Inside the social media network of the alt-right

Our reporter spent a morning on Gab.com, the website that claims to champion freedom of speech. Within minutes of joining, he encountered a torrent of hate and prejudice

IF YOU thought Twitter and Facebook were awash with antisemitism, you clearly have not spent much time on Gab.com, the favoured social media platform of the extreme-right and neo-Nazis.

Over two hours of research, the JC catalogued posts accusing Jews of carrying out the September 11 terror attacks — and one which alleged that Jewish people “are in a hurry to implement a final solution on all whites”.

The site gained popular attention in October, after it emerged that Robert Bowers, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect, was a user. Minutes before the worst atrocity against Jews in American history unfolded, a post appeared on his account that ended with the chilling words: “I’m going in”.

Mr Bowers has entered a plea of not guilty to federal charges and faces a jury trial.

The shooting triggered an outcry that led domain provider GoDaddy to suspend services Gab’s services. GoDaddy said it found “numerous instances” of content on the platform which “promotes and encourages violence against people”.

But Gab was to resurface once more after another domain service, Epik, welcomed it as the victim of “digital censorship”.

Moments after setting up a fake account on the site, the JC was presented with a steady stream of Holocaust denial, antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories — as well as those venerating Adolf Hitler. The countless instances of antisemitic language and imagery are part of a broad spectrum of bigotry, which primarily takes aim at black people, Muslims and women.

One user named “Slandered Fuhrer” wrote: “Antisemitism is the Highest Love of all, because Jews are the consummate haters of mankind.

“Jews do not consider non-Jews to be human beings; but, rather, cattle… to be exploited, raped, pillaged and slaughtered for the sake of their personal/tribal greed.”

“TruthWillOut Films” called for followers to “expel the Jew”, adding that “millions around the world are embracing the truth, that Hitler was right”.

Violett Elfenbein, who used an image of a swastika as a profile image, wrote: “The parasitic Jews will fully deserve the genocide that’s coming upon them.

“They do not deserve mercy, expulsion will never fix a rat problem, extermination does.”

Many Gab users protect their anonymity by using pseudonyms. Few publish photos of themselves. Mainstream social media services like Facebook and Twitter are usually quick to remove antisemitic material and ban those who post them, but Gab’s “free speech” policy explicitly allows its users to avoid this.

Also unlike Twitter and Facebook, Gab makes it easy for users to delete all their published posts with a single click, allowing individuals to instantly wipe their history.

One particular trend, referred to as “Name the Jew”, has won popularity on the site in recent months.

Started by white supremacist Patrick Little, who recently ran for a US Senate seat in California, participants are encouraged to publicly shame Jewish people on the site. According to some reports, Gab has since expelled him.

Gab did not respond to a JC for comment.

Gab makes it easy to delete all posts with a single click

Gab says it “champions free speech” but attracts a vast amount of hate, including posts attributed to Robert Bowers (top)