2023-11-01 19:31:38
You don’t have to look far to find anti-Israel and anti-Semitic posts on Tiktok these days. Young women put make-up on their faces with a map on which Israeli territory disappears behind a Palestinian flag. The Berlin clan leader Arafat Abou-Chaker compares the Israeli Prime Minister with Hitler. A food blogger with 24 million followers looks at the number of victims in Gaza and asks who the real terrorists are.
Solidarity with the civilian population in Palestine must be possible, as should criticism of the Israeli government. Neither is anti-Semitic per se. On Tiktok, however, this is often accompanied by a one-sided portrayal of the conflict, in which Israel is declared the sole aggressor and the country is denied the right to exist. Hamas’s latest terror is not even mentioned, put into perspective or even celebrated. It is not uncommon for a conspiracy narrative to follow via media reporting directed by Jews. The whole thing is then garnished with emoji combinations such as the Israeli flag or the Star of David next to a toilet.
The recent escalation in the Middle East conflict only reinforces what has long been common practice on Tiktok and other social networks: hatred and agitation against Jews. The Jewish population in Europe has perceived anti-Semitism on social networks as a threat for years. In 2018, almost ninety percent of those surveyed in an EU survey reported hostility on Facebook and Co. As a comparatively new platform, Tiktok is no exception.
Young people form their opinions here
Nevertheless, you should pay particular attention here. Because it is mainly 14 to 24 year olds who use the app, and not just to watch dance videos. The app has become a kind of leading medium for them to find out about world events, prepare for school and form an opinion. Established media have comparatively little relevance here; users who have previously dealt with topics from the lives of young people enjoy trust.
At the same time, the videos that are most successful on Tiktok are those that are significantly shorter than a minute. The short, simple messages are intended to trigger a strong emotional reaction in the viewer. Where emotions are involved, people like, comment and share more often – and achieve greater reach. Tiktok works with a recommendation algorithm. Users are shown what most others have responded to. And many reactions are triggered by negative emotions such as hate, anger and fear.
Right-wing extremists and terrorist groups like Hamas know how to use this. In just a few seconds, you can make posts on Tiktok that have the potential to reach millions of young people around the world. Memes and emojis about allegedly sneaky Jews can be understood in every language. The agitation is sometimes open, sometimes so hidden in the form of codes and conspiracy myths that the viewer does not even discover the anti-Semitism and spreads it innocently. The aim of the contributions is to normalize anti-Semitism and to intimidate and dehumanize Jews. Even survivors of the Holocaust are defamed in comments under their posts, and the mass murder is denied.
Moderators need to be trained
Platforms like Tiktok are not the root of this anti-Semitism. But instead of countering him, their algorithms actively help him and other hate messages spread. It will probably remain a pious wish that Tiktok changes these algorithms and thus its business model.
Nevertheless, politics and society must continue to increase the pressure. With the Digital Services Act, the EU has recently made the major platforms more responsible for taking action against all kinds of illegal content. According to its own information, Tiktok deleted a total of four million posts in September alone, almost half of them automated, and it also has 6,000 content moderators in action. Nevertheless, the sheer volume of anti-Semitic content alone shows that not enough is being done against them.
Stephan Klenner and Reinhard Müller Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Marcus Jung and Maximilian Sachse Published/Updated: Recommendations: 21 Jannis Holl Published/Updated: Recommendations: 45 Jannis Holl Published/Updated: Recommendations: 29 A comment from Maximilian Sachse Published/Updated : Recommendations: 25
Hatred of Jews can hardly be overcome with artificial intelligence. If a certain hashtag is blocked, it will be modified. Therefore, not only more employees are needed, but also employees specially trained in anti-Semitism to check contributions. And there needs to be enough offerings on the platform that explain why certain content is anti-Semitic so that it doesn’t become more widespread. Influencers would also have to be won over. Above all, it must be made generally clear that Tiktok is not just a fun platform.
#longer #dancing