MARCH 23 • 2023 | 43

M

ichigan ranked 
fourth in the 
country during an 
all-time high year nationally 
for white supremacist 
propaganda distribution, 
according to a report 
released March 8 from the 
Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL’s annual 
assessment of propaganda 
activity recorded 6,751 
incidents nationally in 2022, 
a 38 percent increase over 
the previous year. White 
supremacists targeted 
Michigan 355 times — a 132 
percent increase over the 
previous year. Only Texas, 
Massachusetts and Virginia 
ranked higher in terms of propaganda 
activity last year.
The ADL Center on Extremism 
tracked a myriad of propaganda 
activity last year, including the mass 
distribution of antisemitic, racist and 
anti-LGBTQ+ flyers; the dissemination 
of stickers, banners, graffiti and posters; 
hateful laser projections on buildings 
and stadiums, and in-person white 
supremacist gatherings, among other 
events. Reported incidents of explicitly 
antisemitic propaganda more than 
doubled nationally, rising from 352 
incidents in 2021 to 852 in 2022.
Michigan ranks eighth in the nation 
for white supremacist propaganda 
distribution on campuses, which 
includes K-12 schools, colleges and 
universities, according to the report. 
ADL recorded 219 incidents of white 
supremacist propaganda distribution 
on campuses, a 6 percent decrease from 
2021 and the lowest number since ADL 

began tracking in 2017.
Michigan is at a critical moment in 
the fight against extremism and bigotry, 
said ADL Michigan Regional Director 
Carolyn Normandin.
“It’s disappointing 
and alarming to 
see Michigan near 
the top of any list 
related to hate 
and extremism,” 
Normandin said. 
“Now is the time 
for millions of 
Michiganders 
to support our 
neighbors and reject the intimidation 
efforts of white supremacists in our 
communities.”
This report follows a noticeable rise 
in local incidents of antisemitism in 
recent years.
In September 2022, University of 
Michigan students in neighborhoods 

near campus woke up 
to flyers placed on their 
porches right before Rosh 
Hashanah that contained 
antisemitic conspiracy 
theories with a QR code 
linking to an antisemitic hate 
website.
In November, West 
Bloomfield Police 
investigated two threats 
against West Bloomfield’s 
Frankel Jewish Academy. 
The following month, a 
Dearborn man was accused 
of spewing anti-Israel 
rhetoric and anti-Jewish 
and racist language toward 
young children, parents and 
security at Temple Beth El in 
Bloomfield Township. He is facing local 
and federal charges in connection with 
the incident.
“We know that propaganda gives rise 
to uninformed hatred of Jewish people,” 
Normandin said. “A line can be drawn 
directly from propaganda, spreading 
conspiracy theories and other forms of 
hate messaging to antisemitic incidents.”
Normandin says it’s important that 
people continue to address it and to 
understand it’s here and we can’t ignore 
it. 
“We must speak out as a community,” 
she said. “We must use our words, 
we must hold our influencers, elected 
officials, celebrities and athletes 
accountable. We cannot tolerate when 
people in the public square use their 
bully pulpits to spread hatred — we 
must call it out every single time.” 
The 2022 Audit of Antisemitic 
Incidents will be released by the ADL 
within the next few weeks. 

ADL report shows Michigan ranked high in 
white supremacist propaganda distribution in 2022.
A Disturbing Trend

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Carolyn Normandin

