ADL Articles

UPDATE 8/18: Following ADL's investigation, YouTube terminated both the First Works Baptist Church and Verity Baptist Church channels. In recent months, pastors affiliated with the virulently antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement have taken advantage of YouTube Shorts, significantly expanding the reach of their hateful content. Using this relatively new social media tool, some New IFB pastors have increased the average viewership on their…

Antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly in regard to a Florida-based Jewish judge, are circulating widely online in response to the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago.

As the primary season comes to an end, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) continues to monitor a range of candidates who hold extreme views, associate with extremists, spread disinformation and/or promote potentially dangerous conspiracy theories. In the course of this research, the COE has identified two particularly concerning failed extremist candidates who hold anti-government and white supremacist ideologies and have shared antisemitic views online. These men did not openly express or…

An analysis of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' online GiveSendGo campaign shows that conspiratorial narratives and figures are motivating donors to contribute.

On August 11, 2022, Ricky Shiffer reportedly attempted to breach the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the attack he fired a nail gun and brandished an assault rifle, fleeing initially in his car then on foot and exchanging gunfire with police. After a lengthy standoff in a cornfield, he was shot and killed by police.  Shiffer, 42, of Columbus, Ohio, is a former Navy sailor. He appears to be an extreme supporter of former president Trump who, like others, considered the FBI…

UPDATE: August 16, 2022: Adam Bies, a photographer from Mercer, PA, was arrested on August 12 for making violent threats against the FBI on Gab. While the threats appear to be in response to the FBI search of Mar-A-Lago, there is no evidence that Bies is an extreme supporter of former president Trump. Bies, who has expressed strong anti-government and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, does echo some QAnon rhetoric, claiming, for instance, that members of the federal government are &ldquo…

Islamist extremists online are taking note of three new English language publications—two linked to Al Qaeda and one from ISIS. All three magazines are positioned to fill the void left by the dissolution of Al Qaeda’s notorious Inspire magazine.   Founded by American jihadist Anwar al Awlaki, Inspire quickly gained the attention of Islamist extremists and the researchers who monitor them. The first English-language, Western-focused jihadist magazine, Inspire included…

Right wing public figures, notably U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), are sharing homophobic and potentially dangerous lies about the transmission of the monkeypox virus. These false narratives, which paint the LGBTQ+ community as child predators, put that community at significant risk. They are also easily debunked.   Background  On July 22, 2022, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky was interviewed on Washington Post Live to discuss the current state of COVID and…

Prominent white supremacists are promoting, discussing and sometimes donating to, a crowdfunding campaign for two of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers, Gregory and Travis McMichael. Arbery, a Black man, was murdered on February 23, 2020 while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood by Gregory McMichael, his son Travis and William Bryan. In the months since, both McMichaels and Bryan were convicted of hate crime charges and murder. In response, Gregory and Travis McMichael have filed separate appeals…

Background The Jisr Collective is an antisemitic, anonymous, self-identified “anti-imperialist diaspora media collective” that re-posts hardline anti-Zionist analysis on its website and frequently propagates inflammatory messages on social media. Their website states that they aim to “counter what can only be described as increased normalization with imperialism and zionism [sic] in our communities in the western diaspora.” They explicitly assert their opposition to…

On July 4, 2022, 21-year-old Robert Crimo allegedly opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people and wounding nearly two dozen others. Crimo, who reportedly considered a second attack in Madison, Wisconsin, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Crimo’s motivation for the shooting remains unknown, and there is no evidence at this time that he adhered to any specific political or hate-driven ideology. Amidst this…

The Mapping Project, an antisemitic website that calls for the “dismantling” of organizations key to the infrastructure of the Massachusetts Jewish community, has garnered broad support from U.S. State Department-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Iranian government-controlled Press TV. This endorsement is representative of an entrenched dynamic via which PFLP, Press TV and some U.S. anti-Zionist activists offer mutual support,…

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, pastors affiliated with the New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement are advocating for the state-sanctioned execution of people who perform or get abortions.

The ADL Center on Extremism documented 187 incidents from 2012-2021 in which extremists used firearms to commit murder or violently engage with law enforcement. During these incidents, extremists killed 325 people and wounded 252.

With Pride month in full swing, extremists are making news by targeting LGBTQ+ events, groups and people. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has tracked a spate of extremist activity around Pride celebrations nationwide, fueled in part by the claim that members of the LGBTQ+ community are pedophiles who are “grooming” children.

In May 2022, young American right-wing activists attended the CPAC Hungary conference and held their own meeting with youth leaders of xenophobic and ethno-nationalist European political parties. This gathering, along with the CPAC Hungary event, demonstrates the interconnectedness of American and European far-right thinking, and highlights the xenophobic, nationalistic rhetoric that is being promoted – and applauded – on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of the young American attendees also have ties to right-wing extremists.

In recent years, several college campuses across the Midwest have seen a troubling pattern of antisemitic anti-Israel activity. Recent examples have included: the targeting of Hillel, the premier center for Jewish student life on college campuses, with graffiti reading “Free Palestine” and an object thrown during an anti-Israel protest; the dissemination of a pamphlet depicting Israeli Jews as pigs; a call to “LEAVE [Israel] if you are Jewish” and a meme posted on social media encouraging others to “start shaming Zionists” to “go back to Brooklyn.”

The American Conservative Union held a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, Hungary, May 19-22, 2022, marking the first time the gathering has been held in Europe. Speakers from both the U.S. and Hungary delivered speeches that referred to America’s “wokeness” and framed a “fight” to save America and the West from “socialism,” liberal democracy and the progressive left.

Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) Day, held on May 15 each year, is marked by Palestinians and their supporters, including many anti-Israel activists, as a day to mourn the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and advocate for the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees.

The ADL Center on Extremism has found remarkable parallels and overlap between online manifestos posted by accused Buffalo shooting perpetrator Payton Gendron and Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant. While Gendron’s language is notably more antisemitic than Tarrant’s, entire portions of the texts are identical.