Re: “Define 'hate group'”

"We've spoken about the SPLC and its credibility, and you can visit their home page to help decide for yourself."

The SPLC assigned 954 "hate groups" to the US for 2017 (it being the sole arbiter of that lucrative label). While the company provides no corroborating evidence that a journalist, researcher or donor could use to verify the claims, fully 300 of these alleged groups are listed simply as "statewide," meaning the SPLC cannot even provide a known city or town location, let alone any kind of estimated membership count.

We get to take the company's word for it that these groups really, really exist, with no proof, no verification whatsoever.

That's not good enough and it certainly isn't good journalism. Big claims demand big proof, or any proof, for that matter.

Nationwide, according to the SPLC, 28 out of 72 alleged KKK groups are "Statewide," 91 out of 120 alleged neo-Nazi groups (75%), 35 out of 100 alleged White Nationalist groups, and a literally incredible 63 out of 71 alleged Racist Skinhead groups are "Statewide" phantoms, or 89% of the number claimed.

For California, 22 of the 75 alleged "hate groups" the company assigned in 2017 are "statewide" (or pinpointed to either "Southern" or "Northern" California). These include 3 of 8 alleged White Nationalist groups, 10 of 11 alleged Racist Skinhead groups, and 5 of 6 alleged neo-Nazi groups.

"Hard data" come a lot harder than this.

One final factoid from the highly credible SPLC: According to the company, 241 of the 954 alleged groups assigned nationwide for 2017 are Black or Black Muslim, the largest and fastest growing category by far (25% of the grand total). Of those, only 8 are allegedly "statewide" phantoms. For California, 17 of 75, also the largest single category, of which only one is "statewide."

If the SPLC are going to be your go-to "experts you'll have to accept ALL of their claims, no matter how patently ridiculous.

SPLC "hate group" numbers are for fundraising, not fact-finding.