Social media moderation cuts have caused ‘explosion of hate’ against Jews, says ADL

US social media giants have rolled back content moderation in recent months, leading to an “explosion of hate” online, according to the head of the Anti-Defamation League.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the New York-based antisemitism watchdog, says antisemitism has surged since the start of the Gaza war, which was sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

In the United States in particular, universities have become the setting of vocal protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza, as well as sometimes tense counter-demonstrations.

“Social media companies and big tech more broadly has a critical role to play” in fighting hate speech, Greenblatt told AFP in a recent interview.

Yet “the big companies — the most profitable businesses in the world, the most innovative companies in the history of business — have decided to outsource moderation to their users.”

In the United States, tech leaders broadly fell in line around US President Donald Trump after he won re-election last year.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg in January ended Facebook’s US fact-checking program, of which AFP was a part, after it faced criticism from conservatives.

He also rolled back content moderation on Facebook and Instagram, saying users would however be able to add context to posts.

The move followed Elon Musk — until recently a Trump ally — repealing content moderation on X, formerly Twitter, in the name of “free speech” after acquiring the company in 2022.

“From Amazon to X, from Alphabet to Meta, all these businesses need to be far more proactive because, as they have retreated from moderating the services — as flawed as it was, things are now far worse,” Greenblatt said.

“We’ve seen an explosion of hate on these services since they’ve pulled back,” he added. “Antisemitism can certainly be exacerbated by events in the Middle East.”

A string of incidents has targeted Jews in the United States in recent months.

Two Israeli embassy workers were murdered in Washington in May. A firebombing attack at a Colorado protest in support of the hostages in Gaza killed an 82-year-old woman last month. And tensions persist on university campuses.

Universities have “become breeding grounds for antisemitism,” Greenblatt said. “We’ve seen a massive rise in harassment and vandalism and violence on university campuses.”

The ADL recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2024.

It said that a little over half of the 5,000 anti-Israel rallies it tracked that year involved antisemitic messaging in the form of signs, chants or speeches.

But many of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who sometimes include Jewish students, have disavowed antisemitism and criticized officials equating it with opposition to Israel.

‘Overreach’

Since taking office in January, Trump has targeted elite US universities — including Harvard and Columbia — which he and his allies accuse of being hotbeds of liberal, anti-conservative bias and antisemitism.

He has sought to control college curriculums and staffing as well as slash funding, while deporting foreign student activists associated with the pro-Palestinian movement.

Greenblatt said the ADL was “grateful when Trump came into office saying he was going to tackle” antisemitism, then “released an executive order shortly after his inauguration” to help fight the issue.

But, Greenblatt said, “We are concerned about the possibility of overreach.”

“Whereas we think real work needs to happen to help Harvard and Columbia correct the issues they were unwilling to address themselves, we don’t want the cure to be worse than the disease,” Greenblatt said, without elaborating.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.