The top 20 search terms used by those in the United States seeking white supremacist material online last year started with “RaHoWa,” short for Racial Holy War and the name of a white power band. Then came “Ku Klux Klan phone number.” Phrases like “how to kill blacks” or “swastika tattoo” fill most of the list.
Amid an upsurge in violent hate attacks, federal law enforcement agencies and other groups have been scrutinizing online activity like internet searches to counteract radicalization.
Now a private start-up company has developed an unusual solution based on ordinary online marketing tools. It sends those who plug extremist search terms into Google to videos that promote anti-extremist views.
Known as the Redirect Method, it was first used against potential recruits for the Islamic State, but recently it has been repurposed against white supremacy in the United States.
The London-based start-up, Moonshot CVE, has worked with the Anti-Defamation League and Gen Next Foundation, a philanthropic organization, to develop a pilot program tailored for the United States. It ran for several months last summer, and senior counterterrorism officials have endorsed the method.
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Source: White Extremism Faces a Subversive Foe Online: Google Ads – The New York Times