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  • 2022-12-01 (xsd:date)
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  • ’88 Words’ – Truth or Fiction? (en)
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  • ’88 Words’ Claim A November 2022 GOP fundraising email began with: This message is only 88 words. Rating True Like this fact check? Reporting On November 30 2022, tweets about a Republican fundraising email containing the phrase 88 words appeared: I hate playing gotcha — regardless of the side. But I’m striving to understand why — during week of Trump/Kanye/Fuentes — an RNC-approved email solicitation would draw attention to the fact it is only 88 words long. I mean, is there a non-awful explanation? Anyone home? pic.twitter.com/JPLx8ZX1mg — Robert A George (@RobGeorge) November 30, 2022 Background A December 1 2022 tweet featured a screenshot of the email, apparently the same as the one in the tweet above, categorizing the email as containing Nazi code words: The republicans are using nazi code words in their fundraising emails now. We are in the midst of a society wide rightwing radicalization event and people need to push back before this goes kinetic. The Republican Party is a fascist domestic threat. pic.twitter.com/K2Qq9NWciZ Florida is where wokes go to die... Please enable JavaScript Florida is where wokes go to die — karl (sad trombone noise enthusiast) (@brainnotonyet) December 1, 2022 Preview text available in the screenshot read: TO: ROBERT FROM: THE GOP PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY: Robert, This message is only 88 words. Herschel’s Senate runoff is almost here, and we can’t afford to FALL SHORT of our November End-of-Month Goal if we’re going to help him flip Georgia RED. Why ’88’ is Controversial By itself, the number 88 seems innocuous — but in the context of coded hate speech, it comes up on a regular basis. In March 2019, we addressed a rumor that the OK sign represented profanity in American Sign Language (ASL). Outside of ASL, the hand gesture in question was — to a degree — associated with coded white supremacist signaling; in that article, we excerpted YouTube essayist and debunker Natalie Wynn (ContraPoints) on the practice of co-opting of seemingly benign symbols: Popular YouTube channel ContraPoints, whose host explains political and social issues, addressed the issue in a September 2017 video titled Decrypting the Alt-Right: How to Recognize a [email protected] At the 10:10 mark, host Natalie Wynn discusses Secret Symbols and innocuous emoji. Wynn addresses the trolling aspect at approximately 11 minutes in, noting here that the OK sign is not inherently racist, but notes how the normative nature of random symbols like the gesture are a jumping-off point for claims that opponents of racism find everything racist — even the OK sign. In a subsequent point, Wynn notes that the ambiguity is yet another functional strategy in muddying the waters around discourse about white nationalism. Later in 2019, we profiled a piece of Facebook engagement-bait which contained a veiled white supremacist reference. Several posts on the page in question made reference to two numbers often seen together — 14 and 88 — and explained the context of both: On August 8 2019, the page shared a post about the date (8/8, a nod to the white supremacist dogwhistle 88, which stand for the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is widely used as shorthand for Heil Hitler), and asked people to consider moving their birthdays ... Post comments (archived here) were full of winking references to the numbers 14 (representing the 14 words white supremacist meme), 88 (the aforementioned coded Heil Hitler reference), and 1488 ... In June 2020, readers spotted a baseball priced at $88, available for purchase on TrumpStore.com. That page reiterated context for 88, as well as the function of a dog whistle in coded speech: It is well established that the number 88 is a hate symbol. In its Hate Symbols Database, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) explains: 88 is a white supremacist numerical code for Heil Hitler. H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. One of the most common white supremacist symbols, 88 is used throughout the entire white supremacist movement, not just neo-Nazis. One can find it as a tattoo or graphic symbol; as part of the name of a group, publication or website; or as part of a screenname or e-mail address. It is even sometimes used as a greeting or sign-off (particularly in messages on social networking websites). Although the ADL added that it should be noted that 88 can be found in non-extremist contexts, the organization also alluded to its use as a dogwhistle. A dogwhistle, in this instance, involves employing the use of coded signals to appeal to white supremacists: Dog whistle is a type of strategy of communication that sends a message that the general population will take a certain meaning from, but a certain group that is in the know will take away the secret, intended message. Often involves code words. In July 2020, we examined a claim that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) webpage featured the badge number 14188 , once again referencing the ADL: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) includes 1488 or 14/88 in its Hate Symbols Database. A short entry about the numbers as white supremacist code explains: 1488 is a combination of two popular white supremacist numeric symbols. The first symbol is 14, which is shorthand for the 14 Words slogan: We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. The second is 88, which stands for Heil Hitler (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet). Together, the numbers form a general endorsement of white supremacy and its beliefs. As such, they are ubiquitous within the white supremacist movement – as graffiti, in graphics and tattoos, even in screen names and e-mail addresses, such as [email protected] Some white supremacists will even price racist merchandise, such as t-shirts or compact discs, for $14.88. The symbol is most commonly written as 1488 or 14/88, but variations such as 14-88 or 8814 are also common. [...] In September 2018, the number 1488 was spotted in a controversial Department of Health and Human Services apparent admission that it had lost track of 1,488 children (a number that was later revealed to be so wildly inaccurate as to be meaningless) ... In the excerpt above, 1488 was also mentioned. Fourteen was often paired with 88 in white supremacist code, as a nod to the Fourteen Words. Information from the ADL explained: 14 Words ALTERNATE NAMES: Fourteen Words 14 Words is a reference to the most popular white supremacist slogan in the world: We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. The slogan was coined by David Lane, a member of the white supremacist terrorist group known as The Order (Lane died in prison in 2007). The term reflects the primary white supremacist worldview in the late 20th and early 21st centuries: that unless immediate action is taken, the white race is doomed to extinction by an alleged rising tide of color purportedly controlled and manipulated by Jews. Because of its widespread popularity, white supremacists reference this slogan constantly, in its full form as well as in abbreviated versions such as 14 Words, Fourteen Words, or simply the number 14. Notably, the screenshots depicted text reading 88 words; Fourteen Words was not directly referenced, but nearly guaranteed to appear to anyone searching the phrase. In fact, the first six results for a Google search for 88 words (without quotes) was about white supremacist dogwhistling. You can read more about coded hate speech on our page about the linguistic features of disinformation . Is the ’88 Words’ GOP Email Real? A second search for this message is only 88 words returned just one result , from the Archive of Political Emails. It contained a November 29 2022 fundraising email matching the images. In addition to the text in the screenshot, a footer indicated the email was paid for by the Republican National Committee: PAID FOR BY THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. WWW.GOP.COM Republican National Committee (RNC) 310 1st Street SE Washington, DC, 20003-1885, US Summary Screenshots of a November 2022 GOP fundraising email suggested the text began with This message is only 88 words ... The number 88 is a white supremacist numerical code for ‘Heil Hitler.' The email was real, and a copy of it was archived on the above-linked website, which catalogs political emails. Article Sources + I hate playing gotcha — regardless of the side. But I’m striving to understand why — during week of Trump/Kanye/Fuentes — an RNC-approved email solicitation would draw attention to the fact it is only 88 words long. I mean, is there a non-awful explanation? Anyone home? | Twitter Is the ‘OK’ Hand Sign Also American Sign Language for ‘Asshole’? The republicans are using nazi code words in their fundraising emails now. We are in the midst of a society wide rightwing radicalization event and people need to push back before this goes kinetic. The Republican Party is a fascist domestic threat. | Twitter Who Runs ‘Journalist Excellence Worldwide’? The Trump Store’s $88 Baseball LAPD ‘14188’ Badge Number Controversy 14 Words | ADL 88 words | Google search How to Fight Disinformation — Part IV: Signaling and Dog Whistling This message is only 88 words | Google search Archive of Political Emails This message is only 88 words. | Archive of Political Emails Posted in Disinformation , Fact Checks Tagged 14 88 , 14 words , 1488 , 88 , adl , GOP 88 words , herschel walker , viral images , viral tweets (en)
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