The political and cultural landscape in the United States has been shaken by an intense campaign against two of the nation’s most storied civil rights watchdogs: the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The movement, spearheaded by MAGA activists, prominent conservatives, and tech billionaire Elon Musk, has sought to redefine the very meaning of “hate” in American discourse—and, in the process, strip these organizations of their decades-long influence over how extremism is tracked and understood.
At the heart of the controversy is the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, the far-right pundit and leader of Turning Point USA. Both the ADL and SPLC had previously included Kirk’s organization in their online resources about hate groups, citing its connections to hard-right extremists and rhetoric echoing white supremacist talking points. The ADL, for instance, accused Turning Point USA of drawing “support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right,” while the SPLC listed the group on its widely referenced “hate map.”
The backlash from MAGA activists was immediate and ferocious. Many argued that by labeling Kirk’s group as hateful, the watchdogs had incited his assassination. “They are both part of an ecosystem leveraged by radical left vigilantes to dehumanize conservatives and stoke political violence. They provide the sheen of legitimacy for the left’s violent foot soldiers,” posted Kirk spokesman Andrew Kolvet, according to reports from Axios. Elon Musk, who had previously clashed with the ADL over its role in advertiser boycotts of X (formerly Twitter) due to anti-Semitic content, escalated the rhetoric, calling both organizations “evil” and directly accusing them of inciting Kirk’s slaying.
The pressure campaign quickly moved beyond rhetoric and into the realm of institutional power. On October 4, 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau would sever ties with both the ADL and SPLC, ending decades-long partnerships that had seen the organizations train FBI agents, consult on hate crime enforcement, and help track extremist networks. Patel accused the ADL of “spying on conservative groups” and declared, “This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.” The rupture marked a dramatic shift in federal law enforcement’s approach to hate crime monitoring.
For the ADL, the fallout was swift and severe. On October 1, just days before the FBI announcement, the organization deleted its entire Glossary of Extremism—a flagship project containing more than 1,000 entries on groups and movements associated with hateful ideologies. The ADL explained the move as an effort to “explore new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively,” but critics saw it as a capitulation to rightwing outrage. The SPLC, for its part, kept its page on Turning Point USA posted, reaffirming its commitment to “exposing hate and extremism as we work to equip communities with knowledge and defend the rights and safety of marginalized people.”
The campaign against the ADL and SPLC didn’t stop at government partnerships. Activists began targeting private sector companies as well, pressuring PayPal to stop using the groups’ research to bar “extremists” from its platforms and urging Google to deprioritize their resource pages in search results. “America will be greater when these hate factories are discredited and disbanded,” said MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec, who has helped lead the charge against the watchdogs.
This struggle is playing out against a backdrop of rising hate crimes in the United States. According to the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer database, more than half of hate crimes recorded last year were motivated by race or ethnicity, with Black Americans the most targeted group, followed by Jewish Americans and gay men. Analysts say antisemitic crimes rose again last year—a fact that the ADL referenced in a statement on October 4, reaffirming its “deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels across the country who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans regardless of their ancestry, religion, ethnicity, faith, political affiliation or any other point of difference.” The organization added, “In light of an unprecedented surge of antisemitism, we remain more committed than ever to our core purpose to protect the Jewish people.”
Yet the ADL’s position has become increasingly precarious. As The Guardian reported, the organization has faced years of internal turmoil and accusations that it has tried to appease both the Trump administration and Musk at the expense of its core values. At least 17 staffers, donors, and affiliates have left the ADL in recent years amid controversies over its shifting priorities and public stances. Much of the controversy has focused on CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who has publicly backed the Trump administration’s clampdown on pro-Palestinian speech and campus protests. Greenblatt praised Trump last year for withholding $400 million in grants to Columbia University after campus protests and complimented Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s arrest of a pro-Palestinian activist.
Some former staffers and Jewish organizations have accused the ADL of undermining its legitimacy by collaborating too closely with the Trump administration and prioritizing pro-Israel policies over a broader commitment to civil rights. Former ADL extremism researcher Vegas Tenold wrote, “By carrying the administration’s water, the ADL lends its voice and credibility to Trump’s efforts to dehumanize and criminalize dissent.” Still, the ADL remains one of the most well-resourced and influential civil society groups in the country, with around $163 million in revenue last year alone.
Elon Musk’s relationship with the ADL illustrates the complex dynamics at play. While the organization has at times criticized Musk and his companies—such as when his Grok chatbot promoted pro-Nazi ideology—Greenblatt has also publicly defended Musk, even praising him for blocking pro-Palestinian slogans on X in 2023. These perceived inconsistencies have fueled internal dissent and external criticism, with some longtime liberal donors rescinding promised gifts.
The campaign against the ADL and SPLC is part of a broader conservative movement seeking to punish critics of Charlie Kirk and reshape American institutions. Conservative activists claim to have targeted tens of thousands of people who have criticized Kirk or celebrated his death, with one group proclaiming, “We will reshape the rank-and-file of America’s institutions.”
As the dust settles, the debate over who gets to define hate in America—and how that definition shapes law enforcement, civil society, and the boundaries of political debate—remains far from resolved. The ADL and SPLC, battered but unbowed, continue to face pressure from all sides, as the nation grapples with questions of free speech, extremism, and the limits of watchdog power.
In the end, the campaign to redefine hate may say as much about the state of American democracy as it does about any one organization—revealing a country still struggling to agree on the basic terms of its civic life.
