White supremacy propaganda distribution and events increased by 38% in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League鈥檚 annual assessment of propaganda activity. In Texas, it increased by 61%.
The assessment recorded 6,751 incidents, with 527 of them happening in Texas.
ADL Southwest Regional Director Mark Toubin said it鈥檚 disappointing and anxiety-provoking. He said he believes Texas was so highly ranked because there are white supremacy groups that are based here.
鈥淧atriot Front, which is responsible for a large number, is based in Texas,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Goyim Defense League initiated a propaganda campaign in 2022 that appeared to focus highly on Texas. And the Aryan Freedom Network, which is based in Northeast Texas 鈥� appears to be more organized than before.鈥�
Three white supremacist groups were responsible for 93% of the activity: Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League (GDL), and White Lives Matter. Patriot Front was responsible for 80% of the distributions in 2022.
Toubin said he believes these groups feel they gain ground and use propaganda because it only requires a few people to have a greater impact and technically does not break any laws.
鈥淥ne of the reasons they use propaganda is because they鈥檙e not violating the law,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here may be technical violations in terms of trespassing or littering. These are efforts that are largely protected by the First Amendment. Their goal is to spread anxiety, to make marginalized groups feel threatened, and to have an outsized impact in effort to normalize their messages of hate.鈥�
Toubin said in the Greater Houston area there were 50 incidents in 2022. In January, Houston-based doctor .
Propaganda was reported in every state except Hawaii, with the highest levels of activity also being in Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Utah, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia.
The ADL Center on Extremism tracked activity like the distribution of anti-Semitic, racist and anti-LGBTQ+ fliers; the spread of stickers, banners, graffiti and posters, white supremacist gathering, and even hateful laser projections on buildings and stadiums.
Toubin said one encouraging thing about the incidents was how the communities rallied against it. Neighbors would help clean up and report the incidents each time, he said.
鈥淭hey spoke out and said 鈥楲ook, we don鈥檛 want this in our neighborhood,'鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have seen that in every situation where a neighborhood was impacted.鈥�
But he added that it shouldn鈥檛 be business as usual.
鈥淭hose who disagree and despise this hateful message that鈥檚 being propagated by these extremists can鈥檛 rely on others to speak out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incumbent upon every single person.鈥�
The report also documented 167 white supremacist events, which was a 55% increase from 2021. 219 incidents of propaganda distribution occurred on campuses and happened in 29 states. The most on-campus activity happened in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan. The study also found that the groups used banners draped over highway overpasses at least 252 times in 2022.
One way to help these incidents are by reporting trespassing, vandalism or harassment to law enforcement, and to not approach white supremacists who are actively engaged in protest or distribution.