Since the Hamas attack on Israel that occurred on October 7th, there has been an increase in online antisemitism. This has led to a rise in real-world violence against Jews. According to Cyberwell, a live database tracking online antisemitism, their AI monitoring technology flagged more than 50% of the usual amount of antisemitic content between October 7 and October 24. The amount of flagged content doubled from 4,472 pieces to 9,044 during this period. Across various social media platforms, the use of keywords such as “Jews” and “Israel” also significantly increased following the Hamas attack. This surge in online hatred has coincided with a rise in hate speech and violent behaviors on social media platforms, leading to an increase in real-world hate crimes against Jews and attacks on Jewish institutions.
In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, there was an outpouring of online support for the violent acts committed against Israeli civilians and security forces. Posts included videos celebrating the abuse of a soldier’s body. Calls for additional violence against Jews also emerged, such as references to violent video games and calls for Muslims to join in violent attacks against Jews.
There was also an increase in the use of violent chants and slogans, including those referencing battles between Muslims and Jews, as well as calls for death to Jews and support for Hitler. Antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, including claims that Jews control global politics and the media, have also been widely circulated online. Additionally, there has been a surge in denial of the atrocities carried out by Hamas against Jews, despite evidence of their acts being shared on social media.
This online hatred has resulted in real-world consequences for the Jewish community, including a rise in global violence against Jews. Despite efforts by the Jewish community to raise awareness about this issue, social media platforms have not done enough to crack down on hate and protect their users.
The deadly attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, led to an increase in online antisemitism inciting real-world violence against Jews. According to Cyberwell, a live database that tracks online antisemitism, their AI monitoring technology flagged more than 50% the amount of antisemitic content between October 7 and October 24 than it usually flags. Between September 19 and October 6, Cyberwell’s monitoring flagged 4,472 pieces of content that contained hatred towards Jews. Between October 7 and October 24, flagged content more than doubled to 9,044. On Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X, the number of posts including the keywords “Jews” and “Israel” significantly increased during the two weeks following the Hamas massacre. There was also an upswing in policy violations on social media platforms, such as hate speech, hateful conduct, violent speech, violent behaviors, violence and incitement, violent event denial, and more. Supporting the violence, there was online support for violent acts committed against Israeli civilians, and calls for additional violence.
The hashtag #HitlerWasRight in the weeks following the massacre surged by 1,600%. Violent chants and slogans such as “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return” and “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam,” increased following the Hamas attacks. The IHRA definition of antisemitism includes “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.” Online Jew-hatred has been rising for years and has reached a fever pitch following the October 7 massacre.
Despite the Jewish community’s repeated attempts to bring attention to the problem, social media platforms have not done enough to crack down on hate and protect their users. The Hamas attacks sparked a chain reaction of online antisemitism which has led to a rise in global violence against the Jewish community.
