DOWNLOAD THE PDF REPORTAntisemitism has been a problem on college and university campuses for decades. But while the climate for Jewish students had been improving for many years, we are seeing an alarming new uptick in the number of reported antisemitic incidents across the country. Swastikas, Nazi symbols and other antisemitic graffiti have been reported on numerous campuses, and antisemitic tropes hurled at Jewish students have made headlines. Most notably, white supremacists…

Full Report The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is an anti-government extremist group whose primary purpose is to recruit sheriffs into the anti-government “patriot” movement. CSPOA is led by Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who gained celebrity on the right in the 1990s after suing to overturn a prominent gun control measure, the Brady Law, especially after the Supreme Court ruled largely in his favor. The central tenet of CSPOA, borrowed…

If there is a single thread that links QAnon’s origins, its current state, and where the conspiracy theory is likely to go in the short- to medium-term, it’s antisemitism. QAnon’s antisemitism has been most visible at two points: its beginnings – when it emerged from the swastika-studded fever swamp that is 4chan – and the present, when the most popular QAnon influencer, GhostEzra, is an open Nazi who praises Hitler, admires the Third Reich, and decries the…

Ninety-seven million Americans play online multiplayer games. While virtually all players surveyed in ADL’s third annual report on experiences1 in online games appreciated the social connectivity of gaming, an alarmingly large majority continue to encounter a firehose of hate and harassment. ADL’s survey explores the social interactions, experiences, attitudes, and behaviors of online multiplayer gamers nationwide. This year’s survey again asked about the experiences of a…

In the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, conspiracy theorists across the ideological spectrum dismissed the widely accepted version of events and instead crafted alternative narratives about the perpetrators, their motive, and other details about the attacks. Some of these conspiratorial claims directly implicated Jewish people and Israel in the attacks, in a continuation of centuries-old antisemitic tropes about Jews supposedly manipulating world events for their own…

In recent years, American Jews have faced increased threats of violence and harassment both online and offline. According to ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, 2019 and 2020 were, respectively, the highest and third-highest years on record for cases of harassment, vandalism, and assault against Jews in the United States since tracking began in 1979. The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, after which there was an increase in antisemitic incidents reported domestically,…

On January 6, 2021, hundreds of fanatic Trump supporters and right-wing extremists intent on interfering with the confirmation of the 2020 presidential election results stormed the U.S. Capitol, where they fought police and destroyed property until finally evicted hours later.  The events of that day shocked the country, but the riot’s aftermath also surprised many Americans as the subsequent arrests of rioters included a number of people with connections to the U.S. military…

Antisemitic incidents remained at a historically high levelacross the U.S. in 2020, with a total of 2,024 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to ADL.

Propaganda from groups such as Patriot Front, New Jersey European Heritage Association, Folks Front, and the Nationalist Social Club ADL’s Center on Extremism (COE) tracked a near-doubling of white supremacist propaganda efforts in 2020, which included the distribution of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ fliers, stickers, banners and posters. The 2020 data shows a huge increase of incidents from the previous year, with a total of 5,125 cases reported (averaging more than 14…

Every year people with ties to a variety of extremist movements and causes kill people in the United States; ADL’s Center on Extremism tracks these murders. Extremists regularly commit murders in the service of their ideology, in the service of a group or gang they may belong to, or while engaging in traditional, non-ideological criminal activities. In 2020, domestic extremists killed at least 17 people in the United States, in 15 separate incidents. This represents a significant…

Authors: Annie Y. Chen, Dartmouth College | Brendan Nyhan, Dartmouth College | Jason Reifler, University of Exeter | Ronald E. Robertson, Northeastern University | Christo Wilson, Northeastern University   The Belfer Fellowship was established by the Robert Belfer Family to support innovative research and thought-leadership on combating online hate and harassment for all. Fellows are drawn from the technologist community, academia, and public policy to push innovation, research…

ADL Center for Technology and Society has published an updated Holocaust denial report card as of April 2023. Click HERE to view the new data. The Holocaust, the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews and several million others by the Nazis, is one of history's most painstakingly examined and well-documented genocides. Nevertheless, in the decades since World War II, a small group of antisemites has repeatedly attempted to cast doubt on the facts of the Holocaust…

They were ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives – or extraordinary people who put their lives on the line to protect the health and welfare of everyone. In what has become an annual tradition, as the year comes to a close ADL pauses each December to take stock of the moments and people who shaped the last 12 months – for better, or for worse – with a Top 10 list. For 2020, we compiled two Top 10 lists: One looking back on the moments of hurt and hate that…

Video games have been popular in the United States for at least three decades, but the lockdowns and quarantines brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic kicked their growth as vital social spaces into overdrive.1 [i] Over 200 million people, 64 percent of American adults, regularly play video games- which include both online and offline games.[ii] A $159 billion industry, annual revenue from video games increased 9.3 percent this year, whereas revenue reported by traditional media such as movies…

By Mark Kumleben and Samuel Woolley  Propaganda Research Team Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin Maggie Engler Global Disinformation Index Much of online speech today occurs on social media platforms like Facebook where a few companies have attained an outsized influence on what is permitted discussion on the internet. The rules and enforcement of the rules around speech on social platforms have far-reaching societal implications -- they can determine…

In late 2018, Pew Research Center reported that social media sites had surpassed print newspapers as a news source for Americans, when one in five U.S. adults reported that they often got the news via social media.i By the following year, that figure had increased to 28% and the trend is only risingii. Combine that with a deeply divided polity headed into a bitterly divisive 2020 U.S. presidential election season and it becomes crucial to understand the information that Americans are exposed…

The May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. As the demonstrations spread to communities across the country, so too did disinformation about the protests and protesters. In a time of national unrest and racial tension, these false claims intentionally sowed fear and division, while also undermining protesters’ efforts to build coalitions and bring about lasting structural change. …

In 2019, domestic extremists killed at least 42 people in the United States in 17 separate incidents. This number makes 2019 the sixth deadliest year on record for domestic extremist-related killings since 1970.   The 42 total deaths in 2019 is less than 2018’s total (53) but higher than 2017’s (41).   As is typically the case, the extremist-related murders of 2019 were overwhelmingly (90%) linked to right-wing extremists. All but one of the incidents had…

At a terribly disturbing time for American Jews, marked by the greatest anti-Semitic violence and incidents experienced by the community in decades, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), has completed its latest survey of American attitudes toward Jews. The topline results reveal some positive news, while also demonstrating the pervasive persistence of anti-Semitic tropes in our society. On the bright side, a relatively low share of Americans harbors significant anti-Semitic attitudes, a…

Even in times of tragedy, there are glimmers of humanity. These moments of compassion, of kindness, give us hope for a better future for our children and our children’s children. Building a better world is what has motivated ADL’s work for more than 100 years, and what continues to impel us forward today. With that in mind, ADL’s professionals across the country have selected the decade’s Top 10 Moments of Hope in the United States. It’s hard to fathom how…