Report | June 2023

Executive Summary

Prior to the anniversary of the formal establishment of the Freemasons on June 24, CyberWell, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating online antisemitism, conducted a study into Meta’s enforcement of its hate speech policy when it comes to content including conspiracy theories surrounding the Freemasons and Jews. CyberWell collected 5,452 posts in English and 25 in Arabic from Facebook and Instagram and submitted the following in-depth report.

Background on the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory

Freemasonry in its modern form was officially established on June 24, 1717, when several smaller lodges came together to form the first Grand Lodge in London. To this day, Freemason Lodges can be found across the globe. A hierarchical organization, one of the most distinguishing elements of Freemasonry is its secrecy. As such, Freemasonry is a favorite subject of conspiracy theorists, and its followers are sometimes characterized as an evil force conspiring to rule the world. An offshoot of the wider world domination conspiracy is the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory, which accuses the Jewish people of infiltrating the Freemasons in order to further their own goal of global domination, a classic antisemitic stereotype ascribed to the Jewish people. Incidentally, many lodges refused to accept Jews for over 200 years.

While the popularity of the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory has ebbed and flowed over the years, today it is gaining widespread resonance on social media platforms. Alongside content referencing classic antisemitic narratives, posts also tend to include renewed antisemitic conspiracies surrounding current events (e.g., 9/11; the COVID-19 pandemic). Often, coded language is used to refer to Jews (e.g., 'Rothschild'; 'Khazarian Mafia'; Sabbatean Frankists) in an effort to bypass enforcement measures and perpetuate antisemitism online. As we approach the anniversary of the recognized establishment of the Freemasons, CyberWell presents our findings in this report regarding the antisemitic content that our tech-empowered monitoring efforts detected among social media posts on Freemasonry. Though this conspiracy violates Meta’s hate speech policy, the posts cited below were all found live on Meta platforms, indicating that the policy is currently not sufficiently enforced and that automated tools do not account for the proliferation of this antisemitic conspiracy theory.

NOTE: The Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory was cited in widespread antisemitic writings such as Mein Kampf and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fraudulent document alleging to be a secret Jewish playbook for world domination.

“Freemason” on Meta Platforms

As part of our research into the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory, CyberWell’s monitoring technology flagged 5,552 pieces of content in English, across all platforms, as highly likely to be antisemitic and including the word “freemason”. Posts were found on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, of which the vast majority, over 98%, were from Meta's platforms. In addition, our research revealed that the most prominent platform for spreading this conspiracy theory is Instagram.

Dataset Overview

Within the timeframe of July 2020 – April 2023 CyberWell’s monitoring system flagged 5,452 posts in English on Facebook and Instagram with keywords related to Freemasonry with a high probability of being antisemitic. Our team sampled and reviewed over 400 of these posts, out of which 168 were confirmed as antisemitic according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. 98% of the verified antisemitic posts violated Meta’s hate speech policy. In addition to the English posts, CyberWell identified and confirmed a smaller dataset of antisemitic posts in Arabic from Facebook that violated Meta’s hate speech policy and were included as part of our analysis that was submitted to Meta.

Although the vast majority of the antisemitic content regarding Freemasonry in this dataset was collected from Instagram, most of the content that CyberWell reviewed in-depth was from Facebook as the content on the latter platform was more blatant and the violation of Meta's hate speech policy was more severe. The flagrant antisemitic nature of the posts flagged on Facebook, in comparison to Instagram or other platforms, is likely connected to the structure of the social media platform itself and the resulting user behavior thus incentivized. Instagram’s structure requires that conspiracy theories, misinformation, and hate be communicated briefly in a hashtag or picture form, while Facebook allows for user-investment in larger texts, thus enabling the spread of complex conspiracy theories. In the case of the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory, while the hashtag #freemasons is quantitatively more popular on Instagram than any other platform, the explicit and flagrant antisemitic nature of the posts was more pronounced on Facebook as the platform allows for longer text. As CyberWell’s mission is drive the enforcement and improvement of hate speech policies across the digital space, vetting the more flagrant posts on Facebook yields more impact in terms of effective content moderation.

Content Removal Rate: 15%

NOTE: CyberWell reported all posts in this dataset that were found to violate Meta’s policies directly to the hosting platform.

Methodology

To optimize the monitoring and sampling of the larger dataset flagged by CyberWell’s monitoring technology, several word combinations were selected as filters to better identify those posts that violated Meta’s hate speech policy. The decision on which queries to include was made in consideration of previously identified antisemitic narratives that appeared on social media platforms.

As previously mentioned, the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory claims that the Jews use the Freemasons to promote their ambitions of world domination and the "New World Order" – an alleged secret master plan by a shadowy elite force to establish a totalitarian world government. This conspiracy alleges that their goal will be achieved by orchestrating world events such as the 9/11 attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the sinking of the Titanic, among others. In this context, many of the posts specifically mention the Rothschild family – a famous Jewish banking family who are often used as a symbol of the conspiracy of global Jewish control – as the leaders of the Freemasons. Furthermore, many of the antisemitic posts in the dataset include a mention of the Freemasons together with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is one of the initial sources for the mass distribution of the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory.

Therefore, five narratives based on the abovementioned intersecting conspiracy theories were selected in English as filters on the collected dataset including:

1. Jewish plans for world domination via Freemason control
2. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Jewish control of the Freemasons
3. Jews are responsible for 9/11
4. Jews are responsible for Covid-19
5. Jews are responsible for the sinking of the Titanic

Conspiracy Connections

CyberWell's analysis identified several connections and overlaps between various antisemitic conspiracies in the same posts. For example, in the current vetted antisemitic dataset related to Freemasonry, 61% of the posts also mentioned the Jewish world domination conspiracy. 50% of the posts referred to both Freemasonry and the Jewish Rothschild family. Close to 30% of the posts alleged that Jews both control Freemasons and carry out their world domination plans as described in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Also, connections to other antisemitic conspiracies were identified, such as Jews being the “Synagogue of Satan” and the Khazarian mafia. Both of the later conspiracies were a central pillar in Ye’s antisemitic rhetoric at the end of 2022.

Overlap Between Conspiracies

Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory According to the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism

As part of its ongoing methodology, CyberWell examines all pieces of content according to IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism, which is the most widely accepted international consensus definition of antisemitism and includes 11 examples of antisemitism. Most of the posts regarding the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory demonize and make stereotypical or conspiratorial accusations against Jews, which falls into the second example listed in the IHRA definition or blame Jews as a collective for specific wrongdoings and accidents, which is listed as the third example in the working definition.

Example 2: “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”.

Example 3: “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews”.

Relevant Community Standards

The Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory is prohibited according to Meta's community standards:

Meta (Facebook & Instagram): Hate Speech Tier 1 – “Harmful stereotypes historically linked to intimidation, exclusion, or violence on the basis of a protected characteristic, such as Blackface; Holocaust denial; claims that Jewish people control financial, political, or media institutions; and references to Dalits as menial laborers”.

Repeat Offenders

Much of the antisemitic content regarding the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory came from repeat offenders. Of the 165 posts found in CyberWell’s dataset that violated Meta's hate speech policy, 53 posts (32%) came from just 5 users. CyberWell shared this information directly with Meta.

IMPORTANT NOTE: During June 2023 (after the time range of the dataset in this report) CyberWell detected additional antisemitic posts by a repeat offender that link the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory to the hashtag #TheNoticing. The hateful ideology behind the use of this hashtag calls for an “awakening” of people, a breaking of silence, and turns their attention to various antisemitic conspiracy theories in which Jews play quiet and cunning key roles. The vast majority of antisemitic narratives presented by this hashtag relate, in one way or another, to classical antisemitism and its modern manifestations.

It is also important to note that these posts were published in a group called “freemasons joo world order”, which deliberately spells the name ‘Jew’ differently in order to escape enforcement of content that violates Meta’s hate speech policy. For examples of the posts linking the Judeo- Masonic Conspiracy Theory to the hashtag #TheNoticing (see the Appendix below).

Recommendations

The examples included in the appendix to this report contain blatant antisemitic content linked to the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory. As previously mentioned, following an examination of four of the most prominent social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube), this conspiracy was found to be overwhelmingly hosted on Meta's two platforms (Facebook and Instagram) - over 98%. Therefore, there is a clear gap in either the enforcement of Meta’s hate speech policy or in the policy itself. Removal of this extreme content across Meta platforms must be improved drastically.

1. Code Words: CyberWell recommends placing special monitoring emphasis on code words that are often used as a substitute for These code words typically consist of ‘Rothschild’, ‘Khazars’, Khazarian Mafia’, ‘Zionists’, ‘joo’, ‘Synagogue of Satan’ and ‘Sabbatian Frankists’, and are used as an alternative to “Jew” or “Jewish people” in order to hide from social media platform moderators or automated moderation tools. By avoiding the use of the word ‘Jew’, antisemitic posts slip under the radar and remain online despite violating community standards and hate speech policies.

2. Protocols of the Elders of Zion: CyberWell recommends re-examining Meta’s existing policy regarding the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which currently does not expressly prohibit posts citing or promoting this antisemitic document. Over the years, the Protocols has been cited in the context of numerous antisemitic conspiracies, including the Masonic- Jewish Conspiracy Theory. It was further mentioned in Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf and clearly violates - in its antisemitic intentions and basis for antisemitic conspiracy theories, mass genocide and calls for violence against Jews over the years - the underlying principles behind Meta’s community standards and hate speech policies. Therefore, updating Meta’s current policy to either ban use of or stringently monitor posts mentioning the Protocols will effectively increase effective enforcement of Meta’s community standards against this hateful content, thus impeding the spread of deeply antisemitic rhetoric.
3. Image Recognition: The example of the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory highlights the need to not only enforce Meta’s community standards with textual tools, but also visually. CyberWell recommends that Meta increase monitoring and removing the hateful antisemitic imagery spread on Meta’s platforms.

4. Repeat Offenders: CyberWell urges Meta to address the presence of users and groups that repeatedly spread the conspiracies mentioned Leaving known super spreaders of hate speech online without repercussion signals that such conspiracies and hate content is acceptable to Meta, and further contributes to an unsafe user experience for Meta’s community.

Appendix of Examples

Included in this appendix are several examples of each of the antisemitic narratives detailed in the above report.

NOTE: The selected examples represent patterns that were found in numerous posts in the sample of the given dataset. Monitoring these patterns on the platforms may help to identify additional posts rooted in the same patterns.

NOTE ON SCREENSHOTS: Due to the length of some of the posts, only the most relevant parts of each post were included in the screenshots. As a rule, CyberWell does not include links to antisemitic posts in reports as we do not wish to drive traffic and increase their reach. However, the links were included in our report to Meta to facilitate monitoring. Should you wish to report these posts, and more, for violating hate speech policies, you are welcome to check out our public platform and take action.

1. Jewish conspiracy of world domination through controlling the Freemasons 1.1

 1.2

1.3

1.4 

1.5

2. Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Jewish control of the Freemasons

2.1

 2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

Translation of the relevant parts of the full version of the post:

NOTE: This Facebook post discusses the antisemitic document "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and the antisemitic Egyptian TV series "Horseman without Horse", which is based on the Protocols.

"The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. On the occasion of talking two days ago about the series Horseman Without Horse, a lot of people asked about protocols. What you will see on the internet is that these protocols first came out of Russia in 1901 But even this history is a Masonic lie, simply because the Protocols are a satanic constitution introduced by the antichrist and his assistants […]”.

3. Jews are responsible for 9/11

3.1

 3.2

3.3

4. Jews are responsible for Covid-19

4.1.

NOTE: The following post (4.2) includes a video where the singer DY Na$ty claims that the Covid 19 pandemic is fake and was designed to promote the “New World Order”. The user [DY Na$ty] also uses a series of hashtags that imply that Jews were behind this: "#agenda2030 #newworldorder #plandemic #illuminati #freemasonry #jesuits #sabbateanfrankists #zionism #antizionism #scamdemic #infowars #truthistruth #truthwarrior #truthhurts #truthseekers #godfirst #plandemic2020 #covid19propaganda #coronavirus #COVID19 #liesmatter #zionistliesmatter #jewishmedia #mindcontrol [...]". The post has more than 3,000 views.

4.2.

 4.3.

5. Jews are responsible for the sinking of the Titanic

5.1.

Translation of the relevant parts of the full version of the post:

“Titanic.. the smartest crime in history??? The true story […] Imagine that the Masons built the giant ship (Titanic) and charged it with these imaginary costs, only to kill only 3 businessmen with it??!! They built an impressive ship to tempt them to travel on board, then drown them in it […] Why? Just because they were opposed to the idea of establishing the Federal Reserve Bank!! They wanted to get rid of them in order to pave the way for the

New World Order […]. The real ruler in America is: ((The Federal Reserve System)) This American federal reserve was established by three prominent Jewish families: the Rothschild, Rockefeller, and Morgan families, and throughout history, it has only been headed by Jews [...] And before the Jew Greenspan, and before that the Jew Carnegie, everyone who heads it from the moment of its foundation are the Jews and only them. When the Rothschilds controlled Europe and Britain through their banks there, they also sought to have a central bank in the United States of America, to completely control it, acquire more money, and start more wars! […] Indeed, in 1910, seven men met in Georgia to establish this central bank, and they called it the Federal Reserve System, these were Nelson Adrich, Frank Vanderlip the representatives of the Rockefellers, Henry Davidson, Charles Norton, Benjamin Strontium representatives of the Morgans and Paul Warburg, the representative of the Rothschilds. But this idea was opposed by three wealthy businessmen who insisted on using their influence and wealth to prevent the establishment of this system, these were Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidore Strauss, and John Jacob Astor. J.P. Morgan decided to get rid of them even though they belonged to Masonic families […] One year after their death, the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. […] The plan of the Jews was nothing more than a ((bomb)) they put at the bottom of the ship, then they planned the story of the iceberg, and the lack of lifeboats […] It is a story stranger than fiction, but it is unfortunately the reality”.

6. Jewish and Freemason conspiracy “exposed” via #The Noticing 

6.1

In the post below, the author shares a video discussing a conspiracy theory according to which the US government planned to get rid of all the white citizens who refused Covid-19 vaccines. The author adds a caption which includes several antisemitic tropes: "freemasons and jews are fucking genocidal wankers #TheNoticing. hooknose aliens".

In the post below, the author shares a video in which two influential Jewish people - Pfizer CEO Alex Borla and Professor Yuval Harari, allegedly discuss a malicious plan to thin the world's population. Alongside the video, the author adds a caption which includes classic antisemitic tropes: "fuck the jews and freemasons fucking vile paedophiles #TheNoticing".

6.2

In the post below, the author shares a video in which a man presents a conspiracy theory that 20 million people allegedly died and 2.2 billion were harmed after receiving the Covid 19 vaccines. In addition, the author adds a short caption which includes classic antisemitic tropes on Jews: "jews freemasons and templars are vile filth".

6.3