrate…

March 11, 2019 The first in a series of reports co-authored by the Network Contagion Research Institute and ADL’s Center on Extremism The toxicity on social media creates victims online and online ecosystems that breed real-life hatred.  Gab, a self-described “free speech” platform largely used by right wing extremists, has been the preferred platform for hatred and vitriol. Users include Robert Bowers, who posted on the site just before he massacred congregants …

March 01, 2019 By Samuel Woolley | ADL Center for Technology and Society Belfer Fellow On October 27, 2018 Robert Bowers shot and killed eleven people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers was at least partially radicalized online. He made regular use of the extremist-friendly social media platform Gab. After months of anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant posts on the site he even wrote that he was “going in” shortly before the massacre. The day before the…

February 25, 2019 Mya and Deanna Cook, 15, were both excellent students, but they had been kicked off school sports teams, banished from prom, and sentenced to hours of detention for refusing to change their hair. When these twin sisters were punished by their Boston-area high school for wearing braided hair extensions, ADL helped them change their school’s controversial hair and makeup policies, which unfairly targeted students of color. ADL’s New England office received a…

February 21, 2019 One would think that teaching the lessons of the Holocaust in schools would be a given in the United States. After all, it is an essential component in learning about world history, the rise of fascism, World War II, and genocide, all of which are already part of any respectable high school history curriculum. But recent incidents of students appropriating and abusing Holocaust imagery have served as a reminder and a wake-up call for the need to teach the universal…

February 15, 2019 Blackface has taken center stage in our public discourse. Again. Virginia is embroiled in a controversy based on admissions by Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring to wearing blackface in the past. The list of celebrities and other public figures who publicly condone blackface is growing and there are others entering the spotlight. Just a few months ago, NBC host Megyn Kelly set off her own controversy when she defended blackface as a Halloween costume…

December 21, 2018 With approximately 3 percent of the world’s Jewish population residing in Latin America, ADL works in partnership with the organized Jewish communal institutions to lend our voices when needed. Going into 2019, as challenges to Jewish community grow worldwide, ADL’s focus on strengthening relations with local Jewish communities across Latin America will continue to be paramount, particularly in areas of common interest.   Political shifts  …

December 21, 2018 64% of American households have a member that plays video games for three or more hours per week. And these gamers are not just kids. In 2017, the average age of a gamer was 31, and there were more gamers over 36 than between 18 – 35 or under 18. At ADL’s Center for Technology and Society (CTS) we know that video games can be a meaningful force for good in society. We think games can be incredible tools in helping to challenge bias and create respectful and…

November 05, 2018 UPDATE: On November 3, one week after the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue and six days after going dark, Gab found a new home at Epik.com. In a statement, Epik’s CEO, Robert W. Monster, explained his willingness to host Gab, writing, “De-platforming a haven of free speech is not about left or right.” He also quoted Edmund Burke’s famous warning, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it,” superimposed…

by: Jinnie Spiegler October 29, 2018 Last week, we saw several hate-inspired incidents that have shaken our nation. Many are worried about the toxic nature of our discourse, the direction our country is headed and how we explain all of this to young people.  The week started with a string of thirteen separate pipe bombs sent to a group of mostly prominent Democrats: former Presidents Obama and Clinton, progressive philanthropist George Soros, several members of Congress, former…