American Jewish Committee warns platforms need to do more to tackle antisemitism, urges use of IHRA definition to moderate content.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has launched an awareness campaign aimed to convince social media platforms to address the spread of antisemitism by taking “concrete action.”
The campaign follows the publication of AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America Report 2022, which found significant numbers of Americans are experiencing antisemitic content online and on social media.
“The report underlines the need for more to be done to fight antisemitism in the digital world,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said. “Social media companies must do more in the fight against antisemitism, first by ensuring their platforms are not used as launching pads for conspiracies and hate targeting Jews.”
The AJC report’s findings demonstrate the gravity of online antisemitism. Noting that 69 percent of Jews surveyed reported they had experienced antisemitism online, either as a target or by seeing antisemitic content, the survey also found that younger Jews (85 percent) were more likely to experience online antisemitism than those over 30 (64 percent).
The Call to Action’s social media recommendations include ensuring transparency, improving moderation systems, making it easier to report antisemitism, and hiring liaisons to listen to the concerns of the Jewish community.
“Fighting antisemitism in all of its manifestations requires a full court press, concrete actions by all sectors of American society,” Deutch said. “The power and limitless reach of social media, however, requires special, urgent attention.”
He added that social media companies have a duty to “act responsibly and lead in efforts to stop age-old conspiracies, antisemitism, and hatred from spreading further.”
Source: Arutz 7
