Study: X now ‘one of the most effective tools for spreading antisemitism in history’

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is now one of the most effective tools for spreading antisemitism in history, a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) claims.

An investigation conducted over nearly a year, and published Monday, uncovered “systemic failures in X’s content moderation, showing how the platform amplifies antisemitic conspiracy theories and allows influential, often monetized accounts to spread anti-Jewish hate to wide audiences unchecked,” the organizations said.

“Platforms like X enable antisemitic content to reach millions for zero cost to the producer, with little to no accountability,” said CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed. “Unless platforms change course, live up to their terms of service, and stop the spread of antisemitism and broader hate and extremism, it will likely lead to further violent incidents targeting Jewish and other vulnerable communities.”

There was no immediate response from X to a request to comment.

Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o, researchers found that 679,000 posts sampled violated X’s policies on antisemitism. These posts got 193 million views in the 11 months of the report, despite X’s promises to limit their visibility, the report said.

CCDH and JCPA noted that the AI model was only able to analyze posts with 85 percent accuracy, meaning that not all the posts identified as antisemitic were actually so. Only English text in posts was analyzed, not images, video, or audio content. However, they say, the overall findings are still valid.

The study found that antisemitic conspiracy theories do particularly well on X. These accounted for 59% of the posts studied, yet they secured a disproportionate 73% of all likes. Claims that Jewish people secretly hold excessive power over global media, finance, or politics comprised 30% of the sample but racked up 44% of all likes and views.

The report’s authors noted that such theories are often linked with real-world harm. The FBI has warned that antisemitism is a persistent driver of violent extremism, with many attackers referencing these tropes in manifestos or online interactions, it said.

The remaining 41% of antisemitic posts were characterized as abuse, including anti-Jewish character attacks, dehumanization and violent speech.

Regarding Community Notes, X’s decentralized system for combating false information, the report said it is failing to debunk antisemitic lies. Of the top 300 most-viewed antisemitic posts surveyed, only four had a publicly visible Community Note, and these were only visible 22% of the time, the report charged.

“Despite Elon Musk’s assurances that ‘a falsehood like Holocaust denial… can immediately be corrected’ by Community Notes, this report finds negligible evidence of effective correction,” the report said.

Meanwhile, X also makes it easy for posters to monetize antisemitic content and reach millions of viewers. Researchers found that ten individual “antisemitism influencers” accounted for 32% of total likes on posts in their sample, and that nine of these had more followers on X than on other platforms.

“This indicates that X may offer these influencers access to a much larger audience than they are able to achieve on other social media platforms due to its features or its approach to content moderation,” the report said.

Furthermore, ads were found displayed near posts by five of the top 10 antisemitism influencers, and the report calculated that X could be earning up to $141,000 a year in ad revenue from their content.

Jewish groups have complained for years about rampant antisemitism on X, which billionaire Musk acquired in 2022 before he changed its name from Twitter. Earlier this year, a coalition of 14 US Jewish groups said they would leave the social media platform due to an increase in hateful content. And in September 2023, a month before Hamas launched its vicious attack against Israel on October 7,  a group of 120 Jewish activists signed a letter appealing to major advertisers to end their relationship with X.

“Antisemitic conspiracy theories and hate that were once fringe have been wholly normalized – thriving in plain sight and amplified by X’s failure to live up to its own policies,” said JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick.

“At a time when polarization, extremism and violence are rising at home and abroad, the unchecked spread of antisemitism online is a direct threat not only to Jewish safety, but to the safety of all communities and our core democratic values,” she said.