New App to Combat Extremists' Cyber Attacks

An app recently launched by the Simon Wiesenthal Center aims to empower those targeted by extremists to deal with the challenges of online hate and bullying.

The app, called Combat Hate, seeks to teach young adults to use their cell phones to recognize and report hate incidents they come across online and
in the real world, allowing the Wiesenthal Center to share the information with relevant agencies and online companies, according to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center's associate dean.

“We need you now on the front lines,” Cooper said. “You're the main target. You're the main marketing target of the bigots. You're the main target of the hate and the bullying and we hope this app in some small way is going to be of help to you.”

Cooper was joined by Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing and David J. Wesley, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, to release the app last week.

Downing said he hopes the app create an environment where hate incidents don't take root, adding he encourages students to tell bullies: “No. Stop. That will not take place here because I am not going to let it.”

Last year, the center introduced a password-sensitive app for law enforcement that enables instant access to the center's expert researchers.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is among the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with more than 400,000 member families in the United States.

--City News Service