Anti-Defamation League Retires Glossary of Extremist Groups After Backlash

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) removed its entire “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” on Tuesday after receiving backlash, including from Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers, for listing Turning Point USA (TPUSA) as an extremist group.

The outrage comes nearly three weeks after TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while speaking with a crowd on campus.

TPUSA’s backgrounder page on the ADL website falls under the “Center of Extremism” tag and describes the conservative group as having ties to “a range of right-wing extremists and has generated support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right.”

The ADL also listed dozens of controversial statements tied to TPUSA members or event speakers dating as far back as 2015, and wrote that Kirk used the movement to promote “Christian nationalism.”

In response to the listing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X on Sunday that the “ADL hates Christians,” which makes it a “hate group.”

He continued in a separate post, “Using such false and defamatory labels about people and organizations encourages murder.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., chimed in on Monday with criticism of the ADL, writing, “‘America First’ is not hate speech. Turning Point USA is not a hate group.” She also tagged the ADL’s account on X.

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The glossary had more than 1,000 entries and had been built up over multiple years at the time it was removed. The ADL said a number of entries were “outdated” but did not share which ones those were.

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