An upcoming A&E docuseries about the contemporary Ku Klux Klan—and the accompanying December 18 profile from The New York Times—drew accusations of sanitizing White supremacy over the weekend.

According to the Times, the eight-episode "Generation KKK" will follow several Southern Klan leaders and their efforts to raise children with White supremacist beliefs. It will also feature anti-hate activists working to draw the children away from the Klan.

"The struggles we were most drawn to were the struggles with the internal families," said "Generation KKK" producer Aengus James ("I Am Jazz"), who first sent crews to follow the Klan’s grassroots activity almost a year-and-a-half ago, per The Times. "We had a stance, and we were clear with folks that we were hoping for them to see the light and to come out of this world. It’s an incredibly destructive environment for anybody to be in, let alone children."

A&E’s general manager Rob Sharenow insisted to The Times that the network "certainly didn’t want the show to be seen as a platform for the views of the KKK." But that statement of intent did not stop many social media users from calling out both the network and publication for painting the Klan in a sympathetic light:

Dear @AETV & @nytimesarts, I’m absolutely horrified that you would produce Generation KKK & that NYT would review as if this is all normal.

— Ellen Oh (@ElloEllenOh) December 19, 2016

There should be an immediate boycott of A&E and all of its sponsors as they normalize the KKK with a reality series. Abhorrent

— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) December 19, 2016

Racism isn’t a disease. It’s willful and violent ignorance. And a show like Generation KKK will do nothing but normalize it

— Kage Eifhan (@SuburbanOutrage) December 19, 2016

That exactly what US needs right now, more hate on tv ‘Generation KKK’. Can’t believe a show like this will be on TV. #sad

— Edgar Bax (@FromSlim2Fit) December 19, 2016

Sooo will the @FBI arrest the people from #GenerationKKK terrorist group?? How the F they got a show??? Is this how yall are normalize this?

— OSHUN (@ImaGeek0513) December 19, 2016

 

This controversy, which made "Generation KKK" a trending topic on Twitter, occurs as media outlets debate how to appropriately cover White hate movements as a political reality without condoning them, particularly given their importance to Donald Trump‘s election to the presidency. 

"Generation KKK" premieres January 10. Let us know what you think about the controversy in the comments.