Associated Press Updates Definition Of ‘Alt-Right’ To Include Anti-Semitism

Image by Getty Images

By Sam Kestenbaum August 17, 2017

The standards department of the Associated Press is updating their internal definition of the “alt-right” to include anti-Semitism — after an earlier version made no mention of the white nationalist movement’s particular prejudice against Jews.

“We are adding ‘anti-Semitism’ to the definition of ‘alt-right,’” the vice president of standards wrote in an update to a post about proper usage of the term.

An earlier usage guide, posted by on August 16, included no mention of anti-Semitism in an “alt-right” definition, calling it “a political grouping or tendency mixing racism, white nationalism and populism.”

Now, an August 17 version describes “alt-right” as “a political grouping or tendency mixing racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism.”

Both versions go on to say “alt-right” is “a name currently embraced by some white supremacists and white nationalists to refer to themselves and their ideology, which emphasizes preserving and protecting the white race in the United States.”

The post (and update) come in the wake of a large white nationalist rally in Virginia which devolved into street brawls with counter protestors and resulted in the death of one woman. The “alt-right” groups’ prejudice against Jews was on full display, with some brandishing swastika flags, raising their arms in the Nazi salute or chanting “Jews will not replace us.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO