Goyim Defense League activists displaying antisemitic banners at the Daytona500 speedway race in Florida. Photo: Daytona Beach Police Dept.

Propaganda activities by US white supremacist groups soared by nearly 40 percent in 2022 according to a new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report issued on Thursday, in a further sign of the emboldening of America’s far right.

The ADL’s annual assessment of propaganda distribution by neo-Nazi and white nationalist organizations noted that there were 6,751 incidents in 2022, marking a 38 percent increase on the previous year.

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans and have significantly stepped up their use of propaganda as a tactic to make their presence known in communities nationwide,” Jonathan Greenblatt — ADL’s CEO — said in a statement.

“We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” Greenblatt added.

The ADL’s analysis also observed that reported incidents of explicitly antisemitic propaganda more than doubled, rising from 352 incidents in 2021 to 852 in 2022.

Among the reports key findings were the growing tendency of white supremacists to drape banners, often on highway overpasses, displaying viscerally antisemitic messages to vehicle passengers. The ADL found that there were 253 “banner drops” in 2022, a rise of 38 percent on 2021.

Events sponsored by white supremacists and the distribution of their propaganda on university campuses also increased during 2022, the ADL said.

Three groups were responsible for 93 percent of the propaganda distributions — the Patriot Front, White Lives Matter (WLM) and the so-called “Goyim Defense League” (GDL). The GDL in particular has developed a reputation for its violently antisemitic messages which have been distributed through banner drops and flyer campaigns around the country.

The Patriot Front, based in Texas, was the most active of the 50-odd groups distributing propaganda, as it has been since 2019, the ADL said.

“Since rebranding in October 2018, Patriot Front has used a cynical iteration of ‘patriotism’ to promote its white supremacist and neo-fascist ideology. In 2022, the group added yard signs to its repertoire, and stayed on ‘brand,’ using red, white and blue colors in its propaganda,” the report stated.

The GDL was described as “an antisemitic network that has significant crossover with other white supremacist groups and movements.” In 2022, there were nearly 500 incidents of GDL propaganda distribution, compared with just 74 in 2021.

The report emphasized that the “GDL’s overarching goal is to expel Jews from America.”

“To that end, their propaganda casts aspersions on Jews and spreads antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories in hopes of turning Americans against the Jewish people,” the ADL said.