From mainstream to extreme, from far left to far right and large platforms to fringe ecosystems, antisemitism on social media is a universal challenge. For many years and across different events, geographies and languages, ISD has sought to understand, track and analyse online antisemitism. The aim of this document is to synthesise ISD’s findings, providing a summary of relevant literature as a tool for informing the work of ISD’s Coalition to Counter Online Antisemitism. View attached PDF.

In the period from 1 January 2021 until 31 March 2023, this study examined how members of the German far-right capitalised on developments like the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on their communication and distribution strategies on social media. Conducting a content analysis, the study seeks to understand which themes were particularly widespread in mostly unmoderated spaces, addressing, among others, antisemitism (chaper 2.5.2 Antisemitism). Find the full report here.

The report includes an analysis of Holocaust-related content on five social media platforms revealed the widespread presence of Holocaust denial and distortion. This study also highlighted how these distorted references to the Holocaust are being used to fuel antisemitism. The analysis found that platforms like X/Twitter and Truth Social consistently returned results that included Holocaust denial and distortions, while Gab and 4chan, with their predominantly far-right user bases, exhibited an even higher concentration of antisemitic and Holocaust denial messages. YouTube, on the other hand, employs algorithms that prioritize search results with predominantly informational videos about the Holocaust, but some of the comments were also antisemitic. The study also found a disturbing trend of increasing radicalism in antisemitic messages throughout October, including explicit calls for violence and mass murder. These findings underscore the urgent need for social media platforms to implement more effective measures to combat Holocaust denial and distortion, as the weaponization of these harmful narratives poses a significant threat to the preservation of historical truth and the promotion of tolerance, non-violence, and understanding.

Find the full study here: Holocaust Distortions on Social Media After 10/7. The Antisemitic Mobilization | hc:61207 | Humanities CORE (hcommons.org)

In 2022, a three-stage research project was conducted on commission of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. It aimed to map the most important cultural codes that shape the images of Jews in contemporary Polish culture, as well as to analyse the risks associated with them. “Who Do Poles See When They See a Jew?” report sums up the research findings. The results indicate that antisemitism, especially the kind that people are not even aware of, is vividly present in our collective imagination. Moreover, antisemitism is not only a tool for discriminating against a specific minority group but also a repeated pattern of discrimination against various minorities.

Find the full report here: POLIN_RAPORT_FULL_ENG_digital

In recent years, the Active Club concept has become the fastest growing phenomenon in the right-wing extremist milieu in the US and Europe. In 2023, the milieu established itself in earnest in Sweden. EXPO’s new report “The Active Club Milieu in Sweden: How secret fight clubs became the new recruiting tool of the extreme right” aims to provide an overview of the Swedish Active Club milieu’s emergence, strategy and concept, type of activity, level of activity and international networks. The report also examines who are active in the milieu, to what extent they commit crimes and how they recruit new supporters both online and offline.

You can find the English version of the report here: Expo_Insight_-_The_Active_Club_Milieu_in_Sweden-1

This report, published in advance of Holocaust Memorial Day 2024, themed around the Fragility of Freedom, investigates the contemporary challenges of online Holocaust denial and distortion. It features five articles from members of ISD’s Coalition to Counter Online Antisemitism, who each bring unique perspective and expertise to the issue: Alina Bricman, Günther Jikeli, Ada Baumkötter, Linus Kebba Pook, Grischa Stanjek, Karolina Placzynta, Yfat Barak-Cheney, and Hannah Maman.

Find the full report here.