White supremacist recruitment efforts on college campuses spiked more than 200 per cent in 2017, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The civil rights organisation has documented reports of white supremacist groups putting up flyers, posters, stickers or banners on college campuses since September 2016. In the fall of that year, the group recorded 41 such incidents. In the fall of 2017, they documented 147 – a 258 per cent increase.

The ADL has recorded 15 such incidents in the first month of 2018 alone.

“White supremacists are targeting college campuses like never before,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “They see campuses as a fertile recruiting ground, as evident by the unprecedented volume of propagandist activity designed to recruit young people to support their vile ideology.”

The ADL has recorded incidents on more than 200 campuses in 44 states and Washington, DC since September 2016. Texas and California were by far the hardest-hit states, with 61 and 43 incidents recorded on their campuses, respectively.

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

Carla Hill, a senior researcher for the ADL, said the organisation conducts in-depth studies on each group before deciding to include them in their data..

“We have studied their ideologies for many years, and we do in-depth studies on each group before we call them white supremacists,” Ms Hill told The Independent. “...A lot of the alt-right is confusing because they use language to cover white supremacist ideology.”

But, she added: “If you’re a white person and you want to be in a nation of all white people, led by white people, you’re a white supremacist.”

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By far the most active group tracked by the ADL is Identity Evropa, a relatively new white supremacist organisation founded by former Marine Nathan Damigo. The California-based group accounted for nearly half of all campus activity tracked by the ADL since 2016 – the same year the group was founded.

In fact, Ms Hill said she first started tracking white supremacist flyering on campuses after Identity Evropa announced its “Project Siege” campaign that fall. The group encouraged members to strike up conversations with students at local campuses, and put up posters with slogans like "Protect Your Heritage" and "History Is Ours."

On its website, the group described the project as “the beginning of a long term cultural war of attrition against academia's Cultural Marxist narrative”.

Ms Hill said she wasn’t convinced the project had actually boosted Identity Evropa’s numbers. But she believes the group has successfully capitalised on the media coverage of their campaign.

“It hits the campus, it affects the people that see it, and then it’s reported on, and it affects the people who read about it,” she said. “...They really maximise the effects of such a small action.”