Published: 26 March 2024
Last updated: 26 March 2024
Antisemitism on social media increased five-fold following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, according to a study conducted by the Online Hate Prevention Institute and Online Hate Taskforce and released exclusively by The Jewish Independent today.
The study gathered examples of antisemitism between October 21, 2023, two weeks after the Hamas massacre, and February 8, 2024 comparing them with antisemitism on the same platforms in the 11 months before October 7.
Researchers found an average of 145 items a day, compared with just 27 in the earlier period.
Antisemitism had increased on all 10 platforms examined but was significantly more visible on some social media sites compared with others.
Quantity of antisemitism by platform
Gab and Telegram, which have little moderation and are known as platforms for extremist and alternative groups, were predictably host to high levels of antisemitism. Les predictably, and of greater concern to the researchers, X (formerly Twitter) was just as bad.
“It is concerning that in 2024, X appears to have more in common with Gab and other alternative platforms than it does with mainstream platforms. The data suggests it may be time to stop regarding X as a mainstream platform,” researchers Andre Oboler and Jasmine Beinart observed.
The professional platform LinkedIn, where many users typically avoid politics and controversy, experienced the most dramatic increase in antisemitism, most of it Israel-related.
