Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of social media platforms and their role in Jewish life.
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The Schmooze Did a celebrity chef rip off Russ and Daughters’ design?
Update, 6/6/21: As of Thursday, both parties have removed their original posts and arrived at an amicable resolution. After representatives from The Borscht Belt clarified that the design process had been outsourced to another company, and that its owners, including Nick Liberato had not been personally involved, Russ and Daughter posted on Instagram wishing “Nick…
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Community What my peers on social media don’t get about Israel and Palestine
This week, my social media feeds were inundated with countless posts from my millennial, liberal-minded peers: infographics of colorful illustrations blatantly degrading the Jewish people. Shock-value footage of bloody bomb blasts, only showing the destruction for which Israel is responsible. As I scrolled, I hoped that at least one post would be nuanced and empathetic…
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Culture Have social media giants been censoring posts about Israel and Gaza?
Almost as fast as social media posts about Israel and Gaza began multiplying, so too did complaints of censorship from both sides. Posts were identified as hate speech and taken down; influencers insisted that they had been shadow-banned — a term for when a user’s posts are left up but the algorithm does not show…
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Culture Are Instagram infographics driving the narrative around the Israeli-Palestinian crisis?
Hashtag activism isn’t known for making a long-lasting impact, but it’s certainly a way to spread news and hot takes far and wide — the hotter the take, the more viral the post. While social media’s full impact on the evolving conflict in Gaza and Jerusalem is still emerging, blaring headlines and infographics have already…
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News TikTok and Twitter videos bring images of Israel-Gaza conflict home to American Jews
(JTA) — For some Americans watching the escalating violence in Israel and Gaza in recent days, the most striking image from the conflict came in a video of Israeli men at the Western Wall, singing and dancing as they watched a fire burn outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Others can’t look away from videos of Iron…
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Culture How TikTok’s #MyJewishHeritage plan went horribly awry
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Tuesday, May 11 to include a statement from a TikTok spokesperson. Going viral overnight is the dream for most aspiring social media influencers. But for Jewish creators on TikTok, it can be a nightmare filled with antisemitism. For May, which is Jewish Heritage Month, TikTok created a #MyJewishHeritage…
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Culture How Jewish TikTokers are trying to reclaim an antisemitic trend
“If I Were a Rich Man” is one of the most iconic songs from “Fiddler on the Roof.” In it, Tevye, borrowing from niggunim, a wordless Jewish meditative tune, dreams of a better life outside the shtetl. Unfortunately, the beloved song has been turned into a flourishing antisemitic trend on TikTok, spawning more than 25,000…
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News Is Clubhouse equipped to handle hate speech and antisemitism?
Two weeks after this piece was published, a flare-up of antisemitic incidents on Clubhouse led the social networking app to announce publicly they had “shut down a number of rooms found to be in violation” of their policies. Those rooms, which were eventually shut down, amassed hundreds of listeners and reportedly included statements about “how…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Rep. Ritchie Torres, outspoken pro-Israel advocate, is dropping hints that he could run for NY governor
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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Fast Forward A Jewish museum in Tulsa held a funeral for remains of Holocaust victims it kept for years
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Sports Texas A&M’s Sam Salz cherishes his first taste of DI college football — and the opportunity to inspire fellow Orthodox Jews
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