All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.
Alternate Names: NLYS
Never Lose Your Smile is a design/meme consisting of the phrase “Never Lose Your Smile” accompanied by the Totenkopf skull image or, more commonly, merely the bottom half of that skull, which obscures its true nature and thus allows the image to pass unnoticed as a white supremacist symbol. The deceptive nature of this design has also allowed extremists to sell clothing, patches, and other items featuring the image on major internet platforms without triggering moderation.
Some Never Lose Your Smile images may also contain the colors or designs of national flags. Other variations use Totenkopf imagery with a slightly different phrase, such as “Never Lose Your Love” or “Never Lose Your Hope.”
Some white supremacists have also used the phrase alone, without the skull, in circumstances such as screen names. However, use of the phrase by itself without a clear white supremacist context should not be taken for granted as hate-related.
White supremacists likely borrowed this concept from older, non-extremist designs that combined the phrase with non-Totenkopf skull images. Use of the “Never Lose Your Smile” slogan in combination with generic skulls or other non-white supremacist images, such as generic clowns, should not be considered hate related.
Additional Images
