The Jewish billionaire philanthropist and founder of the website Craigslist gave $1 million grant to the anti-Defamation League to support its efforts to detect, expose and counter online hate speech. The two-year grant from Craig Newmark, 67, who has an estimated $1.3 billion net worth, will directly aid the work of the ADL’s Center on Technology and Society, including its initiative called Online Hate Index (OHI).

The OHI uncovers and identifies trends and patterns in hate speech across different online platforms, using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human coders.

“We know that the pandemic has had an outsized impact on vulnerable minority groups, including Asian Americans and Jewish Americans who are now being blamed and scapegoated online for creating and spreading the coronavirus” said Newmark. “Now more than ever, it is vital to invest in innovative approaches to detect and stop hate speech from spreading online.”