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Social media giants fail to deal with 84 per cent of Jew-hate reported to them, says survey
Analysis by Centre for Countering Digital Hate finds ‘serious and systematic failure to tackle antisemitism’
August 1, 2021 12:29
Analysis by Centre for Countering Digital Hate finds ‘serious and systematic failure to tackle antisemitism’
August 1, 2021 12:29Social media giants deal are failing to deal with 84 per cent antisemitic posts reported to them, a shocking new survey has found.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported 714 antisemitic posts to moderators at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok via the platforms’ official complaints system over a six-week period, from May 18 to June 29 this year.
The survey found that social media companies failed to take action—by either removing posts or closing accounts—in 84 per cent of cases.
In a statement the CCDH said the failure was a “serious and systematic failure to tackle antisemitism”.
The report found that Facebook acted on just 14 of 129 antisemitic posts (10.9 per cent); Twitter acted on 15 of 137 (10.9 per cent); TikTok on 22 of 119 (18.5 per cent); Instagram on 52 of 277 (18.8 per cent); and YouTube on 11 of 52 (21.2 per cent).
The 714 posts reported for the analysis collectively received up to 7.3 million impressions.
Just 5 per cent of posts blaming Jewish people for the Covid pandemic were addressed across the five platforms. They also failed to act on 92 per cent of posts implicating Jews in a vast global conspiracy sometimes referred to as the “Illuminati” or “New World Order.”
Twitter even failed to act on several posts accompanied by the hashtag “#JewWorldOrder”.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said: “Social media has become a safe space for racists to normalise their conspiracies and hateful rhetoric without fear of consequences. This is why social media is increasingly unsafe for Jewish people, just as it is becoming for women, Black people, Muslims, LGBT people and many other groups.
“This is not about algorithms or automation; our research shows that social media companies allow bigots to keep their accounts open and their hate to remain online, even when human moderators are notified.
“Social media is how we connect as a society, where we find community. The platforms who set the rules and enforce those rules must be held accountable for their failure to protect the rights of those communities. No one has a fundamental right to have an account on a social media platform to bully Jews or to spread hatred that we know can end in serious offline harm.
“The test of the Government’s Online Safety Bill is whether platforms can be made to enforce their own rules or face consequences themselves. Those being targeted and harassed on social media must be allowed to participate in digital society without facing a wall of targeted identity-based abuse.”
CCDH recommended five steps for tackling online antisemitism, including hiring and training moderators to remove hate; instituting financial penalties; immediately removing groups dedicated to antisemitism; acting on antisemitic hashtags and permanently banning those who send racist abuse to Jews.