Report documents how extremists harness the power of the internet
Leo Adler of the Simon Wiesenthal Center tells one small city in Canada’s north that even they are not isolated from the epidemic of hate being generated by internet extremists….
Sudbury not immune from terrorism; One person can create a web of lies, Simon Wiesenthal researcher says
The Sudbury Star
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 – 09:00
Lara Bradley
Local News – Hate websites are becoming increasingly clever at luring in the young, angry or just plain curious, and we should all be vigilant, an expert says.
On the Internet, you can find games like Border Crossing in which the player shoots Mexican “wetbacks” – pregnant women with toddlers in tow as they scurry across the border.
Then there’s Ethnic Cleansing, where the player gets to custom-tailor the group he or she would like to hunt down; and Kaboom, in which the player gets to be a suicide bomber, earning points based on the size of the crowd taken out.
Leo Adler, director of national affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, presented its 10th annual report on Digital Terrorism and Hate for 2007 to Sudbury media on Monday.
“Sudbury may be small compared to other Canadian cities, but it is not isolated,” Adler said. “All it takes is to attract and recruit one individual. … Sudbury is no further immune than Toronto, New York City or any other place.”
The centre, a human rights organization dedicated to fostering ideas of tolerance and understanding, has been monitoring the Internet since 1995. Back then, there was only one hate crime site called Stormfront, a group promoting white supremacy.
“Hate on Demand chronicles what has taken place,” Adler said. “How extremist groups harness the power of the Internet.”
Now, countless terrorists groups – from the Baby Liberation Army, which targets medical staff who perform abortions, to religious extremists pumping up suicide bombers to hardcore environmental groups promoting violence to achieve their ends – use the World Wide Web to disseminate information to members, as well as market themselves to potential members.
“Things don’t happen spontaneously,” he said. “Terrorism is extremely well organized.”
continued at: The Sudbury Star