Antisemitism on Social Media is a book for all who want to understand this phenomenon.

Researchers interested in the matter will find innovative methodologies (CrowdTangle or Voyant Tools mixed with discourse analysis) and new concepts (tertiary antisemitism, antisemitic escalation) that should become standard in research on antisemitism on social media. It is also an invitation to students and up-and-coming and established scholars to study this phenomenon further. This interdisciplinary volume addresses how social media with its technology and business model has revolutionized the dissemination of antisemitism and how this impacts not only victims of antisemitic hate speech but also society at large. The book gives insight into case studies on different platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Telegram. It also demonstrates how social media is weaponized through the dissemination of antisemitic content by political actors from the right, the left, and the extreme fringe, and critically assesses existing counter-strategies.

People working for social media companies, policy makers, practitioners, and journalists will benefit from the questions raised, the findings, and the recommendations. Educators who teach courses on antisemitism, hate speech, extremism, conspiracies, and Holocaust denial but also those who teach future leaders in computer technology will find this volume an important resource.

About the Author

Monika Hubscher is a PhD Candidate at the University of Haifa, Israel, and Research Associate at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Sabine von Mering is Professor of German and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Director of the Center for German and European Studies, at Brandeis University, USA.

Reviews

"This book is an essential guide to a modern disgrace that threatens everyone, not just Jews. Just when we are congratulating ourselves about supposedly sophisticated ideas or technologies, what often happens is that brutish, forceful impulses get a path cleared. Antisemitism was the ancient, enduring proving ground for ridiculous, deadly paranoias in European cultures; now the old methods have become profitable accelerants for hate on social media."

Jaron Lanier, Computer Scientist and Author, USA

"Antisemitism on Social Media is a timely and urgently needed investigation into today's manifestations of antisemitism. The book shows vividly how social media has become a disturbingly powerful engine of antisemitic hatred and conspiracy theories. A must-read for everyone who wants to understand the dangers of modern-day antisemitism."

Julia Ebner, Bestselling Author of Going Dark. The Secret Social Lives of Extremists, and Senior Research Fellow and Counterterrorism Advisor, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK

"Social media is absolutely central to the way that contemporary antisemitism is generated, disseminated, and operationalised around the world, and this volume is a valuable and enlightening contribution to our understanding of how and why this happens. Importantly, the breadth of chapters recognise the variety in how antisemitism manifests online, including antisemitism in mainstream politics and society, online networks of violent anti-Jewish extremists, and the intersection of antisemitism with broader conspiracist movements that threaten democracy."

Dave Rich, Director of Policy, Community Security Trust, UK

"This timely, disturbing and all-too-necessary book shows from a global perspective how antisemitism has taken hold within contemporary social media. The authors document the antisemitism of conspiracy theorists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Islamists; discuss the implications of omnipresent hate speech; and propose counter measures. Their scholarship illuminates the internet's darkest corners and exposes the vulnerable underside of the digital revolution."

Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History; Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University, USA

"The internet offers unprecedented ways of spreading antisemitic hate speech and conspiracy myths. Too often have we witnessed that illegal or otherwise harmful content online can lead to hate crime in the real world. Understanding the sources, as well as the instruments and ways this dangerous content travels and is amplified, is essential for platforms, policy makers, law enforcement agencies and users. With its thorough analysis, Antisemitism on Social Media offers innovative ideas to all those engaged in counter-actions to address online antisemitism."

Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life

"Antisemitism on Social Media has the ability to slice through much of the political fog around the subject of antisemitism, letting the data reach a wider audience of scholars and policy makers, and takes an approach that lets neither right-wing or left-wing orthodoxies dictate exclusively how the data will be interpreted... it is an intervention into a field that desperately needs dependable numbers, and rarely do we see a volume that tries to bring together as many relevant studies with such up-to-date research in a singular work. In that way, Monika Hubscher and Sabine von Mering have produced something incredibly special [that] is guaranteed to be on every researcher's Works Cited for years to come."

Shane Burley, Maiseh Review, May 2022, https://maiseh-review.ghost.io/how-to-understand-the-research-on-antisemitism-on-social-media/

Book Information
ISBN 9781032059693
Author Monika Hubscher
Format Paperback
Page Count 252
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 449g