Research Compilation on Online Antisemitism

The report provides a comprehensive overview of how antisemitism manifests across various online ecosystems, from mainstream platforms like X and YouTube to fringe spaces like Telegram and Discord. It details the roles of far-right, Islamist, far-left, and conspiracy-driven actors, highlighting how global crises—such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the October 7 Hamas attacks—fuel surges in online hate. The document also examines the persistence of Holocaust denial and the emergence of 'ideologically hybridised' antisemitism, where diverse extremist groups coalesce around shared tropes.

• Far-right antisemitism is pervasive on Telegram, where a 2020 study of 208 English-language white supremacist channels found that 87.9% contained anti-minority content, including antisemitism.
• The October 7 Hamas attacks triggered a significant increase in online antisemitism; on alternative platforms (including 4chan, Bitchute, Gab, and Telegram), there was a three-fold increase in posts using antisemitic keywords, with nearly half a million comments identified as likely antisemitic between October 1 and December 24, 2023.
• Islamist antisemitism often manifests in digital subcultures, such as Gen-Z Salafists on Discord, and has been used to mobilise offline violence, as seen in the October 29 riots at Dagestan airport where 35 Telegram channels reached over 726,000 people with antisemitic misinformation.
• The COVID-19 pandemic saw a surge in antisemitic conspiracy narratives, with posts containing COVID-related antisemitism increasing 7-fold in French and 13-fold in German between January 2020 and March 2021.
• Following Elon Musk's acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) in October 2022, research found that the volume of English-language antisemitic posts more than doubled.
• Analysis of YouTube comments on the Israel/Palestine conflict following the October 7 attacks revealed an over 50-fold increase in the absolute volume of antisemitic comments, with 39% involving conspiracy narratives and 19% featuring classic antisemitic tropes.
• The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been used to repurpose antisemitic narratives, including claims that Ukraine is a 'Zionist-controlled' state or part of a 'Greater Israel' plan, and the use of the 'Happy Merchant' meme to target President Zelensky.
• Holocaust denial remains active across platforms; in the run-up to the 2020 US Presidential Election, ISD identified 36 Facebook pages/groups dedicated to or frequently hosting Holocaust denial, and thousands of 'Holohoax' mentions on Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube.

APA

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2024). Research Compilation on Online Antisemitism. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Research-Compilation-on-Online-Antisemitism.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Research Compilation on Online Antisemitism. 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Research-Compilation-on-Online-Antisemitism.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |title=Research Compilation on Online Antisemitism |date=2024 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Research-Compilation-on-Online-Antisemitism.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforstrategicdialogue2024research, author = {{Institute for Strategic Dialogue}}, title = {{Research Compilation on Online Antisemitism}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Research-Compilation-on-Online-Antisemitism.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }