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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the state of Alabama report zero hate crimes in 2018 and 2019?

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

By Laura Brickman

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YES

Alabama is the only U.S. state reporting zero hate crimes in the FBI's 2019 report. The state was joined by Wyoming in reporting no incidents in 2018.

At the behest of Congress, the FBI has been gathering the data since 1990 on a voluntary basis from state and local law-enforcement agencies. Two Alabama agencies turned in reports in 2019, compared with 334 reporting in 2017 (when they logged three instances). The state's statutes include a range of hate-crime offenses, and legislation is pending to add motivations related to sexual orientation as grounds for an offense.

The Anti-Defamation League, which describes itself as a leading anti-hate organization, says the "highly implausible" Alabama figure underscores the need for improved reporting. In 2017 ProPublica found hate-crime reporting is "an area of substantial uncertainty and discomfort" for police across the country.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

FBI: 2019 hate crime statistics by state

FBI: 2018 hate crime statistics by state

FBI: 2017 hate crime statistics by state

UCLA: State statutes—hate crimes

ADL: Alabama is only US state to report zero hate crimes

Police Chief Magazine: The hate crimes reporting gap—low numbers keep tensions high

ProPublica: Why America fails at gathering hate statistics

FBI: Hate crime statistics FAQ

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.