CyberWell is a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating online antisemitism through driving the enforcement and improvement of community standards and hate speech policies across social media platforms. Through data, we identify where policies are not being enforced and where they fail to protect Jewish users from harassment and hate. Our unique methodology consists of identifying antisemitic keywords, applying a specialized dictionary based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, and human review. Our professional analysts are trained in antisemitism, linguistics, and digital policy, and vet each piece of content both based on the IHRA definition and according to what, if any, policy that content violates. For more about our methodology, check out our policy guidelines.
CyberWell currently monitors Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube in both English and Arabic. We serve as trusted flaggers for both Meta (Facebook, Instagram, & Threads) and TikTok, enabling us to escalate policy-violating content and advise content moderation teams directly. As part of our strategy to democratize data, since May 2022, CyberWell compiled the first ever open data platform of online antisemitic content.
Leading up to the 1-year anniversary of the horrific events of October 7, 2023, CyberWell conducted a deep dive into our data to analyze how antisemitic discourse has shifted online. First, we analyzed all the content that we vetted and confirmed as antisemitic 11 months prior to and 11 months post October 7. Second, we analyzed a dataset of 500 pieces of content collected in the 10 months following October 7 which were confirmed by CyberWell analysts to deny or distort the Hamas terror attack.
Overall, in the 11 months prior to October 7, CyberWell’s monitoring technology flagged 135,556 posts as highly likely to be antisemitic. In the 11 months following October 7 this number jumped to 185,229 – an increase of 36.6%. The most poignant spike being an 86% increase in online antisemitism in the three weeks following October 7.
The insights of this report are based on three sets of data:
The top three antisemitic narratives online remained consistent, with some shifting in prevalence and popularity. Whereas prior to October 7 the trope of Jews either controlling the world or seeking to obtain world domination far surpassed all other narratives at 33%, post October 7, 29.2% of online antisemitic content characterized Jews as an enemy. Narratives viewing Jews as inherently evil was the second most prevalent narrative, increasing by 5%.
CyberWell analyzes all content according to the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Post October 7, the first example in the IHRA working definition, calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews, increased dramatically, as did Holocaust denial and distortion (examples 4 & 5). As part of CyberWell’s methodology we categorize denial of the October 7 massacre as IHRA example 1. Although the definition may not be entirely applicable
in this case, for a deeper understanding of the methodological approach to the massacre see CyberWell’s report.
NOTE: Israel-related antisemitism (examples 7, 9, 10, 11) increased following October 7, with a spike in use of the term “Zionist”, particularly in antisemitic narratives such as plans for world domination. Following an audit CyberWell conducted of the abuse of the term “Zionist” on Meta’s platforms, during which CyberWell presented to Meta several datasets, analysis, and recommendations, Meta updated their policy to recognize “Zionist” as a proxy for “Jew”. TikTok has similarly followed suit. Clear policies enable content moderation teams to more effectively identify when content is in violation and subsequently action that content for removal. CyberWell will be closely monitoring both platforms for efficacy of this policy and calls on all other digital platforms to follow this positive precedent set by Meta and TikTok.
Since CyberWell became a Trusted Partner of TikTok and Meta we have noted a marked increase in removal rates of reported antisemitic content in general. Whereas in 2023 the overall removal rate of reported antisemitic content was just 32.1%, an increase from 23.8% in 2022, the removal rates we tracked now are significantly higher.
On October 8, just one day after Hamas live streamed their gruesome acts and uploaded videos and images across the digital space, a network of viral social media accounts began spreading targeted denial campaigns. Denial of the events of October 7, particularly the rape and sexual assaults committed by Hamas, continues to be a top narrative surrounding this horrific day.
While CyberWell did note increased removal rates across platforms, and some, like TikTok, went on record clarifying that October 7 denial violates existing policies, much of these efforts occurred after these posts spread and garnered hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of views. The broadcasting of October 7 denial content on major social media platforms leaves a lasting impression rooted in conspiratorial thinking and misinformation that leads to the real-world harm that Jewish communities are experiencing as they are targeted across the globe, daily.
*While YouTube posts accumulated 2,704,419 views, this was largely driven by one video that alone attracted 1,293,292 views.
NOTE: Engagement across platforms by and large remained the same despite the addition of about 200 pieces of content from the initial 300-piece dataset at 3 months to the 500-piece dataset represented here at 10 months post October 7. This may indicate a number of factors including, but not limited to, removal of high-engagement posts, deamplification of posts, and disinterest by platform users.
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