Trump's new national security adviser chairs a group that has spread false claims about Muslim refugees in Europe

New National Security Adviser John Bolton is the chairman of the Gatestone Institute, international policy think tank.
The organization has spread false information about Muslim refugees in Europe and stoked anti-Muslim fears in the West.
Although Bolton didn't personally engage in this kind of anti-Muslim rhetoric at Gatestone, he received more than $310,000 in payments from the organization.

John Bolton, President Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser, is the chairman of a nonprofit think tank that has often portrayed Muslim immigrants from Africa and the Middle East as an existential threat to the West.

On Friday, The Intercept detailed Bolton's history with the Gatestone Institute, which has frequently published news commentary and analysis highly critical of the presence of Muslim migrants in Europe.

The Intercept reported that Gatestone has occasionally published inaccurate and misleading information about refugees, including the false notion of "no-go zones" in parts of Europe where some believe local governments enforce Sharia law.

An archive of stories focused on "Europe's migrant crisis" show how writers at the institute regularly stoke anti-immigrant fervor with article headlines like "Muhammad is the Future of Europe," "Germany: Should Migrants Integrate?" and "Refugees or an Occupation Army?"

As chairman, Bolton never personally engaged in the kind of anti-Muslim rhetoric pushed by the think tank, choosing instead to focus more on American foreign policy issues in Iran and North Korea.

But Bolton, who has served as Gatestone's chairman since 2013, has also received at least $310,000 in payments from the organization, according to public tax disclosures viewed by The Intercept.

Bolton, meanwhile, has not shied away from the activities of other anti-Muslim activists.

Last year, The Nation detailed Bolton's role in writing a foreword for the 2010 book, "The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America," co-authored by two staunch anti-Islam proponents, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.

After Trump named Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the UN, as his new national security adviser on Thursday, Gatestone took to Twitter to approve the announcement.

"Gatestone is so proud that its chairman, Ambassador John R. Bolton, will be leading the National Security Council," the organization said. "We congratulate both him and President Trump on an appointment that is great for America, its allies and the free world."

Trump's new national security adviser chairs a group that has spread false claims about Muslim refugees in Europe

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