A new report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that white supremacist propaganda was at an all-time high in 2022 across the United States.
The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) in 2022 tracked what it described as a “significant increase” in propaganda efforts by far-right groups, recording 6,751 incidents, a 38 percent increase over 2021.
The activity included the nation-wide distribution of antisemitic and racist flyers, stickers, banners and posters as well graffiti. There were also incidents of laser projections of hateful messages on buildings and stadiums.
Reported cases of propaganda specifically targeting Jews more than doubled from 352 in 2021 to 852 in 2022.
“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans and have significantly stepped up their use of propaganda as a tactic to make their presence known in communities nationwide,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.
“This is a cowardly attempt to intimidate marginalized communities and those who don’t align with their twisted worldview and draw in new recruits. In response to this threat, we must recommit ourselves to the fight against hate and say, ‘Enough is enough.’ We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.”
Propaganda was found in every state except Hawaii. The highest levels were reported in Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Utah, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia.
Three white supremacist groups – Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League (GDL) and White Lives Matter (WLM) – were behind 93 percent of the cases.
The Goyim Defense League has been documented in multiple instances distributing antisemitic pamphlets in neighbourhoods across the US, leaving the flyers on driveways and porches.
The antisemitic group was behind 492 propaganda incidents in 2022, representing 58 percent of antisemitic propaganda incidents in 2022.
ADL noted that “this is a significant increase from the 74 GDL propaganda incidents recorded in 2021. The massive uptick in antisemitic propaganda overall was largely due to GDL’s growth over the course of the year.”
But the survey found that Texas-based Patriot Front was responsible for the vast majority of propaganda distributions in 2022 (80 percent), targeting every state except Alaska and Hawaii.
“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” said Oren Segal, Vice President of ADL Center on Extremism. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear. These actions are also being documented by the extremists themselves in order to signal back to their communities online, which provides an on-ramp to further engagement with white supremacy and hate.”
According to ADL, propaganda campaigns allow white supremacists to “maximize media and online attention for their groups and messaging while limiting the risk of individual exposure, negative media coverage, arrests and public backlash that often accompanies more public activities.” The propaganda also allows a small group to have an oversized impact, ADL explained.
“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal said.