Sorry, ‘Alt-Right,’ Most Americans Haven’t Heard of You

Image by Nikki Casey

By Daniel J. Solomon December 14, 2016

Even as the “alt-right” revels in the election of Donald Trump, most Americans still don’t know about the white identity politics movement, finds a recent poll from the Pew Research Center.

The “alt-right” is the label preferred by contemporary white nationalists.

17% of Americans said they knew “a lot” about the “alt-right”; 54% of United States adults report they have heard “nothing at all” about the “alt-right,” while 28% indicate they know “a little” about it.

But there were stark divides in awareness, along lines of partisanship an education. Almost two-thirds of liberal Democrats said they knew “a little” or “a lot” about the “alt-right,” compared to less than half of self-identified conservatives. Meanwhile, well over half of those with college and postgraduate degrees know at least “a little” about the “alt-right,” while only a third of those with a high school education know about it.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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