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The Dark Side of Roblox: ‘Active Shooter Studios’ Create Maps Based on Real-Life Mass Shootings

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The logo of Active Shooter Studios (A.S.S.), which has gained notoriety for creating Roblox maps that replicate real-life mass shootings.
Roblox has established itself as one of the most popular online gaming platforms for children and teens, drawing millions of gamers worldwide on a daily basis. But beneath its kid-friendly façade, it has also been plagued by crisis and controversy surrounding issues such as content moderation, player safety and exposure to inappropriate content. More recently, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has uncovered a disturbing subculture on Roblox that centers around mass violence. A group…
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The Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism: Five Things to Know

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An illustrative image of a dictionary definition of Zionism
1. The Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism is a non-profit organization seeking to dismantle Zionism. The Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism (ICSZ) is a far-left, explicitly anti-Zionist non-profit organization founded in 2023 by prominent anti-Zionist activists and academics who seek the villainization and wholesale rejection of Zionism—the movement for the self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel—from academia…
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White Supremacist Propaganda Focused on Jews and Immigrants in 2024

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A collage of white supremacist propaganda flyers, featuring white supremacist groups and slogans
In 2024, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) documented white supremacist propaganda distributions in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, except Hawaii. Our 2024 assessment focuses on messaging-- the common themes behind the thousands upon thousands of propaganda incidents that have plagued American cities across the nation. White supremacist groups chose to respond to current events and the elevation of certain narratives in the media by tailoring their propaganda accordingly. In…
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Anti-Israel Activists Display Brazen Support for Terror at Hezbollah Chiefs’ Beirut Funeral

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In-person attendees at the joint funeral of Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 23, 2025, included (left to right) Charlotte Kates, Jackson Hinkle and Haz Al-Din
In a notable development for the anti-Israel movement, prominent American and international anti-Zionist activists traveled to Lebanon last month to attend the joint funeral of Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, leaders of the Lebanon-based, U.S.-designated terror group Hezbollah. Many other such activists marked the occasion by openly expressing their admiration for these notorious terror leaders at anti-Israel demonstrations and online. Attendees at Nasrallah and Safieddine’s…
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Farrakhan’s Influence and Absence Mark Nation of Islam’s Annual Conference

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An image of an eclipse on a black background, with the quote "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" in front of the eclipse. The image advertises a speech by Louis Frarakhan to be delivered at Nation of Islam's 2025 Saviours' Day conference.
The Nation of Islam (NOI) held its annual Saviours’ Day conference in Chicago, IL, from February 21–23, 2025. In a marked departure from over forty years of tradition, longtime NOI leader Louis Farrakhan, 91, was mostly absent from the weekend’s activities, which were also smaller in scale than usual. Nonetheless, Farrakhan and NOI’s familiar brand of conspiratorial and antisemitic rhetoric — including some of the same claims that Farrakhan made during his 2024…
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The Houthis: A Long Tradition of Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Hate

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On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump designated the Houthis (also called “Ansar Allah”), the Islamic Republic of Iran’s terror proxy in Yemen, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). This adds to their previous designation under the Biden administration as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). Together, the FTO and SDGT designations allow the US Government to target the Houthis more effectively. The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks…
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Mis- and Disinformation Trends and Tactics to Watch in 2025

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An illustration of a smartphone with flames
Throughout 2024, the ADL Center on Extremism documented the tactics deployed by extremists and purveyors of hate to promote false narratives, as well as the harmful impact of conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation on communities including Jews, immigrants and other marginalized groups. Predicting how extremists may weaponize false narratives requires an understanding of the strategies that allow them to spread most effectively. Here, we highlight three key mis-…
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Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Sparks Fresh Wave of Antisemitism, Support for Terror from U.S. Anti-Zionist Activists

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Participants, including one wearing a Hamas-style headband, take part in a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City’s Times Square on January 16, 2025
While much of the world welcomed the prospect of a pause in hostilities and the release of hostages following news of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in mid-January, leading voices in the U.S. anti-Zionist movement responded by doubling down on extreme and inflammatory positions and support for violent action. In online statements and at on-the-ground rallies in the days following the deal — which was announced on January 15, 2025, and officially began with a multiphase…
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Antioch, Tenn., Shooter Inspired by Broad Extremist Beliefs and Previous Mass Killers

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Antioch Tennessee shooter main
On January 22, 2025, a 17-year-old student opened fire inside the cafeteria at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The shooter killed one student and injured another before taking his own life.  Preliminary research by the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) found the shooter, who was Black, was fueled by violent misanthropic views, anti-Black hate and hateful extremist beliefs including inceldom and antisemitism. He subscribed to broad accelerationist beliefs, which hold…
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Tommy Robinson: Five Things to Know

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Tommy Robinson speaks at a demonstration at Richmond Terrace, Whitehall on April 23, 2024 in London, England
1. Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a British anti-Muslim bigot with ties to far-right groups in Europe. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is a former soccer hooligan who, around 2009, adopted the name Tommy Robinson from another infamous soccer hooligan associated with a football club in his hometown of Luton. In October 2024, he began serving an 18-month prison term for contempt of court related to an anti-Muslim libel lawsuit he lost in 2021. In 2004, Robinson joined…
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The Terrorgram Collective: International Terrorists Promoting Violence and White Supremacy

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A portion of the cover of The Hard Reset, the most recent publication released by the Terrorgram Collective.
On January 13, 2025, the United States Department of State designated the Terrorgram Collective and three of its foreign leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), formally including Terrorgram among other international terrorist groups.   Terrorgram is a decentralized network of white supremacist, neo-Nazi and accelerationist groups and individuals connected primarily through the encrypted social networking app Telegram, with the collective goal of promoting stochastic…
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Los Angeles Wildfires Trigger Conspiracy Theories and Hate

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A firefighter stands on top of a fire truck to battle the Palisades Fire while it burns homes on the Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
As devastating wildfires continue to decimate sections of Los Angeles, California, extremists and conspiracy theorists are spreading familiar falsehoods, blaming the blaze on common scapegoats such as diversity initiatives, Jews and nefarious government “false flags.” Fires that began in the Pacific Palisades area on January 7, 2025, are now part of a broader set of blazes across the city. Officials believe the fires were caused primarily by drought conditions, high winds and the…
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Palestine News Network (PNN): Five Things to Know

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A screenshot of PNN’s YouTube channel. (Screenshot/YouTube)
1. Overview: Palestine News Network (PNN) is a network of people who harass strangers, often Jews, prodding them about their stance on Palestine. The group also expresses support for anti-Israel terror and violence.   Individuals associated with PNN have a history of entering neighborhoods with significant Jewish populations, or approaching those attending Jewish or Israel-related events, where they shoot videos that walk the line between “interview” and provocation. PNN…
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Deadly New Orleans Attack Fuels Conspiracy Theories About Immigrants, Israel

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Photo credit: Michael DeMocker/Getty Images
The deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, left a city reeling and social media awash in hateful lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants, Israel and a government cover-up.    In the early morning of January 1, 2025, 42-year-old Houston, Texas resident Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove his car into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least fourteen people and injuring dozens more before he was shot and killed by police. While law enforcement is still…
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From One Voice to Many: Countering Antisemitism in a Pennsylvania Community

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From One Voice to Many: Countering Antisemitism in a Pennsylvania Community
When signs of antisemitism began to emerge in her community, a mother reached out to ADL, having learned the power of community activism and ADL’s impact from her father. On his first day of tennis practice, a freshman Jewish student at a high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia heard antisemitic “jokes” from the court next to him. He told his teammate, also Jewish, to knock it off, and that his words were antisemitic.    Dorothy Potash, mom of the freshman and a…
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Unity of Fields: What You Need to Know

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Unity of Fields shares an “anonymous” photo submission of vandals spray-painting Google offices in San Francisco on the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack
Unity of Fields (UoF), formerly Palestine Action U.S., is a radical far-left, anti-Zionist “direct action network” that engages in and/or promotes aggressive, targeted protests and the defacement of property belonging to Jewish and non-Jewish organizations and individuals it considers supportive of Israel or Zionism or “complicit” in Israel’s alleged actions. It has also called for "material action" that reads as violence in these contexts. This includes a quote…
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Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham: Extremist Record and Regional Ambitions of Syria’s New Rulers

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On November 27, 2024, Syrian rebel groups launched a major offensive against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Within days, forces led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and supported by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army and a range of anti-Assad militias, had taken Aleppo and Hama. On December 8, 2024, the rebel forces took Damascus, forcing Assad to flee the country. The HTS leadership quickly assumed control of government institutions, appointed an interim prime minister, and declared itself…
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