Press Release | Election Related Antisemitic Social Media Posts Removed 30% Less Than Entire 2023

CYBERWELL REPORT SAYS ELECTION RELATED ANTISEMITIC SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WERE REMOVED 30% LESS THAN ANTISEMITIC POSTS THROUGHOUT ENTIRE 2023

TEL AVIV — A new report from CyberWell, an international nonprofit focused on combating online antisemitism and Holocaust denial, has revealed troubling gaps in how major social media platforms moderated antisemitic content linked to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, from their ongoing efforts to reduce antisemitic content on their platforms. Despite efforts by platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to enforce digital policies and reduce antisemitism, its research showed antisemitic posts were removed at a rate of only 20.59 percent, roughly a third lower than the 32.1 percent the group recorded as the average across the entire year of 2023.

CyberWell’s report documents a persistent pattern of posts invoking familiar, dangerous tropes about Jewish influence in politics, many of which are reminiscent of antisemitic narratives seen in other Western democracies, such as the United Kingdom’s recent general election.

“Historically, election seasons have amplified more extreme voices, and in recent years, those voices have turned to their preferred platforms and apps to spread their vitriol,” said CyberWell Founder and Executive Director Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. “Political change, whether in the U.S. or abroad, is an opportunity for extremists to fuel and air their conspiratorial rhetoric. Unfortunately, during this election season, social media platforms failed to recognize the full scale of the problem until it was too late, leaving harmful and false narratives unchecked.”

“Our findings highlight how election-related discourse on social media has intensified the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories about Jews, with antisemitism emerging as a prominent feature in the political dialogue surrounding the U.S. elections on both sides of the political spectrum,” she added.

The report found that more than 90 percent of the antisemitic posts it examined fell squarely within the second example of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism: making dehumanizing, demonizing or stereotypical allegations about Jews, or promoting harmful myths about Jewish power. Central to these posts was the persistent claim that Jews or Zionists are secretly controlling U.S. politics, a conspiracy theory that is both false and deeply damaging, especially given the current surge in violent Jew-hatred.

A striking 67.18 percent of the antisemitic posts promoted the idea that Jews or Zionists control U.S. politics. This narrative often casts Jewish individuals or groups as puppet masters manipulating the nation’s leaders and institutions. This rhetoric is directly linked to the long-standing and debunked myth of a “Zionist Occupied Government” (ZOG), which falsely claims that Jews secretly control global political systems. On X alone, this conspiracy theory was the subject of 18,900 posts potentially reaching more than 17,500,000 users.

“Zionist” has become increasingly weaponized in antisemitic discourse, allowing users to promote hate without triggering content moderation systems that monitor for “Jew.” Both Meta and TikTok have recognized “Zionist” as a proxy term for “Jew.”

Some 27.48 percent of posts focused on more specific antisemitic conspiracies, such as claims that the Jewish relatives of the candidates secretly control political figures like both President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris or accusations that Jews manipulate U.S. political candidates through financial means. In the wake of the assassination attempt on now President-Elect Donald Trump in Pennsylvania this summer, some social media users falsely claimed that Jews were behind the attack, casting it as part of a broader Zionist plot, with both sides blaming Jews for being behind the shooting.

Other posts related to the October 7 massacre in Israel, some promoting Holocaust denial or revisionism and others accusing Jews of sexual deviancy, all common themes in modern-day antisemitism online.

“While there has been some meaningful progress in addressing the spread of antisemitism online, it’s crucial that we continue advocating for stronger enforcement of community standards, particularly during high-stakes events like political elections,” said Cohen Montemayor. “Particularly during the current wave of violent Jew-hatred platforming these deeply anti-Jewish and conspiratorial narratives can fuel finger-pointing at Jews for a candidate’s defeat, which may lead to real-world harm and active targeting of Jewish communities.”

CyberWell is an independent, internationally focused, tech-rooted nonprofit combatting the spread of antisemitism online. Its AI-technologies monitor social media in English and Arabic for posts that promulgate antisemitism, Holocaust denial and promote violence against Jews based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Its analysts review and report this content to platform moderators while indexing all verified posts in the first-ever open database of antisemitic social media posts – democratically cataloging it for transparency at app.cyberwell.org. Through partnerships, education and real-time alerts, CyberWell is holding social media platforms and their moderators accountable, promoting proactive steps against online Jew-hate. For more information, visit: https://cyberwell.org/.