A coordinated campaign to spread anti-Semitic memes and images on Twitter resulted in more than 1,200 tweets and retweets containing objectionable content, according to analysis by the Anti-Defamation League.
The tweets identified by the ADL contributed to a spate of racist, transphobic and rule-breaking content that spilled over Twitter on Friday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk officially took control of the platform. Mr Musk has promised to relax rules on content moderation in the name of “freedom of speech,” worrying many who believe the changes will allow objectionable content to circulate on the platform.
The ADL said the anti-Semitic tweet campaign was hatched on 4chan, the fringe news forum that is loosely moderated and where hate speech thrives. On Thursday, after Mr Musk’s takeover was made official, an anonymous 4chan user posted instructions on how to share anti-Semitic content on Twitter. According to ADL, the post was distributed on Telegram, the chat app popular with far-right extremists
“Now that Elon is taking over Twitter, it’s time to finally use our skills,” read the post, which urged users to argue with Jewish users and “like” tweets from other participants.
The anonymous user also credited Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who was banned from posting on Twitter almost two weeks ago after sharing an anti-Semitic tweet. The sentiment was captured in tweets sent out as part of the campaign on Friday.
“You guys broke the dam,” read one tweet identified by the ADL, which contained an anti-Semitic meme that was rife on unmoderated forums.
“We hope Musk will take the necessary technical and policy measures to ensure Twitter does not become a hellscape and haven for anti-Semitism, extremism and hate,” Oren Segal, the vice president of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said in a statement E-mail. “This coordinated anti-Semitic campaign suggests that time is of the essence.”
Several accounts that posted banned material on Friday have been banned from the platform.
Mr Musk said in a tweet on Friday that the company will not make any major content decisions or reinstate suspended accounts until a “Content Moderation Council” is formed. He gave no further details about the council or its plans.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
