Report: Rise in Antisemitism via Twitter Encourages Domestic Terrorists

• Since Elon Musk’s purchase, tweets containing slurs and antisemitic content have risen in number.
• Federal officials warn that Twitter posts can lead to real-world acts and violence. 
• Musk claimsThe total number of tweets containing hate speech is down in terms of impressions.

Despite Elon Musk’s insistence to the contrary, researchers have found antisemitic and racist slurs have skyrocketed on Twitter since his takeover — with experts warning the hateful rhetoric will translate to real-world acts of violence.

Musk’s final weeks were spent in $44 billion acquisitionResearchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Anti-Defamation League other groupsI have seen posts that include slurs, white nationalist, racist and antisemitic content, as well as far-right content, rise while Twitter removes less content and takes longer to review it. 

The Center for Countering Digital Hate foundIn the week following Musk’s takeover of Tesla, Musk’s use of the N word tripled the 2022 average. Anti-LGBTQ slurs increased between 39%-53% and antisemitic speech rose 22%. The New York Times reportedAntisemitic posts about Jews or Judaism shot up more than 61% during the first two week. accounts supporting ISISThe roaring return of the lions was heard.

Juliette Kayyem (a national security expert and former assistant DHS Secretary) stated that there is no difference between online chatter, real-word harm, and online chatter. She also disabused the idea by a decade of research. The Washington PostShe said that Musk’s current approach of opening content on Twitter “resocializes hate and rids society from the shame that ought to be done regarding antisemitism.”

Musk has maintained that hate speech impressions — the number of times content is viewed — are down overall, posting a graphFriday’s trend was downward saying “hate speech impressions are <0.1% of what’s seen on Twitter.”

Twitter’s billionaire owner, self-described “The Man Who Owns Twitter”free speech absolutist“Who has stood against widespread content moderation and reinstated the accounts of several usersOriginally suspended for hate speech, has not disclosed any internal metrics that were used to determine which posts are hate speech or the total number hate speech impressions since before or after his takeover. 

Yoel Roth (ex-head of trust and security at Twitter) acknowledged the “surge in hateful posts” last month. in a tweetHowever, the company also stated that they were taking steps to reduce their reach.

Insider asked Musk and Twitter representatives for comment but did not receive any response.

Experts are particularly concerned about the rise in antisemitic content, due to the high-profile amplifying of anti-Jewish posts celebrities such as Kanye WestAfter being kicked off the platform this month, he was reinstated. violating the platform’s rules against incitement to violence.

“This type of escalation and hate and dehumanization, the hatred of the Jewish population — it’s a really directed target. Violence is inevitable.” The Washington Post reportedDenver Riggleman is a former Air Force intelligence officer a Republican member of Congress, said.

The Department of Homeland Security published a statementLate last month, the United States was faced with domestic terrorist threats. The article highlighted the “enduring danger to faith-based communities,” including the Jewish community. It also referred to an incident that occurred last month.8-year-old was arrested after making online threats against a synagogue.

Researchers have consistently foundAccording to the nonpartisan think tank, online rhetoric feeds real world behavior. Hate speech online is linked to an increase in violence against minorities “including mass shootings and lynchings and ethnic cleansing.” Council for Foreign Relations.

“Whether it’s the individual or the group dynamics, they are feeding off this crap and this hate — that is the reason why content moderation was created in the first place,” The Washington Post reported Kayyem said. “Content moderation didn’t come about because people wanted everyone to be nice. It was created because these attitudes can lead to violent behavior if they are allowed to thrive in society.”