Research & Analysis

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, denying Americans’ constitutional right to abortion. Immediately, antisemites and extremists saw the decision as an opportunity to attack abortion rights and to link their hatred of abortion to their antisemitism. Antisemites took to online platforms, some pushing age-old antisemitic tropes of Jewish control and conspiracy, while others demonized Judaism as a baby-killing religion. This piece explores the phenomenon&nbsp…

Do you have someone in your life who has been drawn in by a conspiracy theory? Has their behavior changed and you’re not sure how you can help? Perhaps your parents have ventured down the QAnon rabbit hole and have become obsessed with trying to decode social media posts by public figures. They send you a daily stream of articles and YouTube videos about how the government is controlled by pedophiles who are running a child sex trafficking ring, and they’re especially worried…

UPDATE 8/18: Following ADL's investigation, YouTube terminated both the First Works Baptist Church and Verity Baptist Church channels. In recent months, pastors affiliated with the virulently antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement have taken advantage of YouTube Shorts, significantly expanding the reach of their hateful content. Using this relatively new social media tool, some New IFB pastors have increased the average viewership on their…

Antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly in regard to a Florida-based Jewish judge, are circulating widely online in response to the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago.

As the primary season comes to an end, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) continues to monitor a range of candidates who hold extreme views, associate with extremists, spread disinformation and/or promote potentially dangerous conspiracy theories. In the course of this research, the COE has identified two particularly concerning failed extremist candidates who hold anti-government and white supremacist ideologies and have shared antisemitic views online. These men did not openly express or…

An analysis of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' online GiveSendGo campaign shows that conspiratorial narratives and figures are motivating donors to contribute.

On August 11, 2022, Ricky Shiffer reportedly attempted to breach the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the attack he fired a nail gun and brandished an assault rifle, fleeing initially in his car then on foot and exchanging gunfire with police. After a lengthy standoff in a cornfield, he was shot and killed by police.  Shiffer, 42, of Columbus, Ohio, is a former Navy sailor. He appears to be an extreme supporter of former president Trump who, like others, considered the FBI…

UPDATE: August 16, 2022: Adam Bies, a photographer from Mercer, PA, was arrested on August 12 for making violent threats against the FBI on Gab. While the threats appear to be in response to the FBI search of Mar-A-Lago, there is no evidence that Bies is an extreme supporter of former president Trump. Bies, who has expressed strong anti-government and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, does echo some QAnon rhetoric, claiming, for instance, that members of the federal government are &ldquo…

Islamist extremists online are taking note of three new English language publications—two linked to Al Qaeda and one from ISIS. All three magazines are positioned to fill the void left by the dissolution of Al Qaeda’s notorious Inspire magazine.   Founded by American jihadist Anwar al Awlaki, Inspire quickly gained the attention of Islamist extremists and the researchers who monitor them. The first English-language, Western-focused jihadist magazine, Inspire included…

Right wing public figures, notably U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), are sharing homophobic and potentially dangerous lies about the transmission of the monkeypox virus. These false narratives, which paint the LGBTQ+ community as child predators, put that community at significant risk. They are also easily debunked.   Background  On July 22, 2022, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky was interviewed on Washington Post Live to discuss the current state of COVID and…

Prominent white supremacists are promoting, discussing and sometimes donating to, a crowdfunding campaign for two of Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers, Gregory and Travis McMichael. Arbery, a Black man, was murdered on February 23, 2020 while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood by Gregory McMichael, his son Travis and William Bryan. In the months since, both McMichaels and Bryan were convicted of hate crime charges and murder. In response, Gregory and Travis McMichael have filed separate appeals…

Teachers are increasingly under attack from extremist groups and government officials, who accuse them of “indoctrinating” children or express anger over coronavirus prevention policies. These sustained disinformation campaigns have led to harassment and threats against teachers, and as a result many educators are leaving teaching altogether. While these external extremist pressures are creating significant challenges for American teachers and school boards, there is also an…

Background The Jisr Collective is an antisemitic, anonymous, self-identified “anti-imperialist diaspora media collective” that re-posts hardline anti-Zionist analysis on its website and frequently propagates inflammatory messages on social media. Their website states that they aim to “counter what can only be described as increased normalization with imperialism and zionism [sic] in our communities in the western diaspora.” They explicitly assert their opposition to…

On July 4, 2022, 21-year-old Robert Crimo allegedly opened fire on an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people and wounding nearly two dozen others. Crimo, who reportedly considered a second attack in Madison, Wisconsin, has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Crimo’s motivation for the shooting remains unknown, and there is no evidence at this time that he adhered to any specific political or hate-driven ideology. Amidst this…

The Mapping Project, an antisemitic website that calls for the “dismantling” of organizations key to the infrastructure of the Massachusetts Jewish community, has garnered broad support from U.S. State Department-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Iranian government-controlled Press TV. This endorsement is representative of an entrenched dynamic via which PFLP, Press TV and some U.S. anti-Zionist activists offer mutual support,…

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, pastors affiliated with the New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement are advocating for the state-sanctioned execution of people who perform or get abortions.

On the evening of June 24, 2022, “Q,” the anonymous figure whose online posts sparked the widespread QAnon conspiracy movement, re-emerged after more than 18 months of silence.

The ADL Center on Extremism documented 187 incidents from 2012-2021 in which extremists used firearms to commit murder or violently engage with law enforcement. During these incidents, extremists killed 325 people and wounded 252.

With Pride month in full swing, extremists are making news by targeting LGBTQ+ events, groups and people. The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has tracked a spate of extremist activity around Pride celebrations nationwide, fueled in part by the claim that members of the LGBTQ+ community are pedophiles who are “grooming” children.