Online presence of hate, terrorist groups up 20%

Hate groups have always been a presence on the Internet, but their presence is growing quicker lately thanks to social networking sites.

According to a report from the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), groups that promote violence, terrorism, homophobia, antisemitism, and other forms of intolerance grew by 20 percent in the last year alone. The report is part of the Center's annual look at the spread of hate groups online, which noted that there are now more than 11,500 social networks, websites, forums, and blogs that focus on spreading intolerance, recruiting new members, and instructing people on how to hurt others. "The numbers are probably, at the end of the day, multiples of that," the SWC's associate dean Abraham Cooper said in a news conference Monday. "That should be taken as a low ball figure." The biggest growth is "where [it] is for everyone: in social networks," Cooper said. In particular, Facebook and YouTube were highlighted the most in the group's report as places for people to gather and spread ideas, such as how to create cell phone detonators, Light Anti-Armor Weapons (LAW) missiles, and more. There were even hate games floating around online, such as one that focused on bombing Haitian earthquake victims.