Increase in U.S. White Supremacist Propaganda

A new report shows incidents of white supremacist propaganda are on the rise in the U.S. both on and off campuses in the country, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL, an anti-bias nonprofit organization, released a report this week showing a strong increase in white supremacist propaganda incidents between 2017 and 2019, particularly those off U.S. college campuses. In 2019, the ADL recorded a total of 2713 incidents compared to 1214 in 2018 and 428 in 2017. Most of the growth occurred in off campus incidents, with 134 in 2017, 894 in 2018 and 2083 in 2019.

The ADL also highlighted three main groups responsible for roughly 91 percent of all incidents, with Patriot Front accounting for 66 percent, American Identity Movement with 16 percent and the New Jersey European Heritage Association with 9 percent of all propaganda. Most of the propaganda distributed by these groups was in the form of banners and fliers near college campuses and public gathering areas.

While propaganda incidents were up, the ADL documented 20 percent fewer white supremacist events in 2019 than in 2018.