Study Finds Sharp Rise in Hate Sites

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is scheduled to release a report today that shows a sharp rise in the number of Internet sites that promote racial violence, anti-Semitism and other categories of hate speech.

The report lists the addresses of 1,426 sites, more than double the number documented in the center’s initial study in December 1997. The report, compiled by researchers at Jewish human rights organization, is designed primarily as a tool for law enforcement and educators.

“People in hate crime [law enforcement] units in the United States and elsewhere need to have this information,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Los Angeles-based center. “To know what’s going on you have to be online.”

Hate-speech-related sites have not only multiplied but also become more sophisticated, Cooper said. Many sites have developed sections for children that offer corrupted versions of popular computer games, including a “White Power” version of the game “Doom,” for example.

Cooper also expressed concern that children can stumble into hate sites by accident. Using a search engine to find material on Auschwitz, he said, leads not only to legitimate historical sites but also to sites that deny that the Holocaust occurred.

For more information, visit the center’s Web site at https://www.wiesenthal.com.