Antisemitic content on TikTok increases by 912% – study
Rhetoric included Nazi salutes, belittling of the Holocaust
A recent study shows a 912% increase in antisemitic content on TikTok.
Led by Dr. Gabriel Weimann of the University of Haifa and Natalie Masri of IDC Herzliya’s Institute for Counter-Terrorism, the two found that the rapid increase consisted of both antisemitic tropes, images and rhetoric.
The 912% refers to the number of antisemitic comments which grew from 41 antisemitic comments in 2020 to 415 in 2021.
In terms of antisemitic postings, the number grew from 43 posts in 2020 to 61 in 2021.
TikTok’s content moderation policies are likely responsible for the stark difference between antisemitic comments and antisemitic postings, as the policies would likely flag the postings
immediately.
Additionally, the amount of antisemitic usernames jumped from 4 in 2020 to 59 in 2021,
amounting to a 1375% increase.
These usernames ranged from @ holocaustwasgood to @eviljews.
The antisemitic rhetoric ranged from Nazi salutes, images of long, hooked noses depicting Jews, and diminishment of the Holocaust.
The study was conducted over a four-month period this year.
Weimann, who led the study said of the increase, “TikTok’s catering to young, impressionable and naive audiences, combined with bad-faith actors who are posting hateful content online, is something that should be taken very seriously”.
In October of 2020, TikTok updated its terms of service but Weimann worries that the platform is failing to take proper action. He explains that “They certainly should apply their own Terms of Use and they’re failing to do so properly. Moreover, their algorithm just promotes hate by sending such messages to those who expressed interest, sending a user down a rabbit hole of hatred.”