In this photo illustration, the Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone with a photo of Kanye West shown in the background on October 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. - Rapper Kanye West's Twitter account, which was temporarily locked out after posting anti-Semitic remarks, appeared to be back up on the platform, on October 28 after billionaire Elon Musk took ownership of the social media company. PHOTO BY OLIVIER DOULIERY/GETTY IMAGES
Twitter is heavily slanted against Israel, research presented to the Knesset suggests.
According to the study, titled “Antizionism, Antisemitism and The Polarization Pendulum” and carried out by the Network Contagion Research Institute in partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, Twitter users accuse the Jewish state of violating human rights more frequently than any other country.
The Network Contagion Research Institute analyzed almost 100 million tweets posted between Jan. 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, and discovered that Israel is targeted 111 times more than North Korea, 55 times more than Russia, 38 times more than Iran, and 12 times more than China.
The Boston-based Ruderman Foundation presented its research during a meeting of the Knesset Caucus for Israel-American Jewry Relations on July 12.
The report noted that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s widely embraced Working Definition of Antisemitism lists applying double standards to Israel as an example of contemporary Jew-hatred.
“Many people distinguish between anti-Zionism and antisemitism but our research suggests that the tropes they use are nearly identical,” Adam Sohn, CEO of the Network Contagion Research Institute, said. “The tropes of anti-Zionism are used to justify a larger attack against Jews everywhere, and we urge proper measures to be taken against it.”
Ruderman Family Foundation Executive Director Shira Ruderman said, “[T]he fact that Israel is measured differently from other countries in the world, using a double standard, requires us to place the issue on the agenda and insist on change in the world arena.
“This issue crosses political lines and worldviews and it is an opportunity for elected officials, from all sides of the political spectrum, to denounce the phenomenon,” she added.
In April, Germany’s Federal Justice Office began the process of fining Twitter, under the country’s Network Enforcement Act, for failing to remove antisemitic hate speech.
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter late last year, there have been reports that antisemitism has increased on the platform and on other social networks.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
Edited by Saba Fatima and Asad Ali
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