Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think - WSJ

Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think - WSJ

• A political scientist found that fewer than 1 in 3 of 346 such allegations was genuine.

"...Mr. Reilly is a professor of political science at Kentucky State University, and his interest in hate crimes dates to his graduate-school days, when he became aware of several widely reported incidents in the vicinity of his hometown that turned out to be fake.

• In 2012 a popular gay bar in suburban Chicago was destroyed by fire, and the owner cited homophobia as the reason. 
• The same year, black students at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside reported death threats from hate groups and found a noose hanging from a dorm room door. 

Ultimately, the owner of the bar pleaded guilty to arson and insurance fraud. 

And a black student at the university fessed up to sending racist threats and planting a noose.
More incidents followed, and Mr. Reilly’s skepticism grew.
...Mr. Reilly eventually compiled a database of 346 hate-crime allegations and determined that less than a third were genuine...Read all!