ADL vows internal review after Fox News accuses it of left-wing bias

Article by Fox News cites ADL’s use of ‘far-left ideas’ in its educational material, including terms such as ‘white privilege.’

By World Israel News

The Anti-Defamation League has vowed to conduct an internal review of the educational material it distributes, after an article published by Fox News accused the NGO of promoting “far-left ideas”.

Last Wednesday, Fox News Digital published the results of an investigation into educational material the ADL produces for “anti-bias training” aimed at teachers and various education programs for students.

According to a statement by the organization in 2021, its educational content has reached more than 46,000 educators and 4.8 million K-12 students.

Founded in 1913, the ADL is a non-partisan organization, describing its purpose as being to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” with no declared ideological leaning.

The Fox News Digital report, however, accused the organization of strong left-wing bias, noting the repeated use of politically charged ideas and phrases, along with endorsements for the writings of prominent far-left authors.

Terms such as “white privilege,” “structural racism,” “people of color,” and “intersectionality,” were all found in the group’s educational materials.

For example, one article produced by the ADL discussed how the “flip side of white privilege is structural racism, which oppresses and marginalizes people of color through societal institutions like education, law enforcement, voting, employment and other systems.”

The ADL also accused people who denied their “privilege” of possessing and “biased attitude.”

One lesson plan drawn up by the group included an article entitled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” which accused white women of enjoying “unearned skin privilege.”

“Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the U.S. think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color, they do not see ‘whiteness’ as a racial identity,” the article claimed.

Other educational materials made positive references to the Black Lives Matter movement, referenced gender-neutral pronouns, and praised the far-left Women’s March.

One lesson plan asked students “What are some of the accomplishments of the Black Lives Matter movement?”

“Does their work inspire you to think about getting involved in activism on issues that are important to you? How so?”

The ADL responded to the report by vowing to “launch a thorough review” of its educational materials, while denying that the group teaches the controversial Critical Race Theory.

“ADL is guided by a mission statement that was written when the organization was founded in 1913: our purpose is to ‘stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.’ This mission compels us to fight antisemitism and all forms of bigotry and prejudice, from virulent anti-Zionism to vicious xenophobia,” the ADL said in a statement.

“In service to our mission, we have developed anti-bias and anti-hate education programs over the past four decades. These programs are designed to educate students and help them confront hate. We are proud we have helped millions of children across America learn to challenge bias, discrimination, and hate against all people,” the statement added.

“We do not teach Critical Race Theory, period,” it stressed.

“That said, we are far from perfect and clearly there is content among our curricular materials that is misaligned with ADL’s values and strategy. We intend to address this issue immediately and openly. We are moving to launch a thorough review of our education content. We will review the findings and implement a process to update them appropriately and expeditiously. We will get this right.”