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Hate on social media: posts in Arabic with anti-Semitic messages are systematically ignored by content moderators

A CyberWell study shows that only 9% of Holocaust-related posts in Arabic were deleted, compared to 35% of similar posts in English.

Redes sociales.

(Unsplash)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

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A study conducted by the organization CyberWell, a non-profit group that fights antisemitism on the Internet, discovered that on some social networks there is a language-based "disparity" in the “moderation of content that contains hate speech” against Jews.

Specifically, the report found that only 9% of Arabic posts with hate speech linked to the Holocaust were deleted from the platforms, compared to 35% of similar posts in English:

CyberWell often finds a disparity in content moderation by language across platforms, with more resources dedicated to monitoring English than other languages, including Arabic.

The analysis (conducted between 2023 and 2024) collected information from five platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter). On all of these social media sites, fewer posts containing hate speech in Arabic were deleted.

Yom HaShoah 2024 Online Hol... by Veronica Silveri

Most posts are antisemitic

According to the study, the organization's professionals analyze whether a post contains antisemitic hate speech based on the definition of antisemitism present in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which includes 11 examples of "antisemitism."

The results of the report showed that:

- 61% of the posts analyzed contained "Holocaust denial."

- 29% contained "stereotypes, generalizations and conspiratorial content about Jews.”

- 26% "accused Jews as a people, or Israel as a State, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.”

-24% registered "exhortation, exaltation or justification of violence against Jews.”

- 8% compared "Israel to the Nazis.”

"Holohoax" and "Hitler was right"

The analysis also showed examples of the posta that were examined. Among them, a TikTok video (which has more than three million views) compares Jews to German coal (referencing the atrocious murder of Jews in World War II).

Another post on X included the word "Holohoax.” This same post included a claim that Jews were to blame for the deaths of 30 million Russians and although this was marked with "limited visibility" online, it was viewed more than 16,000 times.

CyberWell also revealed that one of the most used phrases since the Hamas terrorists' attack on Israeli civilians is "Hitler was right." It revealed that since the beginning of April 2024, the phrase was used more than 2,600 times (reaching around 1.8 million users).

According to the study:

This is just one example where Jews are blamed for global events and tragedies, which is a common phenomenon (...) This narrative is heavily influenced by the current war in Gaza and enjoys a revival every time it is produces an escalation between Israel and Hamas. It usually takes the form of a comparison between Jews/Zionists and Nazis. The claim is that Jews/Zionists are committing a Holocaust against Palestinians or that Jews/Zionists collaborated with the Nazis to occupy Palestine.

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