The Associated Press vice president for standards announced that they will try to avoid using the term “alt-right” to describe neo-Nazis and white supremacists, since it "may exist primarily as a public relations device." To which many conservatives will say: Good, we’ve never wanted to be associated with those noxious beliefs. AP’s John Daniszewski announced:
The events in Charlottesville are an opportunity to take another look at our terminology around “alt-right” and the way that we describe the various racist, neo-Nazi, white nationalist and white supremacist groups out there.
At AP, we have taken the position that the term “alt-right” should be avoided because it is meant as a euphemism to disguise racist aims. So use it only when quoting someone or when describing what the movement says about itself. Enclose the term “alt-right” in quotation marks or use phrasing such as the so-called alt-right (no quote marks when using the term so-called) or the self-described “alt-right.”
Last year, the same editor was slightly less reluctant to use the term, as long as their philosophy was explained. The AP Stylebook now instructs:
In AP stories discussing what the movement says about itself, the term “alt-right” (quotation marks, hyphen and lowercase) may be used in quotes or modified as in the self-described “alt-right” or so-called alt-right. Avoid using the term generically and without definition, however, because it is not well-known and the term may exist primarily as a public relations device to make its supporters’ actual beliefs less clear and more acceptable to a broader audience.”
Daniszewski, on the other hand, doesn’t suggest the terms “antifa” or “anti-fascist” should be suspected of being a “euphemism” to make their “actual beliefs less clear and more acceptable to a broader audience.”
Finally, a new term has emerged recently – an umbrella term for the far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events. The movement calls itself “antifa,” short for anti-fascists, and emulates historic anti-fascist actors in Europe. Until the term becomes better known, use it in quotes at first and with a definition included the copy.
A Nexis search of AP for the last seven days finds the “antifa” or “anti-fascist” term has only appeared in one story....a Tuesday story underlining how the racists are opposed to them:
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke seemed thrilled, tweeting a link to Trump's latest comments Tuesday and saying: "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa," referring to the Black Lives Matter movement and an anti-fascist group...
By Tuesday afternoon, The Daily Stormer posted an article entitled, "Trump Defends Charlottesville Nazis Against Jew Media Lies, Condemns Antifa Terrorists."
Michael Kunzelman’s dispatch was headlined “Trump comments please, anger, then please hate group leaders.” There’s no word on whether AP will avoid using the term “hate groups” for anti-fascist organizations.
So....a search of six months of AP reports for “antifa” or “anti-fascist” turns up only two reports: Kunzelman’s and a June 19 piece after the Scalise ballpark shooting. It turns out they’ve committed “rare, scattered incidents of violence,” according to AP’s Nicholas Riccardi:
In the hundreds of protests against Trump since his election, which often have designated "marshals" to keep demonstrators under control, there have been rare, scattered incidents of violence. Those usually stem from select black-clad anarchists or members of the anti-fascist or "antifa" movement that see violence as a necessary way to fight the state and protect the vulnerable.
