We’re on a mission to educate.
Hate is everywhere, can you spot it? Dogwhistles.org is committed to exposing how bigotry, including antisemitism, hides in plain sight across online spaces. These platforms are often where young people are first introduced—and gradually radicalized—into dangerous ideologies like white supremacy. Our mission is to educate, inform, and help communities recognize the signs before hate takes deeper root.
More than
“Online Trolls”
Too often, bigotry—whether online or in person—is dismissed as “just trolling.” But what some write off as a joke or provocation can cause very real emotional and physical harm.
While conversations about hate are becoming more common, they’re frequently approached with detachment—treated like trivia by those unaffected, rather than understood on a human level. The language of hate—dog whistles, slurs, conspiracy theories—has deep historical and modern significance. It's not harmless. It fuels harassment, doxxing, radicalization, and even violence.
Those who spread this rhetoric online don’t always stop there. Terrorists who have taken the lives of thousands in synagogues, mosques, and historically Black churches, for example, have been radicalized through both online communities and real-world interactions. They posted their hate-filled manifestos publicly before committing acts of mass violence.
Bigotry online is not separate from the real world—it’s a reflection of it. The Internet is real life. Ignoring that connection enables the harm to grow unchecked.
Context matters.
It's important to understand that not every symbol or phrase listed here is inherently antisemitic on its own.
This ambiguity is exactly what makes dog whistles so difficult to detect—context is everything.
Ask yourself:
What is the term being used in reference to?
Does it make sense in the conversation?
Why are there seemingly random numbers in someone’s username?
What symbols appear in their profile?
Are certain phrases or references being used together?
These kinds of questions are essential when analyzing whether something may carry antisemitic meaning.
For example:
A comment like “ballpoint pens!” on a post asking “What’s your favorite pen?” is completely innocent.
But that same comment under a post about Anne Frank? That’s a well-documented antisemitic dog whistle rooted in Holocaust denial.
This is why context isn’t just important—it’s crucial when identifying hate in online spaces.