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The Rise of Antisemitism Online During the Pandemic

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The Rise of Antisemitism Online During the Pandemic THE RISE OF ANTISEMITISM ONLINE DURING THE PANDEMIC A study of French and German content Prepared by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue April 2021, Contract number: JUST/2020/RRAC/PR/RIGH/0115 European Commission Directorate-General Justice and Consumers Directorate C – Fundamental rights and rule of law Unit C2 – Fundamental rights policy [email protected] This document was commissioned by the European Commission. The information and views set out herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for any use of the information provided here. More information on the European Union is available at: http://www.europa.eu Print ISBN 978-92-76-38013-9 doi:10.2838/408086 DS-02-21-656-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-76-38012-2 doi:10.2838/671381 DS-02-21-656-EN-N © European Union, 2021. Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented based on Commission Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). The European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 This report was prepared by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The research and the drafting of the document was conducted by Milo Comerford, Senior Policy Manager, and Lea Gerster, Analyst, at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................7 Key findings .......................................................................................................................................7 Key recommendations ................................................................................................................7 Introduction .................................................................................................................................11 The nature of antisemitic online content ..........................................................................15 Covid-related antisemitic narratives ................................................................................16 ‘Classical’ antisemitism during the pandemic..............................................................17 The dissemination of antisemitic content ........................................................................23 Trajectory of online antisemitism ......................................................................................24 Reach and engagement ...........................................................................................................26 Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................31 Policy recommendations..........................................................................................................33 Methodological Annex ..............................................................................................................37 Executive Summary Executive Summary When the Black Death swept across Western Europe in the 14TH century, leaving 25 million dead, Jewish communities were blamed for the spread of the disease. Conspiracy theories about Jews poisoning wells proliferated, leading to unprecedented waves of violence against the community. Seven hundred years later, the Coronavirus pandemic has ushered in a new wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories and hate in Europe, with much of this playing out across a range of digital platforms. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working uncertainties and anxieties around the virus have been definition of antisemitism was used to identify channels weaponised by a broad range of extremists, conspiracy theorists containing antisemitic content, before developing keyword lists to and disinformation actors, who have sought to propagandise, identify antisemitic expressions widely used on these channels. radicalise and mobilise captive online audiences during global lockdowns.1 Antisemitic hate speech is often a common feature Key Findings of these diverse threats, with dangerous implications for public safety, social cohesion and democracy. • The research identified 272 French language and 276 German language accounts and channels But the Covid-19 crisis has only served to exacerbate a worrying spreading antisemitic messages related to the Covid-19 trend in terms of online antisemitism. A 2018 Fundamental pandemic. Telegram was the most significant platform Rights Agency survey on Experiences and Perceptions of for the proliferation of antisemitism in German, with 200 Antisemitism among Jews in the EU found nearly nine in ten channels, whilst in French Twitter was most prominent, respondents considered online antisemitism a problem. Eight with 167 accounts identified. Facebook was the second in ten encountered antisemitic abuse online. most popular platform for antisemitism in both languages. This report, conducted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue • Within a dataset of over four million posts collected (ISD), presents a data-driven snapshot of the proliferation from these accounts, over 180,000 posts (around one in of Covid-19 related online antisemitic content in French and forty) were flagged as containing antisemitic references German on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram. The study provides by the keyword annotators. This comprised over 17,000 insight into the nature and volume of antisemitic content Facebook posts, over 38,000 tweets and over 124,000 across selected accounts in France and Germany, analysing Telegram posts either containing antisemitic keywords the platforms where such content is found, as well as the most or keywords associated with Jews in channels dominated prominent antisemitic narratives – comparing key similarities by antisemitic references. and differences between these different language contexts. • There was a considerable growth in the use of antisemitic The findings of this report draw on data analysis using social keywords during the pandemic. Comparing the first two listening tools and natural language processing software, months of 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 2021 (during the combined with qualitative analysis. Covering the period from pandemic), a seven-fold increase in antisemitic posting January 2020 until March 2021 to build insights around the could be observed on the French language accounts, and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on online antisemitism, the over a thirteen-fold increase in antisemitic comments within the German channels studied. 1 ISD & Institut Montaigne, “Information Manipulations Around COVID-19: • The data shows considerable audience engagement France Under Attack”, July 2020, https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/ information-manipulations-around-covid-19-france-under-attack/ with antisemitic content across platforms. French 8 antisemitic content on Facebook was engaged with Key Recommendations through likes, comments and shares over half a million times during 2020 and 2021, and received over three This report comes at a critical juncture in the European million retweets and likes on Twitter. In Germany, policy debate around countering online hate speech. EU antisemitic content on Telegram has been viewed over Member States, including Germany and France, have been two billion times in total. German and French accounts at the forefront of devising legislative responses to compel had a combined followership of almost 4.5 million (while social media companies to remove illegal hate speech from the number of unique followers is likely to be much lower). their platforms, through initiatives such as the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) in Germany and laws that have • The study found that a small number of the noisiest been proposed in parallel in France, while, at the EU level, accounts create an outsized share of antisemitic initiatives such as the Digital Services Act, the Code of content. The top ten most active German language Conduct and the European Democracy Action Plan present channels (less than 5% of the total list of accounts) were important opportunities for more systematic approaches responsible for over 50% of antisemitic posting. The three to regulation and oversight of platforms. most prolific Telegram accounts were all chat groups associated with the QAnon movement. Based on the findings, the report lays out a range of recommendations (outlined in full on page 33). They • Qualitative analysis revealed the proliferation of several include calls to: significant antisemitic narratives related to the Covid-19 pandemic. These ranged from conspiracy • Address online antisemitism as part of a comprehensive theories presenting vaccines as a Jewish plot to framework for digital regulation at a European level, sterilise or control populations, to representations of Jews aligning diverse EU efforts from tackling conspiracy as unhygienic or as a “virus” themselves. theories and disinformation to promoting platform transparency on enforcement of terms of service.
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