Jews find themselves to be the easy target for hate as disinformation and conspiracy theories run rampant on social media and in daily conversation. Two new reports add to the growing evidence of widespread hatred on social media platforms. Hate respects no boundaries, and once lit, becomes a raging wildfire.
Two 14-year-old users with new accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (now called X) were bombarded by Nazi propaganda, Holocaust denial and white supremacist symbols. “Suggested for You” recommendations on Instagram included accounts equating Judaism with Satanism, denying Nazi involvement in the Holocaust and promoting blood libels, such as “Jews when they’re about to eat a Christian baby.”
This disturbing imagery comes from two new reports published by the ADL and the Tech Transparency Project. Researchers in the first report, Algorithmic Amplification of Antisemitism and Extremism, created six personas, including the 14-year-olds. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter recommended explicitly antisemitic content to test personas of different ages and genders who searched for or looked at conspiracy theories and related topics. Much of the content violated the platforms’ own hate speech policies. YouTube was an outlier; it did not recommend anti-Jewish content. All of these social media companies have policies that prohibit hate speech against minority groups, including Jews.
The second report, Auto-generating & Autocompleting Hate, exposed the proliferation of hate groups and the promotion of their content. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were found to be hosting dozens of hate groups and movements on their platforms, many of which violate the companies’ own policies, but were easy to find via a quick search.
The ADL concluded with three recommendations: tech companies need to fix the product features that currently escalate antisemitism and autogenerate hate and extremism; Congress must update Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to fit the reality of today’s internet; and more transparency on search engine recommendations is needed.
Failing Policies and Guidelines Spark Backlash
Social media companies have a shameful track record of not following their own company policies and community guidelines. However, in some instances, they have blocked or removed content following a public outcry. An ADL report from April specifically looked at Holocaust denial policies. Policy reviews were scored, with YouTube earning a C+, Facebook/Instagram a C- and Twitter a D-.
Recently, pharmaceutical company Gilead and The Internet and Television Association suspended their ad spending on Twitter following a report showing ads for major brands being shown on an account praising Hitler and the Nazis. Other brands victimized included Amazon, the Atlanta Falcons, Office Depot, Samsung and Sports Illustrated. Twitter also recently allowed a Community Note linking to white supremacist websites and falsely stating that Leo Frank – the victim of an anti-Jewish lynching – was guilty of the rape and murder of a young girl.
One rare example of successful policy enforcement was during the 2020-21 academic year. San Francisco State University hosted unrepentant Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled. She hijacked a TWA flight to Tel Aviv in 1969 on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and attempted to hijack an El Al flight in 1970. Zoom and Facebook removed links from their platforms, stating that the Khaled program violated company policies. Zoom specifically cited its “commitment to anti-terrorism laws.”
Social Media Fuels Attacks
Recent history shows that hate online can lead to offline tragedy. Right-wing extremist rhetoric continues to reach receptive Americans. White supremacist conspiracy theories were cited by each terrorist responsible for killing 11 Jews in the Tree of Life Synagogue and 23 people in the El Paso Walmart shooting that targeted Latinos. Similar sentiment was shared by the 18-year-old white supremacist who singled out African Americans in a Buffalo attack that killed 10 people.
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