Editing Hate group (section)

==Conceptual criticism==
The concept of hate groups has been criticised as being arbitrarily and incoherently defined, as hatred can be promoted against a theoretically unlimited number of groups yet only a select few protected characteristics are included. Choosing to designate specific groups as hate groups but not others thus becomes a rhetorical device to pathologize certain groups as deviant rather than a coherent concept. Hate groups are tracked by groups such as the SPLC and ADL, but the lack of a clear definition means these measures run the risk of simply being the opinion of private organisations.<ref>Tetrault, Justin Everett Cobain. "What’s hate got to do with it? Right-wing movements and the hate stereotype." Current sociology 69, no. 1 (2021): 3-23.</ref><ref>Purington, M. S. (2017). ''Assessing the reliability and accuracy of advocacy group data in hate group research'', James Madison University</ref><ref>Chokshi N (2016) The year of ‘enormous rage’. The Washington Post. Available at: www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/17/hate-groups-rose-14-percent-last-year-the-first-increase-since-2010/.</ref>