p2pnet news view Games | P2P | Politics:- With news that “controversial” groups such ‘The Holocaust didn’t happen’  are setting up in the likes of Fa$ebook , extremists are increasingly using them as recruiting and propaganda agencies, says the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Established in 1977 to “foster tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action,” it says the Net is now the, “prime means of communication and marketing in the world”.

Now, “Facebook, YouTube +: How Social Media Outlets Impact Digital Terrorism and Hate confirm that as the Internet has grown, the escalation of extremist sites has kept pace in number and in technological sophistication,” says the SWC, continuing »»»

In April 1995, the first extremist website went online: Today, the Wiesenthal Center’s Digital Hate and Terrorism project identifies some 10,000 problematic hate and terrorist websites, hate games and other internet postings. Every aspect of the Internet is being used by extremists of every ilk to repackage old hatred, demean the ‘Enemy’, to raise funds and since 9/11, recruit and train Jihadist terrorists.

This user-generated material increases the viral spread of extremism online and aids in increasing the social acceptability of hate in mainstream discourse. By creating an environment where users are equal participants in the Web, all editorial functions are removed and expressions of hate can easily flow unchallenged. Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, gays, women and immigrants are some of the most targeted groups

The greatest increase of digital hate has emerged from Facebook and YouTube have seen a proliferation of extremist use, with 30% of new postings on Facebook alone — with the greatest increase coming from overseas, particularly Europe and the Middle East. Facebook officials have met with the SWC and pledged to remove sites that violate their terms of usage.

But with over 200 million users, online bigots have to date outpaced efforts to remove them. Some sites have thousands of friends, thus enabling the message of hate to spread virally. These social networking sites have become so prevalent that some ‘traditional’ hate groups have begun to develop their own versions, such as New Saxon, “a Social Networking site for people of European descent” produced by a traditional American Neo-Nazi group (National Socialist Movement).

Holocaust Denial sites

Stormfront, “generally considered the first online hate site, starting in 1995, “uses their Facebook page to connect thousands of visitors to their main website,” says the SWC, going on the continued presence of, “games that perpetuate stereotypes and celebrate violence — aimed at young people — have begun to seep into the mainstream, where they are either hosted or reviewed on regular gaming sites.

Listed as typical examples are Nerd Nirvana, uGoto, Ubersite.

SWC says extremist groups using Facebook include Stormfront, National Socialist Life, Libertarian National Social Movemen, Aryan Guard, FARC, Al Shabab Mujahideen, Hamas (Multiple), Hezbollah (multiple), Faloja Forum, Support Taliban, Support Taliban and scores of anti-Israel sites.

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“controversial” groups – Fa$ebook ‘We hate Jews’ groups, May 13, 2009
Simon Wiesenthal Center – Facebook, YouTube +: How Social Media Outlets Impact Digital Terrorism and Hate, May 13, 2009