Google data shows scale of hate searches

AROUND 170,000 Google searches with antisemitic content are made every year in the UK — around ten per cent of which involve violent language or intentions — a new report has revealed.

Using Google search data from 2004 to 2018, the report by the CST and Antisemitism Policy Trust also showed that Britain ranks third in the world for searches about “Zionism”, behind only Israel and Lebanon — 29 per cent higher than in the US.

Searches for the word in the UK rose 25-fold in April 2016, after Ken Livingstone made comments about “Hitler supporting Zionism”. “Hitler Zionism” is the fourth most popular search about Zionism in Britain.

Other data showed that antisemitic searches are just as high in cities that mostly vote Labour as they are in cities that mostly vote Conservative, and higher in Wales than anywhere else.

The report also identified specific days or times when the volume of antisemitic searches rose sharply.

There was a 79 per cent rise in antisemitic Google searches in April 2018, most of which occurred on the day after Jewish community representatives met Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

In another example, each year, on Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27), searches for “Holocaust hoax” are roughly 30 per cent above average.

And in the days following Israel’s victory in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, antisemitic searches increased by 30 per cent.

The report was written by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, the best-selling author of Everybody Lies: What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are.

It showed that in the UK, there are more Google searches into the Rothschild banking family than for top Jewish celebrities such as David Baddiel or Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Most of these searches are looking for conspiracy theories related to the Rothschild domination of the world.

Dave Rich, head of policy for CST, said: “Search engines and internet companies have a responsibility to ensure that people asking these questions are directed away from hateful content and towards material that might challenge their prejudices.”