Advertisement

White supremacists taking DNA tests sad to discover they’re not 100% white

White supremacists march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on August 11, 2017. Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

A new study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has found that white supremacists have been using genetic testing kits in an effort to prove that they have so-called “racial purity.”

But they’re often disappointed to learn that they aren’t, in fact, fully white.

According to UCLA sociologists Aaron Panofsky and Joan Donovan, white supremacists on the online forum Stormfront have been testing themselves using tools such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe. The Stormfront group was created in 1995 by Don Black, a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

WATCH: Anti-Nazi solidarity march held in Berlin in support of Charlottesville

Click to play video: 'Anti-Nazi solidarity march held in Berlin in support of Charlottesville'
Anti-Nazi solidarity march held in Berlin in support of Charlottesville

The sociologists studied more than 3,000 posts on the forum over a decade that discussed genetic testing, and found that many supremacists were shocked to learn they had African or Middle Eastern heritage. The results were revealed at an American Sociological Association meeting in Montreal this week.

Story continues below advertisement

The study noted that the forum’s senior moderator, John Law, defines being white as “non-Jewish people of wholly European descent. No exceptions.” Members of the group often spend time debating what being white means.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Psychologists find ‘alt-right’ supporters more likely to ‘blatantly dehumanize’ racial groups

That’s why many were on the defensive when they found that they weren’t 100 per cent European, or “white,” and disputed the findings. Panofsky added that some disregarded the results, saying they knew themselves better than a DNA test.

“My advice is to trust your own family tree geneaology research and what your grandparents have told you, before trusting a DNA test,” one user wrote on the forum after receiving what the study describes as “bad news.”

WATCH: Trump calls white supremacists ‘repugnant’ after public outcry

Click to play video: 'Trump calls white supremacists ‘repugnant’ after public outcry'
Trump calls white supremacists ‘repugnant’ after public outcry

The researchers observed “shaming and discrediting of individuals” who were deemed “non-white” following the tests.

Story continues below advertisement

While the study has been underway for years, it holds more resonance in the aftermath of the Charlottesville, Va. protests.

READ MORE: Arnold Schwarzenegger has a message for Donald Trump and white supremacists

Ancestry.com responded to the study, saying that they were “horrified by the tragic events” in Virginia.

“To be clear, we are against any use of our product in an attempt to promote divisiveness or justify twisted ideologies,” the company said in a statement to the New York Post.

“People looking to use our services to prove they are ethnically ‘pure’ are going to be deeply disappointed. We encourage them to take their business elsewhere.”

Sponsored content

AdChoices