Profiting from hate

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) analyzed Redbubble, Etsy, Teespring, Teepublic, and Zazzle, finding that despite existing community guidelines, these platforms continue to host a wide range of extremist and hateful products. The report highlights that while explicit keywords are often blocked, coded language and network-tracing reveal substantial quantities of neo-Nazi, antisemitic, and conspiratorial merchandise. The platforms profit significantly from these sales, often retaining 80% or more of the revenue.

• ISD identified merchandise promoting a broad spectrum of harmful content across five platforms, including neo-Nazi terrorists, antisemitic caricatures, QAnon and #SaveTheChildren conspiracy theories, anti-LGBTQ+ hate, and public health misinformation.
• E-commerce platforms derive significant financial benefit from the sale of extremist goods, with most platforms typically retaining 80% or more of the revenue from a sale.
• Conspiracy theory merchandise represents the largest category of objectionable items. Much of this content uses coded language and dog-whistles to bypass moderation guidelines that are often vague regarding implicit encouragement of violence or hatred.
• Platform moderation is often ineffective because it focuses on explicit keywords while ignoring coded terms; searches for explicit right-wing terms often return benign results, whereas shorthand or coded terms yield substantial problematic material.
• The most serious material, such as content promoting terrorist groups or violence, is frequently hidden from search results and is typically only discovered by tracing networks of sellers.
• Etsy specifically fails to enforce its ban on symbols associated with hate groups and the glorification of serial killers, with neo-Nazi symbols like the Black Sun being sold in large quantities, sometimes under the guise of 'Celtic' or 'Viking' art.
• Teespring has the least comprehensive guidelines of the analyzed platforms, prohibiting only content that 'promotes harm to others' without further specification, leading to the presence of homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic merchandise.
• Nearly all analyzed platforms host merchandise that glorifies or replicates aspects of mass shootings, specifically the Columbine High School shooting, with some platforms like Teepublic leading to items containing extreme gore.

APA

Squirrell, T., & Martiny, C. (2022). Profiting from hate. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Profiting-from-Hate-Extremist-Merchandise-on-Redbubble-Etsy-Teespring-Teerepublic-and-Zazzle.pdf

Chicago

Squirrell, Tim, and Clara Martiny. Profiting from hate. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2022. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Profiting-from-Hate-Extremist-Merchandise-on-Redbubble-Etsy-Teespring-Teerepublic-and-Zazzle.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Squirrell |first1=Tim |last2=Martiny |first2=Clara |title=Profiting from hate |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2022 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Profiting-from-Hate-Extremist-Merchandise-on-Redbubble-Etsy-Teespring-Teerepublic-and-Zazzle.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{squirrell2022profiting, author = {Squirrell, Tim and Martiny, Clara}, title = {{Profiting from hate}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Profiting-from-Hate-Extremist-Merchandise-on-Redbubble-Etsy-Teespring-Teerepublic-and-Zazzle.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }