WASHINGTON, DC. (THECOUNT) — The “OK” hand gesture, a mass killer’s bowl-style haircut and an ‘anthropomorphic moon wearing sunglasses,’ are just a few of the 36 new entries in a Jewish civil rights group’s online database of hate symbols.
The Anti-Defamation League has updated its database to include the “OK” hand symbol, which became fodder for a 4chan trolling campaign to dupe viewers into thinking the fingers formed the letters “W″ and “P″ to mean “white power.” But the ADL says extremists also are using it as a sincere expression of white supremacy.
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The ADL has added the symbols to its online “Hate on Display” database , which already includes burning crosses, Ku Klux Klan robes, the swastika and many other of the most notorious and overt symbols of racism and anti-Semitism.
The New York City-based group launched the database in 2000 to help law enforcement officers, school officials and others recognize signs of extremist activity. It has grown to include nearly 200 entries.
“Even as extremists continue to use symbols that may be years or decades old, they regularly create new symbols, memes and slogans to express their hateful sentiments,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement, reports WFLA.
Some of the new entries started as trolling campaigns or hateful memes on internet message boards such as 4chan, 8chan and Reddit, before migrating to Facebook, Twitter and other mainstream platforms, and to public forums and fliers.
The ADl is located at, 1100 Connecticut Ave NW # 1020, in Washington, DC.
Geo quick facts: Washington, DC, the U.S. capital, is a compact city on the Potomac River, bordering the states of Maryland and Virginia. It’s defined by imposing neoclassical monuments and buildings – including the iconic ones that house the federal government’s 3 branches: the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court. It’s also home to iconic museums and performing-arts venues such as the Kennedy Center – wikipedia.