STUDY: Anti-Semitic Content Posted On Social Media Every 83 Seconds

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By Sam Kestenbaum March 25, 2017

On average, anti-Semitic posts are uploaded to social media every 83 seconds, according to a new study by the World Jewish Congress — and the majority of anti-Semitic content is found on Twitter.

“We knew that anti-Semitism online was on the rise, but the numbers revealed in this report give us concrete data as to how alarming the situation really is,” said World Jewish Congress CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer in a Friday statement.

The research was carried out in collaboration with the Israeli monitoring firm Vigo Social Intelligence and involved analyzed millions of posts uploaded in 2016 in 20 languages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, blogs and other forums, the Times of Israel reported.

More than 382,000 of the posts deemed anti-Semitic by the researchers. Posts critical of Israel or its policies were not included.

The study found that more than 60% of all anti-Semitic content online can be found on Twitter. Facebook only makes up 11%, Instagram 6% and YouTube 2%.

The WJC said they based their definition of what constitutes an anti-Semitic post on 2016 guidelines from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: “anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected]

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

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