Sorry, ‘Alt-Right,’ Most Americans Haven’t Heard of You

Image by Nikki Casey

By Daniel J. Solomon December 14, 2016

Even as the “alt-right” revels in the election of Donald Trump, most Americans still don’t know about the white identity politics movement, finds a recent poll from the Pew Research Center.

The “alt-right” is the label preferred by contemporary white nationalists.

17% of Americans said they knew “a lot” about the “alt-right”; 54% of United States adults report they have heard “nothing at all” about the “alt-right,” while 28% indicate they know “a little” about it.

But there were stark divides in awareness, along lines of partisanship an education. Almost two-thirds of liberal Democrats said they knew “a little” or “a lot” about the “alt-right,” compared to less than half of self-identified conservatives. Meanwhile, well over half of those with college and postgraduate degrees know at least “a little” about the “alt-right,” while only a third of those with a high school education know about it.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO