Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society

The document provides a comprehensive toolkit for civil society to combat online antisemitism. It analyzes how extremists use social media and 'alt-tech' platforms to normalize hate, examines legislative frameworks in the EU, Germany, France, and the UK, and offers strategies for engaging with platforms and governments. It emphasizes a shift from simple content removal to systemic regulation and the importance of digital citizenship education.

• Online antisemitism has increased in both volume and severity over the last decade, often adapting to current events like the COVID-19 pandemic to spread conspiracy theories.
• Antisemitic content is pervasive across major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter) and 'alt-tech' platforms like Telegram, Gab, and Bitchute, which often lack moderation.
• Extremists use 'plausible deniability' by employing coded language, numerical symbols (e.g., 88 for 'Heil Hitler'), and triple parentheses to target Jews while avoiding platform bans or legal thresholds.
• Holocaust denial and distortion remain significant issues online; for instance, a UNESCO report found that 17% of Holocaust-related content on TikTok denied or distorted the event.
• Policy responses are shifting from 'content-based' approaches (notice-and-takedown) toward 'systemic' approaches that regulate the underlying architecture and algorithms of platforms.
• Germany's Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) requires large platforms to remove 'manifestly unlawful content' within 24 hours of a report.
• In France, the 'Loi Avia' attempted to implement strict removal timelines for hate speech, but key provisions were struck down by the Constitutional Court for potentially infringing on freedom of expression.
• The UK's proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB) aims for systemic regulation by requiring providers to carry out 'illegal content risk assessments' and take proportionate measures to minimize harm.
• Civil society organizations (CSOs) are encouraged to advocate for the adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism by platforms to ensure moderation matches the lived experience of communities.
• Digital citizenship education is identified as a critical tool for building resilience, teaching users to navigate the online environment critically and ethically.

APA

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2022). Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Anti-Semitism-Online-Guide.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society. 2022. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Anti-Semitism-Online-Guide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |title=Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society |date=2022 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Anti-Semitism-Online-Guide.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforstrategicdialogue2022online, author = {{Institute for Strategic Dialogue}}, title = {{Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Anti-Semitism-Online-Guide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }