Simon Wiesenthal Center

Symbol Reference Guide

Extremist Symbols and Hate Symbols, What They Mean

Symbols don't carry one fixed meaning. This guide covers common extremist symbols, coded numbers, insignia, and tattoos, with the context needed to separate a documented signal from an innocent use.

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What is a hate symbol?

A hate symbol can be an image, number, gesture, or mark used to target a group, intimidate someone, or signal an extremist affiliation. Some were created for that purpose. Others were borrowed from older traditions with unrelated meanings.

Visual resemblance isn't enough. Exact design, paired words or numbers, source, setting, audience, and repeated use can change the reading. SWC's Decoding Hate guide makes the same point: a code may be significant in one setting and innocent in another.

Start with the category, not the conclusion

People often arrive with a cropped screenshot, tattoo detail, number, or unfamiliar insignia. Start by identifying the category. Compare a rune with historical and current forms, read a number as part of a sequence, and treat a tattoo as a combination whose parts may mean little alone.

  • Runes and insignia
  • Numeric codes
  • Tattoos and markings
  • Movement-specific emblems

Five context checks before assigning meaning

Start with the object, then widen the frame. A small design change may separate one reference from another, while the account, event, or location can show whether the use is historical, ironic, threatening, or tied to a movement. Several aligned indicators carry more weight than one.

  • Exact form
  • Paired elements
  • Original source
  • Setting and audience
  • Pattern of use

Borrowed imagery can carry several histories

Extremist movements borrow familiar images because they're easy to reproduce and can communicate without a full statement. A cross, rune, flag element, gesture, or number may carry an older cultural meaning as well as a later extremist one.

The question isn't whether a shape is always hateful. Ask whether this version, pairing, and setting support that reading. Over-labeling harms people and weakens trust; under-labeling can leave intimidation or recruitment activity unrecognized.

How to evaluate a symbol responsibly

Use a repeatable process rather than memory or one reverse-image result. Save the original material, identify the closest exact form, check more than one independent reference, and return to the setting where it appeared. The last step is choosing a response, not defining a person's identity.

  1. Capture the full scene
  2. Identify the exact design
  3. Check independent references
  4. Review the surrounding use
  5. Choose a proportionate response

Signals that make an interpretation more serious

A symbol matters more when conduct surrounds it. Targeted placement, repeated posting, praise for violence, recruitment material, or language aimed at a community can turn an ambiguous image into part of a pattern. A familiar shape also changes when paired with a code, slogan, username, or movement reference.

  • Targeted use
  • Recruitment context
  • Repeated pattern
  • Threatening language

What a useful report should preserve

A tight crop may help with recognition, but it is rarely enough for review. When it's safe, preserve the full post, object, wall, message, or profile. Record where and when it appeared, who could see it, and whether it was removed or repeated.

Don't edit material in a way that changes its sequence or meaning. When sharing evidence, remove private information that has nothing to do with the incident and use the reporting channel that fits the setting.

  • Full frame
  • Surrounding words
  • Date and location
  • Account or object
  • Repeated behavior
  • Direct threat

What a reference guide cannot decide

A symbol guide can identify documented uses and help a reader ask better questions. It cannot determine a person's motive, legal liability, or organizational membership from one image. Those conclusions require additional evidence and, in some settings, a formal investigation.

If the material remains ambiguous, describe what is visible and what is known. Don't fill the gap with a label. Precision is part of useful hate education.

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Common Questions

Does every rune, cross, or number indicate extremism?
No. Many have unrelated historical, cultural, religious, military, or personal uses. Compare the exact form and surrounding evidence before assigning meaning.
Why do extremist groups use coded symbols?
Codes can create in-group identity, compress an ideological message, evade casual detection, and move easily across platforms or physical spaces.
Can an ordinary symbol become a hate symbol?
A movement can appropriate an existing image and give it an additional use. Earlier meanings still matter, so design, combination, and context remain essential.
What should I document before reporting a symbol?
Preserve the full image or object, surrounding text, date, location, relevant account name, and any threat or repeated behavior.
When should a symbol be reported to law enforcement?
Use law-enforcement channels when the material includes a credible threat, targeted intimidation, violence, or evidence of a crime. Other cases may belong with a school, employer, property owner, or platform.

Why SWC publishes context-first symbol education

SWC researchers track how extremist movements adapt visual language across websites, platforms, publications, and public spaces. The goal is to explain documented use without turning harmful imagery into decoration or treating every unfamiliar mark as proof.

Context-first education helps communities notice genuine warning signs without making false accusations or erasing older cultural and historical meanings that may still be present.

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