Everyone Has A Role In Fighting White Supremacy And Online Hate

By Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League


Around the world, a very specific and pervasive sort of hatred is on the rise once more. While white supremacists have routinely existed across the United States and in other parts of the world, they’ve been growing in number and becoming more violent in recent years. They’re far from the only sort of hate order out there, nevertheless they are one of the most insidious. White supremacists direct their hatred against racial and ethnic minorities, girls, the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone they perceive to be the enemy of the “white race.”


White supremacists openly embrace toxic forms of bigotry like anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia. They contributor for population separation on the basis of race and for an end to non-white immigration to the U.S. And Europe. They never believe that the U.S. Should welcome people of different backgrounds or promote diversity and multiculturalism. White supremacists feel threatened by people who think, look, act, or worship differently from them. Some days white supremacists go behind ideology and carry out violence against their perceived enemies.


you could know them as “white nationalists.” Some days they refer to themselves as “identitarians,” “pro-white advocates,” or the “alt-right.” However without consideration of whichever term they use, their beliefs are based on bigotry, ignorance, fear, and hatred.


Since its founding in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has monitored the white supremacist movement for decades; we also work to inform and educate the public about the movement, its impact, and what can be done to counter it. And we visualize and know how white supremacist hate and bigotry can have deadly and devastating consequences.


Over the last four years, we have seen white supremacists murder multiple people in houses of worship alone: One perpetrator killed nine Black parishioners in a church in South Carolina; another killed 11 Jewish people attending a synagogue in Pittsburgh. One attacker killed  51 Muslims in two mosques in New Zealand. In Poway, California, nevertheless another attacker killed one individual and injured several others at another synagogue.


This past summer, a white supremacist was charged with murdering 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. He had driven nine hours to reach the city that shares several of its resources with the Mexican city of Juárez; the attacker invoked what he thought to be a “Hispanic invasion of Texas” as his motive. “I am simply defending my nation from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion,” he claimed.


It’s not only violent acts that have an impact. White supremacists express hateful ideology every day on social media, message boards, video-sharing sites, and online games — and few corporations are perfectly equipped to curb the spread of such hatred, if they even pick to act at all. An ADL survey of Americans noticed that harassment is particularly high on Twitch, Reddit, and Discord, and contributes to the continued rise in online hate in general. 37 percent of American adults surveyed announced experiencing severe digital harassment (including physical threats, sexual harassment, stalking and sustained harassment), up from 18 percent in 2017.


Online hate ruins lives by stoking fear, silencing voices, and causing damage to people’s physical and professional safety — all of which have a serious and lasting effect on victims and their families. And just because it happens digitally doesn’t mean it should be taken far less seriously. A pixelated threat is as much a threat as a physical one.


We also know that white supremacists are working online and across borders to spread their hateful ideologies in a manner that previously simply wasn’t possible. White supremacists also target young people, especially white teenagers, on these platforms, along with in real-life activity by posting racist and anti-Semitic propaganda on college campuses and in other parts of the community. Several white supremacists use bigoted humor, and platforms like gaming sites and chats to attract young people to their ideology. They’ve used tactics like “shitposting” and memes to move white supremacist language, symbols, and talking points into the mainstream in an effort to“normalize” them.


Although hatred should never be normal.


Right now, as much as ever, it is most crucial to question what you’re seeing online, be aware of hateful tactics, and push back against hate. It’s up to people of all races and religions to join in the fight against hate, although it’s particularly key for the young people targeted to let white supremacists know that they refuse their ideology and will not tolerate attacks on other members of the community. There really are actions you could take to empower yourself and help others fight back, as well.


Each person has a role. Whether you're a student, a parent, a corporate CEO, or a grassroots community activist, we need legions of volunteers and leaders to step up in the battle against hate.


Most importantly, we need everyday Residents of the
U.S. To arm themselves with data. Each person can learn to figure out hate symbols, which are generally images nevertheless can also include haircuts and hand gestures. And the more aware we are of the way these websites, videos, games, and memes spread, the better off we’ll all be.


Another supportive skill is skepticism about what you’re seeing online, and learning about how to figure out and deconstruct online propaganda. White supremacists often attempt to take advantage of young people’s openness and susceptibility, so being aware of how they manipulate intelligence online and use propaganda to spread their worldview is critically important.


To challenge or push back on white supremacy, we also need tech firms to step up their efforts to combat hate speech. You could can assist by reporting hateful content to tech companies, or by joining our Backspace Hate initiative and signing this online petition calling on state representatives to hold perpetrators of online hate accountable.


Fighting hate online and in real life is most crucial. It is up to each of us to act as an ally and speak out as soon as someone is being targeted based on an aspect of their identity — including their appearance, disability, race, religion, gender and gender expression, sexual orientation, or any intersection of those. It makes a difference in building a more respectful, safe, and inclusive world — both online, and off.


For more on how to join the fight against hate, visit race.Mtv.Com