Online antisemitism

Online antisemitism refers to antisemitism on the Internet.

Overview

Since the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989,[1] has been a major issue, with significant real-world impact. Antisemitism is common on the most visited websites worldwide,[2] including Wikipedia,[3][4] Reddit[5] and Instagram.[6][7]

On January 27, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Cloudfare said that they had stopped over 47 million cyberthreats against Jewish and Holocaust education websites,[8] noting that the cyberthreats were associated with "a troubling resurgence of antisemitism [...] spilled into the digital realm".[8]

Research

With at least 66% of the world population using the internet[9] and social media,[10] antisemitic tropes are circulated more easily than in ancient times to influence public opinion about Jews in different regions while the Holocaust ‒ the systematic genocide of at least 6,000,000 Jews (67% of pre-war European Jews) by the Axis powers in WWII[11][12] ‒ fades out of public memory.

UNESCO

A 2022 UNESCO report found that 16.2% of Holocaust-related content on social media was denying or distorting the facts.[13]

ADL

The phenomenon is shown in a global survey (58,000 respondents) conducted by the American civil rights group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in late 2024, which found that 46% of the world's adult population (around 2,200,000,000 people) held deeply entrenched antisemitic views.[14]

Among the respondents, 56% thought that Jews were "only loyal to Israel" while 46% "Jews had too much power over global affairs".[14] 76% of those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are found to agree with 11 negative stereotypes of Jews,[14] the highest of all regions.[14] Meanwhile, Kuwait and Indonesia are found to be the most antisemitic sovereign states.[15]

Regarding the Holocaust, only 48% of the respondents recognized its historical accuracy, with the percentage being the lowest (39%) among the age group 18–34.[15][16]

Instagram

Main article: Instagram § Controversies

Antisemitism is also common on Instagram.[6][7] Some celebrities, including Israeli Jewish actresses Gal Gadot[17][18] and Noa Cohen,[19][20] are also victims, who have to restrict commenting on their Instagram profiles to reduce antisemitic harassment from purported pro-Palestinian groups.[17][19]

References

  1. ↑ "The birth of the Web - CERN". CERN. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Most Visited Websites in Worldwide 2024 | Open .Trends". Semrush. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Yoachimik, Omer (January 27, 2025). "Cloudflare thwarts over 47 million cyberthreats against Jewish and Holocaust educational websites". Cloudfare. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Internet use in 2024". DataReportal. January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Number of social media users worldwide from 2017 to 2028 (in billions)". Statista. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20231220125335/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-social-media-study-exposes-virulent-holocaust-denial-and-distortion
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Pierre, Dion J. (January 14, 2025). "Nearly Half of World's Adults Hold Antisemitic Views, ADL Survey Finds". Algemeiner. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Maltz, Judy (January 14, 2025). "'Deeply Alarming' | Kuwait and Indonesia Top List of World's Most Antisemitic Countries, Global Survey Shows". Haaretz. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ Greenblatt, Jonathan (January 14, 2025). "Nearly half the world's population holds antisemitic beliefs". Politico. Retrieved January 15, 2025. We have failed to pass on the memory and lessons of the Holocaust to younger generations — the very future of our world.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Gal Gadot's official Instagram profile". Instagram. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  18. ↑
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Noa Cohen's official Instagram profile". Instagram. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  20. ↑
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