The World Church of the Creator Web site contains white supremacy games for children VIDEO CNN's Pierre Thomas looks at hate sites on the Web Windows Media 28K 80K

July 8, 1999
Web posted at: 9:53 p.m. EDT (0153 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some extremist groups are reaching out to teenagers through Web sites designed to be child friendly. Experts call the sites a clear example of the sophistication and growth of a new marketing tool for those who peddle hate -- the Internet.

"It used to be, in order (for a hate group) to attract a kid, somebody would have to mail stuff to them or go to their neighborhood," said Gail Gans, director of the Civil Rights Information Center at the Anti-Defamation League in New York. "Now a kid can sit at the computer and type in 'Nazi.'"

At the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, where monitors follow links from hate-group Web sites, some 2,000 sites surfaced as "problematic." These, for example, offered instructions in bomb-making, or rock music espousing hatred, or youth clubs extolling the Ku Klux Klan.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of such sites has grown by 60 percent in just the last year -- from 163 in January 1998 to 254 in January 1999. In 1995, one such site existed.

"This growth has given extremists the largest potential audience for recruits and for propaganda that they have ever had," said Mark Weitzman of the Weisenthal Center.

The Southern Poverty Law Center monitors Web sites with material like this.

Justice Department treading cautiously

The World Church of the Creator, the group linked to the suspect in last weekend's two-state shooting spree that left two men dead and nine injured, has a Web site featuring games for children promoting white supremacy.

The alleged shooter, Benjamin Smith, was once a member of the church. But without evidence that the church was directly involved in the shootings, Justice officials must move cautiously.

Department guidelines severely limit the agency's ability to investigate hate groups. Before any probe can be launched, there must be evidence a group is planning or conducting criminal activity.

"Sometimes the views of a particular group are obnoxious to certain or to most people," said Bill Lann Lee, acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "But still, the First Amendment is very important."

But the racist games on the group's Web site aimed at children clearly disturb authorities.

"Considering the power of the Internet, we've got to look at all of the issues and ensure the perpetuation of our Constitution while at the same time taking appropriate precautions to protect our children," U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday during a briefing.

Justice sources tell CNN the Smith case highlights their struggle in dealing with hate groups using new technologies in ways that may be troubling -- but not illegal.

Correspondent Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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