The “OK” hand gesture, commonly seen as a way of indicating that all is well, has now been classified as something else: a symbol of hate.
On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization, added 36 symbols to its “Hate on Display” database including the index finger-to-thumb sign that in some corners of the Internet has become associated with white supremacy and the far right.
Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, told NPR that for years on fringe online message boards such as 4chan and 8chan, the “OK” sign has been deployed in memes and other images promoting hate. Given the number of white supremacists who have adopted it, he said it can now carry a nefarious message.
“Context is always key,” Segal said. “More people than not will use the OK symbol as just ‘OK.’ But in those cases where there’s more underlining meaning, I think it’s important for people to understand that it could be used, and is being used, for hate as well.”
