What are the criteria used by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center to designate hate groups?

1. What the SPLC says it looks for: stated definitions and categories

The SPLC’s public materials and “Hate Map” emphasize that a hate group is an organization that vilifies people because of immutable or protected characteristics — race, religion, ethnicity/national origin, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity — and that the list covers a range of ideologies (neo‑Nazi, Black separatist, radical traditionalist Catholicism, etc.) which the SPLC tracks by category and profile ^{[1] [2]}. The Hate Map page and related SPLC reporting explain the census and Extremist Files database aim to document organizations’ histories, core beliefs and activities and to classify them into distinct hate and antigovernment ideologies ^[1].

2. How “beliefs and practices” are operationalized in public reporting

SPLC reporting and the Intelligence Project historically evaluate both stated ideology and observable activity: reporting, leafleting, rallies, public statements and organizing that propagate falsehoods about or demonize protected groups are cited in profiles and reports ^{[3] [1]}. The Council on Foundations notes that the mere presence of bigoted members is typically not enough — the organization itself must have a hate‑based orientation or purpose — and that the SPLC’s approach mirrors broader definitions linking vilification of protected classes to the concept of a hate group ^[4].

3. What's documented publicly: categories, counts and examples

SPLC publications provide annual counts and breakdowns by ideology and state; for example, their Hate Map reports the number of tracked groups by subtype and notes activity in all 50 states ^[1]. Historical summaries on Wikipedia trace the program back to the Intelligence Project ^[5] and an annual census beginning in 1990, and cite fluctuations in totals over time tied in reporting to political and social drivers ^[3].

4. Criticisms and competing viewpoints about the criteria

Multiple critics — including conservative advocacy groups and some organizations that have been listed — argue the SPLC’s criteria are too broad, ideologically driven, or subjective; these critics say the list sometimes groups mainstream conservative or religious organizations with violent extremists and that protected activities (marches, speeches, leafleting) can be included in SPLC coverage ^{[6] [7]}. Opponents have framed the SPLC as a “smear machine” and accused it of political bias; these criticisms have led to legal challenges and public pushback ^{[8] [6]}.

5. Defensive posture and controversies inside the public record

The SPLC has defended its methodology and maintained the program’s utility to law enforcement and researchers; however, the organization has faced lawsuits over designations (for example, Gavin McInnes and others) and public controversy over inclusion decisions, and mainstream outlets document both SPLC justifications and the pushback from groups that say they were unfairly labeled ^{[9] [3]}.

6. Limits of available reporting and what we cannot confirm here

Available sources in the provided set do not include a single, detailed methodological manual with step‑by‑step rules the SPLC follows for every designation; instead, the public materials are a mix of definitions, category descriptions, census numbers and profile write‑ups ^{[1] [3]}. Claims about internal decision processes, exact thresholds for listing, or any confidential coordination with outside actors are not documented in these sources and therefore are not asserted here (not found in current reporting).

7. How readers should interpret these lists and disputes

Readers should treat the SPLC list as a prominent, widely cited private organization’s assessment that combines stated ideology and documented activity to identify groups it considers hateful; at the same time, they should weigh criticisms that the SPLC’s categorizations can be contested, politically freighted, and sometimes the subject of lawsuits and public debate ^{[1] [6] [8]}. For questions about a specific group’s inclusion, consult the SPLC’s profile pages and the organization’s published census entries, while also reviewing responses from the designated organization and independent reporting ^{[1] [10]}.