Hate Group Recruitment On The Internet

Introduction

      Neo-Nazis and other anti-Semites and racists are using
the  Internet to recruit new members, get their message out,
and  open  new channels of communication among sympathizers.
One  young  neo-Nazi supporter in Minnesota,  in  fact,  has
recently become a self-appointed, virtual one-man recruiting
engine for several hate groups.

      The  Internet,  a  worldwide collection  of  computers
linked  by  high-speed phone lines, is a central feature  of
the information revolution of our time. Driven by the growth
of  the  World Wide Web (a method of linking information  on
computers anywhere in the world) and the development of easy-
to-use  "Web-browser"  programs, (that  simplify  access  to
information  on these computers) Internet use  is  expanding
rapidly.  In the United States and Canada, approximately  37
million people, or 17 per-cent of the population 16 years or
older,  have  access to the Net. About 24  million  of  this
group  have used the Net in the past three months. And  this
is  just  the beginning; usage continues to expand  and  the
number   of   Web   sites  (the  computer  locations   where
information  providers  store their material)  is  currently
doubling  every three months. Clearly, the Internet  is  the
"in" place for communicating personal, political and profit-
making    messages.   Businesses   frantically   look    for
opportunities on the Net, while magazine covers proclaim the
rush to "cybergold"; the stock market is bullish on Internet-
related companies. Not surprisingly the opportunity to reach
so  many  people, so easily, so inexpensively, is attracting
neo-Nazis and other bigots, in addition to ordinary people.

      Many  extremist groups are on the Web;  the  neo  Nazi
National Alliance and a covey of supporters, racist Skinhead
purveyors   of  "Aryan"  music,  some  rabidly  anti-Semitic
"Identity"  churches,  groups sympathetic  to  the  KKK  and
several   Holocaust  deniers  have  sites.   These   efforts
represent  a well-thought-out campaign to reach more  people
than  these  groups  could  ever have  previously  contacted
though  traditional  mailings, handouts and  demonstrations.
The  World Wide Web, the newest Internet technology,  is  an
ideal merchandising tool.

An Attractive Medium

      The typical Web site is colorful; black, red and white
are very popular on the neo-Nazi sites. Filled with pictures
or  symbols,  handsome typography and, occasionally,  sound,
these sites are perfect for presenting a propaganda message.
The   interactive  features  of  the  Web  permit  immediate
responses  and  so  on-line membership forms  are  found  at
several  "hate"  sites,  making  it  even  easier  to  order
material or join.

      Ease of use is a major selling point for the Web. Once
a  user  gets  to a Web site, moving around in  "cyberspace"
becomes  relatively uncomplicated, but finding a  particular
site isn't always simple. The National Alliance is aware  of
this. Its July 1995 Bulletin, mailed, the old-fashioned way,
to  members, encouraged "the Alliance's seasoned cybernauts"
to  "spread our new [Web] site address around as  widely  as
possible....  Imaginative and energetic  members  should  be
able  to  think of many novel ways to provoke other Internet
users  to  go  to  our new site and examine our  materials."
Several  devoted followers, taking this to heart,  have  hit
upon  a  device  that  they  hope will  spread  the  group's
propaganda  but also lead sympathizers to the Web  sites  of
the  National Alliance and similar groups. They have decided
to exploit the USENET.

      The USENET, or newsgroups, refers to the collection of
thousands  of computerized "chat" sites where users  express
ideas,  argue  and, often exchange insults.  Anyone  with  a
computer  and  Internet access can "join"  one  or  more  of
these.  A  newsgroup is usually devoted to a  single  topic,
some serious, such as talk.politics.mideast and others, less
serious, such as rec.art.comics. The neo-Nazis have  several
newsgroups  where  they, and their  opponents,  go  at  each
other. Some of these haters have argued that they will never
recruit new members on the traditional on-line racist haunts
such as alt.politics.white-power where the participants have
already  chosen sides. It is time, they say, to  search  for
new  members. To do this, they are developing a  new  tactic
designed  to  direct people to sites such  as  the  National
Alliance.

An Innovative Propagandist

      Milton John Kleim Jr., self-described "Net Nazi Number
One,"  thinks  he  has a method that might  work.  Kleim,  a
recent  graduate of St. Cloud State University in  Minnesota
who  likes  to write earnest sounding tomes that  read  like
class  papers,  tries  to project an image  of  a  rational,
scrubbed and shined, eager young activist. Precisely  where,
if  anyplace,  he fits in the organization of  the  National
Alliance  is hard to tell; he admits that his only  contacts
have been via computer. Kleim likes to flaunt his ubiquitous
presence  on  the  Net.  In  a letter  he  wrote  to  George
Hawthorn's<1> Skinhead magazine, Resistance, he signed himself
as the "Internet's infamous 'HERMANN."' Kleim  floods the
newsgroups with messages attacking Jews, "Jewsmedia" and non-
whites, openly  calling  for authoritarian  government and
expressing admiration for William Pierce,<2> leader  of the
neo-Hitlerian National Alliance.

      Kleim details his proposal for extremist use  of  the
Internet in an article "On Tactics and Strategy for  USENET"
that  can  be  found  on  several neo-Nazi  Web  sites.  The
strategy  is appropriate for someone with his views;  it  is
one   of   guileful  misrepresentation.  He   urges   "cyber
guerillas" to leave the safety of racist newsgroups and pick
a   likely   mainstream  newsgroup  and  post  there.   Once
established,  the recruiter should tailor  messages  to  the
interest of the group. If the group is concerned with  foods
he  suggests  the  writer  push  the  "kosher  tax"  message
charging   that  kosher  food  supervision  costs  consumers
money<3>. Groups focused on political or social issues would
be suitable for the "Jewish-controlled media" message. Above
all, he writes:

      Continually  advertise  our  World  Wide  Web  .  .  .
resources  and all suitable newsgroups. Systematically  post
the  address for the [National] Alliance Website and  [other
extremist] Website[s]....

      Except on "our" groups avoid the Race Issue. Side-step
it  as  much  as possible. We don't have time to defend  our
stance  on  this issue against the comments of  hundreds  of
fools, liars, and degenerates who, spouting the Jewish line,
will  slaughter our message with half-truths,  slander,  and
the ever-used sophistry.

     If a newbie [new user] or a lurker who [reads, and does
not  usually  write]  seems sincere  inquires  about  racial
science,  deal  with  them ONLY via  e-mail....  Avoid  non-
productive debates with enemy activists.

     Remember; our overall USENET strategy must be to repeat
powerful themes OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

      Wyatt  Kaldenberg,  who uses the Net  to  promote  Tom
Metzger's  White Aryan Resistance (WAR) group and who  broke
Geraldo   Rivera's  nose  on  national  TV,  has  a  similar
approach.   He   typically  expresses   these   ideas   with
pugnacious,  "in your face" hostility. His barely  contained
rage  is  clear  as he calls for extremists  to  descend  on
newsgroups en-masse:

      This  ought to be our new tactic. Instead  of  hanging
around the four racist newsgroups we can hit newsgroups as a
mob. We cannot win when we are outnumbers [sic] by Jews  but
if  we go in as a group we can win with the average Joe  SIX
[sic] Pack.... Post facts about black crime. Give them  your
update  numbers. Web site addresses. Push books.  Newspaper.
[sic]

Exploiting Another Racial Issue

      Ordinary  Internet users might not  suspect  that  the
alt.fan.oj-simpson newsgroup would be a place to  find  neo-
Nazis  but,  sensing the racial tensions  generated  by  the
Simpson  case,  the  extremists flocked there,  making  this
newsgroup  a  case  study in the use of this  technique.  An
examination of the postings to the alt.fan.oj-simpson  group
shows that some familiar neo-Nazis were indeed trolling  the
Internet   for  new  recruits:  Kleim,  Kaldenberg,   George
Hawthorne of Resistance Records, which spreads the  neo-Nazi
Skinhead  message through music, and some  others  took  the
offensive.  In a variety of voices, ranging from  relatively
moderate  to  provocatively obscene and  scatological,  each
declared  that white people are now victims and  should  not
take  it  anymore.  Many  closed  their  messages  with   an
advertisement  for  the  World Wide  Web  addresses  of  the
National Alliance and various other white supremacist sites.
(Hawthorne  also  pushed the site on which  he  peddles  his
records.) One self-identified Christian Identity "minister,"
Ronald  C.  Schoedel  III,  typed  an  elaborate  "sig"  (or
signature  message)  complete with neo-Nazi  slogans  and  a
large, painstakingly typed graphic of a cross with the words
"Hail Victory" or "Sieg Heil" superimposed on the cross.

      Obviously,  these activists believe that there  is  an
enormous  potential  audience for their virulent  anti-black
and  anti-Semitic messages. Kaldenberg is certain of it.  In
one  posting he crowed, "I have gotten over 100 email  [sic]
in 36 hours because of my posting. I posted the Aryan Update
number there and it has been ringing off the hook."

      Kleim  also  believes that Net is the way to  recruit.
"There  are millions of people who agree with us,"  he  told
.net,  a  mainstream, Internet-oriented magazine printed  in
England  which  did a piece on Internet extremists.  "[They]
feel  isolated and helpless because they don't know  who  to
contact  to  network  with  others  who  feel  similarly....
USENET,  in combination with the Web, offers an unparalleled
opportunity  for  our Movement to get our  views  and,  more
importantly, our facts across to the general public.<4>

     Conclusion

       The  USENET  is  gigantic:  there  are  thousands  of
newsgroups with an enormous total readership. Its  size  and
easy   access   almost  inevitably  would   attract   Kleim,
Kaldenberg, White Aryan Resistance leader Tom Metzger and  a
cadre  of others determined to spread their message of hate,
anger  and  resentment.  It  is  clear  they  are  eager  to
proselytize  and  the  Net  is an attractive  platform.  How
successful they will be is less clear.

      The  Web  sites can record the number  of  people  who
access the home page but outsiders cannot. Even counting the
number of "hits," or contacts, made with the site would  not
provide  the number of new members that each site generates.
The  relatively low cost of maintaining a Web page makes  it
possible  to  "show  the flag" even if the  harvest  of  new
members is low.

      There  is  no doubt that the neo-Nazis have  used  the
Internet  to  stir  racial  antagonism.  Yet,  these  white-
nationalist  postings  have  also  generated  a   vociferous
backlash. Anti-racists, anti-fascists and "ordinary"  people
posted   many  replies,  some  equally  strident,   on   the
alt.fan.oj-simpson group. So even if they  did  not  recruit
many new followers, the National Alliance and its supporters
managed to stir up racially polarizing rhetoric.

      Again,  it  is  too soon to tell if  this  recruitment
strategy  will  work. What we do know is that the  neo-Nazis
and  their fellow-travelers have decided that the action  is
on  the  Internet. The haters realize they can  leave  their
traditional  hangouts and set up temporary recruiting  posts
anywhere on the Net, try to pick up new recruits and stir up
even more hatred and distrust.

      The message is clear: The Internet is an important new
communications tool used equally by the good and  the  ugly.
It  must  be  continuously monitored  as  another  means  of
countering  messages  of    u  hate  with  information  that
exposes bigotry and promotes tolerance and decency.


APPENDIX

Selected Examples of Extremist Recruitment and Hate Messages
on the Internet

1. Milton John Kleim Jr.

A.  From "On Tactics and Strategy for USENET" by Milton John
Kleim Jr.:

"USENET offers enormous opportunity for the Aryan Resistance
to  disseminate our message to the unaware and the ignorant.
It  is  the  only relatively uncensored (so far)  free-forum
mass  medium which we have available. The State  cannot  yet
stop  us  from "advertising" our ideas and organizations  on
USENET... NOW is the time to grasp the WEAPON which  is  the
Net,  and wield it skillfully and wisely while you may still
do so freely."

Crucial  to  our  USENET campaign is  that  our  message  is
disseminated beyond "our" group...

We  MUST  move out beyond our present domain,  and  take  up
positions on "mainstream" groups...

Find  groups  that require "tailored" messages:  ...  groups
concerning  politics and society would be suitable  for  our
message about the Jewish-controlled media.

Tailor your messages for each group. Our ideology has myriad
facets, and the well-informed activist can extract something
to fit onto just about every group.

WARNING: Be aware that EVERYTHING you post will be  seen  by
the Enemy. All of your posts
may  be catalogued and archived for future use by the Enemy,
either by self-appointed "Net police"... or by lurkers  from
the   so-called  "Anti-Defamation  League"  and  the  "Simon
Wiesenthal Center."

DO  NOT  EVER  post a message that advocates or supports  an
illegal  act  or activity. Be assured that any  message  you
post  that even hints of direct action will be archived!  If
you  explicitly advocate illegality, such an expression will
surely  be  used against you, possibly immediately,  by  the
Secret  Police. The First Amendment still guarantees a  wide
variety  of  political expression, and explicit advocacy  of
unlawful  behavior is NOT necessary. If your  understandable
anger  builds  to  a  point where you  must  say  SOMETHING,
express  your feelings by quoting the fourth clause  of  the
Declaration  of  Independence and the ninth article  of  the
Bill of Rights.

Except  on "our" groups, avoid the Race Issue. Side-step  it
as  much  as possible. We don't have the time to defend  our
stance  on  this issue against the comments of  hundreds  of
fools, liars, and degenerates who, spouting the Jewish line,
will  slaughter our message with half-truths,  slander,  and
the ever-used sophistry.

Avoid   engaging  in  non-productive  debates   with   enemy
activists. It is often difficult to distinguish between  the
Enemy's dedicated lackeys, and the misguided who are  merely
parroting what the Jewsmedia has taught them.

Remember:  our  overall USENET strategy must  be  to  repeat
powerful  themes OVER AND OVER AND OVER. We  cannot  compete
with   the   Jewsmedia,  of  course,   as   our   propaganda
dissemination is but a very small fraction of the everywhere
pervasive Zionist propaganda. However, our ideas possess  an
energy  that  truth alone contains. Our ideas, when  matched
one  to  one with the chimera of the Jews, overwhelm  theirs
with  ease, because OURS ARE IN SYNC WITH REALITY. One well-
written message containing our ideas has much greater  "bang
for the buck."

Remember: SUSTAINED, electronic "guerilla warfare," "hit and
run"  style, using short, "self- contained" posts is a major
component of our struggle. Put your Net access to good  use,
today and EVERY day!

      B.  Yesterday,  the world witnessed  a  great  act  of
courage,  an  act  of courage by a brave young  man  with  a
bright  future. Twenty-seven-year-old Yigal Amir, an Israeli
law  student,  recognized  the dilemma  facing  his  People,
accepted  his  racial duty, and blew away a traitor  to  the
Jewish  People  and  the Jewish State. Amir  put  aside  his
"happiness"  his  egotism, his love of  self,  and  PUT  HIS
PEOPLE FIRST...

Are Jews more brave than Aryans?

2. Wyatt Kaldenberg

      A.  Join the White Working Class revolution! Write the
White Aryan Resistance... or call the Aryan Update... for  a
radical pro-White phone message.

American Capitalism is falling apart. National Socialism  is
our only hope!

      B.  Subject:  Re: WHITE POWER WEB SITES  GREAT  MUSIC,
GRAPHICS, AND ARTICLES !

George Hawthorne wrote:

CHECK  OUT  STORMFRONT, a fantastic White  Nationalist  site
with amazing graphics, articles, and up-to-date news...

CHECK OUT RESISTANCE RECORDS, the world's only Pro-White Web
Site, complete with music clips, graphics, and pictures...

CALL THE WHITE ARYAN RESISTANCE, toll free, for a message on
the OJ verdict:

WAKE UP, WHITE AMERICA ! ! ! ! ! !

      C. Kaldenberg also features a page with a computerized
likeness of Hitler, superimposed on a swastika.

D. Subject: Cells of Three

The  new  way of posting on the newsgroups is to  stay  away
from the four racist newsgroups.

The  only people who post there are racist and anti-racists,
No  new  blood.  It is a waste of our time to  sing  to  the
choir.  The Jews are watching this list. So what we  say  is
put  in FTP sites. People should E-mail one another and talk
privately  about newsgroup you wish to hit. Get  only  three
people.  And hit a newsgroup. With three people  you  lessen
the  chance  up  [sic] posting with a Jew.  I  have  created
titles  in  some newsgroups that have lived for  months  and
months.  It [sic] funny. Liberals post attacks on my  titles
that will say something like Niggers, Niggers and I have not
been there in months, but because of the liberal reply to my
titles,  not  my  posts for they are long gone,  the  Nigger
titles are still there. Then Niggers see the titles and  say
something  like  fuck  all you White motherfuckers,  then  a
liberal  will  say "But all Whites don't hate blacks,  etc."
And  the nigger title keeps go and go and go like that  pink
rabbit. It is a hoot!...

My  carrier  has over 15,000 newsgroups. Let's  try  to  hit
everyone  at  least  once. This is how  we  will  build  the
movement.  And make your titles radical as hell. Your  posts
will be gone in a few weeks, but a good radical titles [sic]
could stay on for months, if not years.

      E.  Following a colloquy about the relative merits  of
several hate groups and extremist publications:

I  have been involved with the movement since 1988. Over the
past  7  years  I have surveyed EVERY group and organization
which  I could contact . . . I avoided associating too close
with any organization until this year.

That is the National Alliance.

If  we  have  any  chance  of securing  the  biological  and
cultural heritage of our kind, then the Alliance is the BEST
chance  we  have.  It  is  time for people  to  cease  their
despicable   hobbyism  of  joining  a  variety   of   "white
nationalist  organizations,"  and  decide  to  support   the
undeniable  leader in North America, it not  the  world.  We
will  get  nowhere  by  spreading  our  VERY,  VERY  limited
resources to organizations that are of little or no  use  to
our people.

3. From a posting citing the National Alliance website...

For a catalog of over 300 patriotic books, tapes, and videos-
many  of  them available nowhere else, because of government
and media censorship, send $2 to National Vanguard Books.

R. Logsdon then replies and comments:

National Vanguard pays a moderate sum of money to maintain a
web site with two and a half megs of data, for free, because
they believe in what they are doing. They are not in it  for
the  money. Do our money-grubbing pals in the ADL have a web
site?  No, of course not. How could they fly to Israel every
month if they wasted their filthy money to combat racism  on
the net.


Footnotes:

1. See ADL Report. "The Skinhead International: A Worldwide
   Survey  of Neo-Nazi Skinheads -- (1995). p 21. Hawthorne's real 
   name is George Burdi.
2. See ADL Research Report. "William L. Pierce: Novelist of Hate" (1995).
3. See  ADL  Special  Edition.  "The  'Kosher  Tax'  Hoax" (January 1991 )
4. Crawford Kilian. "The Virtual Reich '.=. (October 1995).
   p. 47. Kleim himself posted this version of the article  on
   the alt.revisionism USENET newsgroup on Sunday. October 22.  1995.

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