White Supremacist Propaganda Increases on Campuses, No Evidence at Ole Miss

Story contributed to by Annie Sharp (agsharp@go.olemiss.edu )and Griffin Demarrais (gsdemarr@go.olemiss.edu).

Incidents of white supremacists distributing propaganda have increased more than 120% in the last couple of years, according to an Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) report. College campuses are one of the most popular targets for their fliers, stickers and other promotional materials.

Joshua Mannery, the vice president of the NAACP student chapter at Ole Miss, said he thinks this is the best way white supremacists groups have found to anonymously stir the pot.

“What they like to do is educate through propaganda and try to influence the public thought,” Mannnery said.

According to the ADL, “approximately one-fourth (630) of the total (2,711) white supremacist propaganda incidents in 2019 took place on campus – nearly double the 320 campus incidents counted in 2018.”

Though messaging in support of white supremacists was found in every state except Hawaii, Jaime Harker, the director at the Sarah Isom Center, said she has yet to see any at Ole Miss.

She stated that nationally these groups are looking for ways to reach people that would not seek out these groups on their own.

“What they like to do is educate through propaganda and try to influence the public thought,” Harker said.

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The ADL report also stated that white supremacists have always leafleted U.S. campuses but reported that “their campaign targeting college students ramped up in January 2016 and has continued since then.”

Harker said they do it because propaganda often works as a recruiting tool.

“You don’t identify who that group is and it seems more innocuous It’s a way to get people in the door,” she said.