Profiting from Hate: Platforms’ Ad Placement Problem
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ADL and TTP examines whether four major social media platforms are potentially profiting from ad placements alongside searches for hate groups and extremists.
Suspect in California Anti-LGBTQ+ Murder Embraced Full Range of Right-Wing Hate
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A deadly dispute over an LGBTQ+ Pride Flag in Cedar Glen, California, is just the latest attack in a landscape of rising anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism. On August 18, 2023, Travis Ikeguchi allegedly shot and killed Laura “Lauri” Ann Carleton right after Ikeguchi made anti-LGBTQ+ remarks about the rainbow flag outside of Carleton’s clothing store. Ikeguchi was later killed in a shootout with police.
An ADL Center on Extremism investigation into social media…
White Supremacist Hardy Lloyd Arrested for Threatening Tree of Life Jurors
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On August 10, 2023, federal authorities arrested longtime white supremacist Hardy Lloyd in West Virginia. The arrest follows years of Lloyd’s incendiary and threatening online posts, but the charges are tied to his activities surrounding the trial of Robert Bowers, the white supremacist who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
Lloyd is charged with obstruction of the due administration of justice, transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce, and…
1. Stew Peters is a far-right conspiracy theorist, radio show host, Christian nationalist and prolific antisemite. Peters rose from obscurity to national prominence in 2022, thanks in large part to the success of several conspiratorial documentaries he released that year, most notably the anti-vaccine film “Died Suddenly.” Since then, Peters has emerged as one of the most influential right-wing conspiracy theorists in the United States, gaining public notoriety for his hate…
Facing Charges, Some Goyim Defense League Extremists Embrace “Sovereign Citizen” Tactics
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As they rack up littering charges for distributing propaganda, some individuals associated with the antisemitic and extremist Goyim Defense League (GDL)—including leader Jon Minadeo—have adopted pseudo-legal “sovereign citizen” tactics in a misguided attempt to escape legal troubles.
The sovereign citizen movement is a far-right, anti-government extremist faction whose adherents claim that the government is illegitimate and has no jurisdiction or authority over them…
Another Weekend of Hate: Neo-Nazis Gather in Florida
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On June 10, 2023, eighteen white supremacists – from two different neo-Nazi groups - held three separate demonstrations in Florida. At least six participants traveled from out of state for the events, which took place outside Disney World in Orlando and at a park in Lakeland. These gatherings show how profoundly a small group of extremists can impact entire communities -- and make residents feel that the hate is local.
At the gathering in Orlando, thirteen individuals associated with…
The Dangers of Manipulated Media and Video: Deepfakes and More
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As artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies become more user-friendly, extremists and conspiracy theorists are using deepfakes, AI-generated audio and other forms of synthetic media to spread harmful, hateful and misleading content online.
Background & Definitions
Synthetic media is media content which has been fully or partially generated by technology, typically through artificial intelligence or machine learning processes. This includes any…
Quds Day Vitriol Offers No Cover for Iran’s Bankrupt Regime
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By Meir Javedanfar
Last month, the Islamic Republic of Iran again marked Quds Day, which has been commemorated on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan by the clerical regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with its usual chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” Over the decades, Tehran has repeatedly used Quds Day as an opportunity to spread anti-Israel hatred, incite violence against Israelis, and call for the destruction of the Jewish state…
Data compiled by the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) shows that QAnon-related content has surged on Twitter since Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform last fall.
QAnon is a decentralized, far-right political movement rooted in a baseless conspiracy theory that the world is controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles known as the “Deep State,” which can only be stopped by former President Trump, and that these individuals will be brought to justice during a violent…
Allen Gunman’s Writings Reveal a Disturbed, Hateful Man—But No Clear Motive
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On the afternoon of May 6, 2023, a gunman opened fire in a mall parking lot in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas. The shooter killed eight people and wounded seven more before a police officer shot and killed him.
Authorities later identified the gunman as 33-year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia. Unlike some other recent perpetrators of mass shootings, Garcia composed no manifesto or document explaining the reason for his violent spree. However, he did leave behind voluminous writings,…
Shooter in Allen, Texas, Embraced Antisemitism, Misogyny and White Supremacy
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Preliminary research by the ADL Center on Extremism appears to show Mauricio Garcia, the suspect in the Allen, Texas, mass shooting, was obsessed with violence and subscribed to a range of extremist ideologies, including antisemitism, violent misogyny and white supremacy.
An initial assessment of a massive social media trove, which ADL researchers can link to Garcia with a high degree of confidence, reveals a preoccupation with violence that manifests in a wide range of hate, including…
2023 Quds Day Rallies Bring Antisemitism to the Fore
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Throughout the weekend of April 14th, 2023, multiple rallies across the U.S. celebrated the annual Quds Day, or “Jerusalem Day,” a display of anti-Israel activism originally conceived by the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Many of the events descended into antisemitism and support for violence/terror against Israel. In several instances, rally-goers and speakers called for Israel’s dissolution, venerated members of terror groups and…
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) 2023 Featured Expressions of Antisemitism
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Some activities across the U.S. marking the 17th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), which is a series of worldwide anti-Israel events spearheaded by the BDS Movement and rooted in antizionism and antisemitism, featured instances of overt antisemitism and expressions of support for violence against Israel. As is typically the case, anti-Zionist campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was the primary organizer of IAW, spearheading most of the approximately 16 apartheid walls and…
Anti-Zionism as Antisemitism: How Anti-Zionist Language from the Left and Right Vilifies Jews
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It is an unfortunate fact that seven decades after Israel’s founding, some criticism of the country continues to promote age-old antisemitic tropes. Even before Israel was founded, conversations about the Zionist movement and the creation of the State of Israel at times included explicit anti-Jewish animus or espoused ideas historically wielded against Jewish communities (e.g., the claim that a “cabal” is manipulating political affairs). Today, many anti-Zionist activists…
Antisemitism, False Information and Hate Speech Find a Home on Substack
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Substack, a subscription-based online newsletter platform for independent writers, continues to attract extremists and conspiracy theorists who routinely use the site to profit from spreading antisemitism, misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
Platforms with more lenient content moderation policies, like Substack, provide fertile ground for the spread of hateful rhetoric and false information – a known catalyst for offline harm and violence. For example, seemingly fringe…
2022 Anti-Israel Shareholder Activism Points to Broader Divestment Strategy
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Shareholders of publicly traded companies in the United States have long proposed resolutions to encourage more responsible corporate behavior. These can include demands to divest from certain funds or entities, uphold codes of conduct or make tangible commitments to improving business practices. This type of activism dates to the 1970s and is used by a range of organizations to garner support for their causes. Anti-Israel activists and investors with anti-weapons investment screens or anti…
Fuentes Delivers Antisemitic, “Christian Nationalist” Rant to Fellow White Supremacists
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As quickly as hotel security removed white supremacist Nick Fuentes from CPAC 2023, the Groyper found another receptive audience for his antisemitism and racism. The "Fuentes Rally" took place on March 4, 2023, at Marriott’s Residence Inn at the National Harbor in Maryland. Reporters were not allowed inside the event.
Although Fuentes and other Groypers bragged online that the event was at “venue capacity,” the hotel website indicates the capacity of their largest event…
At CPAC 2023, Anti-Transgender Hate Took Center Stage
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On March 1st, the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) kicked off a four-day conference in Washington, D.C. – and anti-transgender hate was at the top of the agenda.
The conference featured an array of speakers including prominent Republican politicians and policymakers as well as right-wing pundits. They were joined by conspiracy theorists like Jack Posobiec, purveyors of COVID disinformation like Dr. Robert Malone and anti-LGBTQ+ extremists like Chaya Raichik…
Extremists Co-opt Norfolk Southern Train Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio
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In the aftermath of the February 3, 2023, freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a range of misinformation and unfounded claims has emerged as extremists and conspiracy theorists leverage the event for their own political and ideological gain. This includes the white supremacist and virulently antisemitic National Justice Party (NJP), which has capitalized on the outrage and suspicions around the Norfolk incident to organize protests in Ohio and Georgia, promoting their…