{"id":98266,"date":"2016-06-07T07:31:18","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T15:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=98266"},"modified":"2016-06-07T07:31:18","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T15:31:18","slug":"antisemitism-watchdog-adds-echo-symbol-to-hate-list-after-jews-targeted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=98266","title":{"rendered":"Antisemitism watchdog adds (((echo))) symbol to hate list after Jews targeted"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guardian<\/a>: US antisemitism watchdog, the Anti-Defamation League, has added the \u201c(((echo)))\u201d symbol, used online by white supremacists to single out Jews, to its online database of hate symbols.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s decision comes days after Google removed a Chrome extension<\/a> that was being used by antisemites to add triple parentheses around the names of prominent Jewish public figures including Michael Bloomberg<\/a> and New York Times journalist Jonathan Weisman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe echo symbol is the online equivalent of tagging a building with antisemites graffiti or taunting someone verbally,\u201d said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL\u2019s chief executive<\/a>. \u201cWe at ADL take this manifestation of online hate seriously, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re adding this symbol to our database and working with our partners in the tech industry to investigate this phenomenon more deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The intersection of old-fashioned white supremacy and antisemitism with tech-savvy online groups centred around websites such as 4chan and Reddit has given rise to a movement loosely termed the \u201calt-right\u201d. The echo symbol is just the latest artefact of that group\u2019s thinking to burst into the mainstream, thanks largely to an article in late May from the NYT\u2019s Weisman highlighting its use<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weisman linked the antisemitism on display with the professed political support of those abusing him: the Twitter<\/a> user who referred to him as \u201c((Weisman))\u201d went by the handle @CyberTrump.<\/p>\n

But the denigration of Jews online extends beyond the Trump supporters highlighted by Weisman. An investigation by Mic revealed how widespread the symbol\u2019s use has become<\/a>, largely below the radar of the mainstream.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the public, the symbol is not easily searchable on most sites and social networks; search engines strip punctuation from results,\u201d wrote the publication\u2019s reporters, Cooper Fleishman and Anthony Smith. \u201cThis means that trolls committed to uncovering, labelling and harassing Jewish users can do so in relative obscurity: No one can search those threats to find who\u2019s sending them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair trace the origins of the symbol back to far right blog Right Stuff. \u201cIn Right Stuff propaganda, you\u2019ll often read that Jewish names \u2018echo\u2019. According to the blog\u2019s lexicon page, \u2018all Jewish surnames echo throughout history\u2019. In other words, the supposed damage caused by Jewish people reverberates from decade to decade.\u201d The parentheses are used to imply that same echo textually.<\/p>\n

While many antisemites simply write out Jewish names with the parentheses manually, using it as a deliberate taunt, there was also a popular Chrome<\/a> extension that automated the function. Named \u201cCoincidence Detector\u201d \u2013 a sarcastic reflection of the anti-semitic conspiracy that Jews control the media \u2013 it automatically flagged up common Jewish surnames to anyone who installed it.<\/p>\n

Google removed Coincidence Detector on Thursday, citing terms and conditions that prohibit \u201cpromotions of hate or incitement of violence\u201d, shortly after Mic wrote about the extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The publicity around the echo symbol has led to a counter protest, with Jews and non-Jews alike putting the symbol around their own names on social media, led by Tablet magazine\u2019s Yair Rosenberg:<\/p>\n

\n

\n\u2014 (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg)<\/span>
\nJune 3, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to raise awareness about anti-Semitism, show solidarity with harassed Jews & mess with the Twitter Nazis? Put ((( ))) around your name.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\n

\n\u2014 (((Faheem))) (@ims43)<\/span>
\nJune 3, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

@Yair_Rosenberg<\/a> oh man I’m Muslim this will confuse them<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\n

\n\u2014 (((DCCyclone))) (@DCCyclone)<\/span>
\nJune 3, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

@fmitchell<\/a> @Yair_Rosenberg<\/a> @jonrosenberg<\/a> Non-practicing Hindu, myself. But gonna go for it, hate Nazis.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

The echo symbol is just the latest in a string of coded ways the far right has learned to communicate online. Neo-Nazis regularly adopt the numbers 88 \u2013 standing for HH, or \u201cheil Hitler\u201d \u2013 and 14, referring to \u201cthe 14 words\u201d, the white-supremacist slogan: \u201cWe must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Guardian: US antisemitism watchdog, the Anti-Defamation League, has added the \u201c(((echo)))\u201d symbol, used online by white supremacists to single out Jews, to its online database of hate symbols. The group\u2019s decision comes days after Google removed a Chrome extension … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[605],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-semitism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t