White Supremacist Propaganda Incidents Soar to Record High in 2023

Executive Summary

Each year, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) tracks the distribution of white supremacist propaganda and the number of events organized or attended by white supremacists. Since 2018, we have published this information in an annual assessment.

In 2023, for the second year in a row, ADL recorded its highest ever number of white supremacist propaganda incidents, with a total of 7,567 cases. This is a 12 percent increase from the 6,746 incidents in 2022.

There was also a 30 percent increase in specifically antisemitic propaganda, rising to 1,112 incidents in 2023 from 852 incidents in 2022. This increase was largely due to the white supremacist group Patriot Front reincorporating antisemitic phrases into their propaganda. It was also buoyed by anti-Zionist and anti-Israel sentiment following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda by white supremacists saw a massive 141 percent jump, increasing from 68 incidents in 2022 to 164 in 2023.

There were 282 documented white supremacist events in 2023, a 63 percent increase from the 173 recorded in 2022.

This annual assessment is just one dataset that helps to quantify the hate marginalized communities, especially those who are Jewish, LGBTQ+, Black or immigrants, face on a daily basis. The numbers in this assessment are subject to change as law enforcement and other stakeholders release information that could increase the total amount of propaganda incidents in individual states.

Overview

In 2023, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) tracked a double-digit increase in white supremacist propaganda efforts, setting a new record for the second year in a row. The incidents, which included the distribution of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ fliers, stickers, banners, graffiti, posters and laser projections increased 12 percent from 2022, with a total of 7,567 cases reported in 2023, compared to 6,746 cases reported the previous year. This is the highest number of white supremacist propaganda incidents ADL has recorded since 2017, the first year we tracked these numbers.

In addition to an overall increase in incidents, 2023 saw a 30 percent increase in antisemitic propaganda, which jumped from 852 incidents in 2022 to 1,112 in 2023. Anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda saw a massive 141 percent surge, increasing from 68 incidents in 2022 to 164 in 2023. For the fourth straight year, the number of overall propaganda incidents on campuses dropped, from 219 to 59, the lowest since ADL began tracking campus incidents in 2017.

Propaganda campaigns are hugely popular among white supremacist groups and movements because they provoke media and online attention for the groups and messaging while limiting the risk of individual exposure, arrests and public backlash that often accompany more public activities. Propaganda, which can affect entire communities, allows a small number of people to have an outsized impact.

In 2023, propaganda was reported in the District of Columbia and every U.S. state except Hawaii and Alaska, with the highest levels of activity (from most to least active) in Virginia, Texas, California, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan, Maryland and North Carolina. The ADL H.E.A.T. Map provides a visual representation of the propaganda efforts by geographic location.

Antisemitic Propaganda Distribution

In 2023, ADL recorded 1,112 propaganda incidents that included antisemitic language or symbols, targeted Jewish institutions or both. This marks a 30 percent increase from the 852 antisemitic propaganda distributions recorded in 2022.

2023’s notable rise in antisemitic propaganda was largely due to Patriot Front’s return to the use of antisemitic messaging in its propaganda. Another contributor was the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. As white supremacist leaders applauded Hamas and violence against Israelis online, ADL recorded an uptick in antisemitic anti-Israel and anti-Zionist white supremacist propaganda on the ground.

“No more wars for Israel,” the common theme in many post-October 7 incidents, is a longstanding antisemitic slogan embraced and used primarily by antisemites on the far right (such as white supremacists). The slogan falsely implies that Jews/Israel effectively control U.S. foreign policy, and that U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere has been solely or primarily for the benefit of Israel.

In other instances, the propaganda was more explicit and included the phrases, “Our tax $ fund Israeli blood lust,” “Zionism = Terrorism,” “Death to Israel,” “Jews aren’t worth dying for” and “End Jewish Terror.”  

^{Sampling of white supremacist propaganda following Hamas attack on Israel.}

The Perpetrators

In 2023, more than 50 different white supremacist groups and networks distributed propaganda, but three of them – Patriot Front, National Justice Party (NJP) and Goyim Defense League (GDL) – were responsible for 92 percent of activity.

For the fifth year in a row, Texas-based Patriot Front was responsible for the vast majority – 60 percent – of propaganda distributions. The group distributed propaganda in every state except Alaska, Delaware and Hawaii, but was most active (from most to least active) in Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Since rebranding in 2018, Patriot Front has avoided using traditional or explicit white supremacist language and symbols in their propaganda, opting for the more palatable red, white and blue aesthetics of “Patriot Nationalism” to promote its white supremacist ideology. In 2023, the group continued to use ambiguous “patriotic” phrases like “Not stolen, conquered,” “United we stand” and “America First.” They also used explicitly anti-immigration phrases like “One nation against invasion” and “American by blood.” The latter slogan echoes a passage from their manifesto which claims “membership within the American nation is inherited through blood. Not ink.”

After a four-year hiatus from using antisemitic rhetoric in its propaganda, Patriot Front reverted to form in December 2022. In 2023, the group distributed antisemitic propaganda on at least 431 occasions, making up 38 percent of the year’s antisemitic propaganda incidents. In most of these incidents, the propaganda included the phrase “No Zionists in government, we serve one Nation.” Given the group’s neo-Nazi roots, there is little question that when Patriot Front mentions “Zionists” in their propaganda, they mean Jews. On several occasions, the group also displayed banners with the antisemitic phrase “Merchants have no nation,” meaning “Jews have no nation.”

^{Sampling of fliers distributed by Patriot Front in 2023.}

Though they were not previously known for distributing propaganda, National Justice Party (NJP)  launched an aggressive propaganda campaign in 2023. The group was responsible for at least 1,924 propaganda incidents, roughly 25 percent of total activity nationwide.

Using a red and black motif, NJP’s common slogans include “White unity,” “White solidarity,” “Our nation our duty” and “Confronting the anti-white system.” Despite NJP’s virulently antisemitic platform, only one percent of their propaganda in 2023 was antisemitic, and included the phrases, “The Holocaust is an anti-white lie” and “Cancel culture is Jewish culture.”

ADL researchers recorded NJP propaganda in 42 states, with the majority of the incidents (from most to least active) in New York, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, California and Illinois.

While NJP made a significant contribution to the 2023 white supremacist propaganda count, the group appears to have dissolved as of December 2023, following a series of compounding internal and leadership squabbles. At the time of this report, ADL has not documented any NJP propaganda incidents in 2024.

^{Sampling of fliers distributed by National Justice Party in 2023.}

The Goyim Defense League (GDL), an antisemitic network that has significant crossover with other white supremacist groups and movements, was responsible for at least 511 propaganda incidents in 2023, representing roughly seven percent of the total propaganda incidents nationwide and 46 percent of the year’s antisemitic propaganda incidents. This is a slight increase from the 492 GDL propaganda incidents recorded in 2022.

GDL’s overarching goal is to expel Jews from America. To that end, their propaganda casts aspersions on Jews and spreads antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories in hopes of turning Americans against Jewish people. GDL’s 2023 propaganda made baseless charges about Jewish power, and blamed Jews for a range of perceived social ills, including immigration, pornography, abortion and gun laws. In addition to being antisemitic, 23 percent of GDL’s 2023 propaganda also targeted the LGBTQ+ community.

GDL propaganda was recorded in 39 different states, with the highest number of incidents (from most to least active) in California, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland and Colorado.

Since at least September 2023, individuals associated with GDL have mailed antisemitic post cards and other propaganda to the homes and offices of public officials and Jewish leaders around the country. This method of propaganda distribution continues to gain traction in 2024.

^{Sampling of fliers distributed by Goyim Defense League in 2023.}

The overlapping White Lives Matter (WLM) and Active Club networks account for approximately four percent of the remaining propaganda distributions. While WLM propaganda was recorded in 26 different states and Active Club propaganda was recorded in 27, their activity overlapped in 18.

WLM, a white supremacist network that engages in “pro-white activism” on a designated day each month, was responsible for 160 propaganda incidents in 2023, a significant decrease from the 430 recorded in 2022. WLM propaganda ranges from “White Lives Matter” stickers, to messages about the "great replacement" conspiracy theory. Some WLM propaganda promotes or shares links to the antisemitic film "Europa: The Last Battle."

In 2023, the Active Club network, which is made up of localized white supremacist crews focused on fitness, was responsible for 178 propaganda distributions in 2023, nearly double the number – 92 – recorded in 2022. Largely inspired by Robert Rundo’s white supremacist Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.), many of the clubs use stickers from Will2Rise, R.A.M.’s merchandising arm. Some of the more established Active Clubs create their own propaganda.

White Supremacist Events

In 2023, ADL documented 282 white supremacist events, a 63 percent increase from the 173 recorded in 2022. Events took place in 40 states, with the most activity (from most to least active) in Texas, Ohio, Washington, Florida, California, Michigan and Tennessee.

ADL’s white supremacist event inventory includes public and private events in the U.S. organized or attended by five or more white supremacist individuals, including rallies and protests, counter-protests, flash mob demonstrations, private meetings and more.

Approximately 23 percent of 2023’s events were collaborative efforts between overlapping white supremacist groups and networks. Despite these collaborations, the vast majority of events – 75 percent – were small, with just five to 12 participants. Approximately 17 percent of events were slightly larger, with 13 to 24 participants, while the largest events – 25 or more participants – accounted for less than nine percent of total activity.

Patriot Front not only organized the most events – 39 percent – but also held the largest public events, including large marches in Washington D.C., Austin, Texas and Columbus, Ohio, with roughly 150, 100 and 80 participants, respectively.

The largest collaborative public event was a September “March of the Redshirts,” which drew about 50 people from Blood Tribe, Goyim Defense League, While Lives Matter, Dixieland Nationalists Club and Vinland Rebels. Participants, wearing matching red shirts and black masks, marched around Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte, Florida waving swastika flags, performing Hitler salutes and shouting “White power” and “Jews will not replace us.” Known participants hailed from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Missouri and Texas.

^{Neo-Nazi march on September 2 in Altamonte, Florida.  –  ADL Photo}

White supremacists sharply focused their hate on the LGBTQ+ community in 2023. More than 20 percent of white supremacist events included some element of anti-LGBTQ+ hate. On at least 39 occasions, white supremacists demonstrated outside LGBTQ+ event venues, including drag shows and Pride festivals. A range of white supremacist groups and networks participated in these demonstrations including individuals associated with Active Club Networks, Aryan Freedom Network, Blood Tribe, Nationalist Social Club, Patriot Front and WLM.

Approximately 18 percent of 2023’s white supremacist events included at least one element of antisemitic harassment, from chants and written propaganda/signage to Hitler salutes, swastika flags and demonstrations targeting Jewish institutions.

Examples of events targeting Jewish Institutions:

Orlando, Florida, February 2023: Fifteen individuals associated with GDL held antisemitic banners and shouted obscenities at pedestrians and passing cars during a demonstration in front of the Chabad of South Orlando.

East Cobb and Macon, Georgia, June 2023: Approximately 11 individuals associated with GDL waved swastika flags and held antisemitic signs outside Jewish institutions in Georgia.

Toledo, Ohio, July 2023: At least 20 individuals associated with Blood Tribe demonstrated outside of the Toledo, Ohio Jewish Community Campus with tiki torches and swastika flags.

Missoula, Montana, October 2023: Approximately two dozen people associated with Vinland Rebels, White Lives Matter and the Active Club Network demonstrated in front of Congregation Har Shalom. The group displayed signs that read “Diversity = White Genocide” and “Refugees not welcome.”

Madison, Wisconsin, November 2023: During a march through downtown Madison, 20 individuals associated with Blood Tribe stopped in front of the Gates of Heaven synagogue. During the march the group shouted racial epithets as passersby and chanted “Israel is not our friend” and “There will be blood.”

Dallas, Texas, November 2023: Several individuals associated with GDL and Order of the Black Sun waved a Nazi flag and held antisemitic signs across the street from a North Dallas temple.

Donor Acknowledgments

The work of ADL’s Center on Extremism is supported, in part, through the generosity of: 

Anonymous (4)

The ADL Lewy Family Institute for Combatting Antisemitism         

Crown Family Philanthropies 

Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

Lillian and Larry Goodman Foundations

Mastercard Impact Fund

Quadrivium Foundation

The Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation

The Nancy K. Silverman Foundation

The Tepper Foundation

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

The Zegar Family Fund