Map of Hate Group Flyering in the U.S.
The data on this map shows flyers and banners that have been displayed by far right hate groups in the United States. The group that has spread the most hateful propaganda, Patriot Front, posted nearly 5,000 racist flyers in 2021. However, according to leaked archives of Patriot Front private chats obtained in January 2022 by the journalist collective Unicorn Riot, the increase in racist flyering is part of a strategy used by Patriot Front to make the group appear larger than it actually is.
Members of Patriot Front are required to post a certain number of racist flyers per month. Leaders of Patriot Front also demand that members travel up to 100 miles from their homes to post that propaganda. Leaked private chats have revealed that members of Patriot Front are required to purchase stickers, flyer templates and other promotional materials at a premium from the group’s leaders, which has led some members to argue they are paying for leadership’s rent.
The information on this map was compiled using a combination of social media platforms, news articles and tips submitted to the SPLC. If you would like to submit information about flyers, or any other hate incidents, please use this form.
How to use this map
Group Name
- Sorting the map byGroup Name breaks down the number of flyering incidents according to the hate groups carrying out this activity. Patriot Front – the group that posted the most propaganda in 2019, 2020 and 2021– and the New Jersey European Heritage Association – a group whose flyering activity increased substantially across 2020 and 2021 – both fall under the White Nationalist
- The next distinction under Group Name, Ku Klux Klan, is typically listed as an ideology by the SPLC, with individual hate groups that fit under this broader term. However, given the Klan’s comparably narrow and rigid ideology and the similarity between Klan group names, the Ku Klux Klan is listed as a group rather than an ideology on this map.
- The category labeled “Other” contains flyers from groups such as The Daily Stormer, The David Horowitz Freedom Center, and “It’s okay to be white,” which is not a group name but rather the content of a flyer that has been popularized on the imageboard, 4chan. “Other” now also contains all of the flyering incidents carried out by the American Identity Movement, a white nationalist group previously known as Identity Evropa. Since disbanding in November 2020, this group has stopped posting hateful propaganda.
Flyer Type
- The Flyer Type view is straightforward, displaying flyers posted on college campuses separated out from those posted in public, non-campus, areas.
- Throughout 2021, some hate groups started using stencils and spray paint, as well as stickers to spread their hateful rhetoric. Both of these types of propaganda are still categorized as flyers and filtered by their location, public versus campus.
- Banners are different from flyers in their size and the number of hate group members it requires to deploy.
Useful tips
- Zooming in on the map twice–either by double-clicking twice or using the controls in the bottom left corner of the map– will divide out the columns to show the specific locations flyers and banners were posted in each state.
- Hovering above the individual points will display more information about location and type of flyer.
- Clicking on an individual state provides a chronological summary of that state’s flyering data at the bottom of the map. Clicking “View National” on the left side of the graph returns the display to all flyering data in the United States.
- The time scale at the top of the map can be used to change the time period for which flyering data is displayed.
- Stars on the map denote state capitals.
- In the graph at the bottom, the “State-by-State” view of the national flyering data provides the ability to sort alphabetically by state name or in descending order of number of flyering incidents.
- To view the data of a single group (i.e. Patriot Front) simply un-check the boxes next to the other groups (i.e. New Jersey European Heritage Assoc., Ku Klux Klan and Other). This is also applicable to the “Flyer Type” view.
