Anti-Semitic social media not removed in over 80 per cent of cases

Anti-Semitic social media not removed in over 80 per cent of cases

A new report claims that most major social media platforms fail to remove more than 80% of anti-Semitic posts from their sites.

The Center for Countering Digital Hatred (CCDH) said it collected and reported 714 posts containing anti-Jewish hatred, which had collectively been viewed at least 7.3 million times.

The research covered Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, with Facebook reportedly the worst performer, CCDH said, failing to act on 89% of posts.

The research found that platforms fail to act on 89% of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about 9/11, the Covid pandemic and Jewish control of world affairs.

Using the reporting tools offered by each platform, the researchers reported through “ordinary user accounts”, rather than through one identifying itself as the CCDH.

“We found that the platforms acted on fewer than one in six reported examples of anti-Semitism,” the report said.

According to the CCDH, earlier reports show platforms have similarly failed to act on “Covid and vaccine misinformation” reported by users throughout the pandemic.

The reports recommended introducing financial penalties to incentivise “proper moderation”, hiring, training and supporting moderators in removing hateful content, removing groups dedicated to antisemitism, acting on antisemitic hashtags, and banning accounts that send abuse directly to Jewish users.