Watchdog group launches directory of far-right extremist symbols

More than two years after the deadly attack at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of politically and ideologically motivated right-wing extremists, far-right domestic terror and hate groups pose a high threat to democracy.

Incidents of domestic terrorism skyrocketed by 357% between 2013 and 2021, according to a recent report on domestic terror threats from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. At a recent speech at Howard University, President Joe Biden called white supremacy “the single most dangerous terrorist threat in our homeland.”

In an effort to shine a light on emerging hate groups, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, a nonprofit organization that exposes far-right extremist and hate groups across the world, on June 13 launched a directory of symbols and iconography used by extremists. The directory, which is the first of its kind and which at the time of its launch contained more than 300 entries, documents symbols from across the world, categorized by geographic location and the ideologies they represent.

“There is no doubt that far-right extremism is a transnational movement, and this tool will help to identify where far-right actors are active, the narratives they are pushing, and will help show —  from chatrooms to violent extremism — how hate and extremist groups and individuals inspire and connect each other across borders,” Wendy Via, the co-founder of GPAHE, said in a press release.

Included in the directory are symbols and iconography of well-known extremist groups, like the Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers. Both of those groups exploded into the mainstream media because of their members’ planning, involvement, and subsequent prosecution in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The directory also contains symbols of lesser-known far-right extremist groups. These  include the Identity Evropa flag, a white supremacist group that attended the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as the 131 flag used by the National Socialist Club, a neo-Nazi group.

The symbols in the database aren’t all flags and logos like the ones spotted at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. There are also entries on symbols that fly under the radar for most people, like the Pepe the Frog meme that became a prominent symbol of the so-called alt-right in 2015 as well as tattoos, patches, hand gestures, and graffiti.

The organization says its goal is for the directory to be a resource for law enforcement, tech companies, researchers, media, and policymakers to stay up to date on the latest extremist movements and to help identify and expose emerging far-right extremist and hate groups. In its press release, the GPAHE notes that many symbols are intentionally obscure or serve as an “inside joke,” essentially making them meaningless to people who aren’t part of the group they represent. 

The directory can help to decode these symbols in order to expose and combat far-right hate and extremism and the violence that so often accompanies them. In 2020, for example, a Southern California police officer was investigated by his own department after he was spotted wearing Oathkeeper and Three Percenter patches while on duty at a Black Lives Matter rally. 

“To combat the spread of far-right hate and extremism on tech platforms and in real life, we all have a part to play,” said GPAHE co-founder Heidi Beirich. “This directory is another tool that will collectively help us do that.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.