Anti-Defamation League Partners with PayPal to “Fight Extremism”

Paypal and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced Monday a partnership that will see the two companies join in a combined “research effort” initiative with the aim of “fighting extremism and hate through the financial industry and across at-risk communities.” 

The initiative, announced in an ADL statement on Monday, is led by the Israeli “anti-hate” organisation’s Center on Extremism and will examine the funding networks of “extremist and hate movements” before sharing the findings “across the financial industry and with policymakers and law enforcement.” In a statement to the ADL, Aaron Karczmer, Chief Risk Officer at Paypal, said of the initiative: 

“By identifying partners across sectors with common goals and complementary resources, we can make an even greater impact than any of us could do on our own. We are excited to partner with the ADL, other non-profits and law enforcement in our fight against hate in all its forms.”

Writing on Twitter, the ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said he was “thrilled” to announce the partnership and pledged to “work with civil rights and other partner organisations to empower and safeguard vulnerable communities - sharing research with policymakers and those in positions of action to keep communities safe.” 

Also included in the initiative is a motion to “establish and expand” a coalition of civil rights partner organisations to “protect marginalised communities against extremism.” According to Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the motion will encourage “out of the box thinking when fighting evil” and “empower and safeguard communities which are frequently the targets of hate groups and extremist acts.” 

“We hope to see more private and public partnerships such as these to help raise the social awareness of the public to the dangers that exist in plain sight. Attacking these hateful groups' revenue sources weakens their reach and exposes just how unstable they truly are. The data and research collected from experts will help organizations, like LULAC, inform their strategy to combat evil. We congratulate these organizations and will continue to stand alongside them against hate.”

Having been involved in campaigns against genuine extremism and violent groups over its long history, the ADL in recent years has taken a prominent stance against right-wing and conservative activism, previously labelling prominent conservative commentators, such as Pat Buchanan, as “bigots.” In April, the organisation called for the resignation of Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson after accusing him of espousing “dangerous race-baiting, extreme rhetoric” and “classic white supremacist tropes.” Likewise, PayPal has taken a similar stance, suspending conservative organisations that funded travel expenses for those travelling to Washington D.C. on January 6th.