TOM BROKAW SPECIAL ONE-HOUR REPORT "WEB OF HATE" TO AIR FRIDAY, JULY 28
ON "DATELINE NBC"

During the last two years, America has witnessed a plethora of hate
crimes, from the shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles
to the murder of two gay men in Central California to shooting rampages
against black, Jewish and Asian Americans in three states. And now it
seems that one of the more powerful catalysts for spreading hate is the
Internet.

In a special one hour "Dateline NBC" entitled "Web of Hate," to be
broadcast Friday, July 28 (9-10 p.m. ET), Tom Brokaw reports on the
story of how Benjamin Smith, a well-educated young man who was
surrounded by a diverse group of friends came to embrace racial hatred.
Smith went on a July 4th shooting rampage in three mid-western states,
which left two dead and nine wounded, all of whom were Black, Asian or
Jewish. Brokaw examines what may have provoked Smith's violent crime
spree, learns where he got his racist ideas from, and discovers that the
answers may have been just a few computer key strokes away.

Like many college students, Smith spent hours on the Internet, where
these days you can find just about anything. Brokaw looks at how the
Internet may have influenced Smith and others alike who have committed
senseless hate crimes. In an exclusive interview obtained by "Dateline
NBC," Smith describes how the Internet became his own personal highway
to hate.

Through the Internet, Smith found his way into the world of white
supremacy and then met a man who would become his mentor and friend in
the months leading up to the violence. That man was Matt Hale. Brokaw
talks to Hale, and while Hale insists that he doesn't advocate violence
and is not responsible for what Smith did, Brokaw discovers how deeply
involved Hale may have been with Smith in the days and months before the
shootings.

In addition, Brokaw talks with journalism students at Northwestern
University, and reveals the surprising results of an NBC-commissioned
research project the students conducted to see how accessible and
prevalent hate messages are on the Internet.

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