This Week’s Toplines

6 Ways to Get Better about Antisemitic Election Misinformation Next Time

In the just-concluded elections, there was a flood of false and misleading narratives across social media that rehashed antisemitic tropes and pushed anti-immigrant misinformation.

A TikTok video pushing a conspiracy theory about Jews running the U.S. (Screenshot by ADL)

ADL researchers evaluated the four key platforms where hateful election misinformation was found (X, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube). We found that several have weakened their rules against disseminating election misinformation and that some platforms have actually rolled back enforcement.

It needs to get better. ADL’s new report provides six detailed recommendations for the social media platforms, including reinstating prior policies that targeted false claims, being more responsive to user reporting from people like you who spot problematic posts, and applying disinformation rules year-round so things don’t metastasize between elections.

What’s News

VIEW: “Antisemitic Hurricane”: For a compelling conversation about this year of unprecedented antisemitism since the Israel-Hamas War, watch ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in conversation with podcast host Eylon Levy on a just-released episode of “Israel State of a Nation.” As Jonathan digs into the crisis, he notes that “Here in America, in 2019, 2021, 2022, we had hit new highs with the number of acts of harassment, vandalism, and violence directed towards Jews. But 10/7 was a trigger point, and things have exploded since then.” Click here for the podcast’s YouTube channel to watch this episode.

Arresting an Alarming Extremist: In the first edition of the new weekly extremely newsletter from the ADL Center on Extremism, we uplift a fascinating and alarming incident.

On November 5, 2024, 28-year-old Austin Martin Olson, of Westland, Michigan, was arrested after he allegedly walked into the U.S. Capitol with a flare gun, torch lighter, bottles of fuel and a letter he said he intended to “deliver to Congress.” Olson was apprehended while trying to go through the visitor center screening process, after Capitol Police noticed he smelled like fuel and spotted suspicious items in the X-ray machine. On X, Olson has expressed a range of far-right tropes and antisemitic views, railing against American capitalism and celebrating the racist and antisemitic Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which argues that Jews are trying to “replace” white Americans with nonwhite citizens.

You can subscribe to extremely here, and read more about the Great Replacement Theory here.

Anti-Zionist Samidoun on Campus: Samidoun, a group sanctioned by the U.S. in October 2024 for its role as a “sham charity” operating as a fundraising arm of the U.S. government-designated terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has long played a role in the anti-Israel movement on U.S. campuses. The group has been featured as a “pro-Palestinian” resource for years on some university or student websites, and since the Hamas-led terror attack in Israel, in which the PFLP took part, Samidoun has co-sponsored protests and events across the U.S. Read more in this report from the ADL Center on Extremism.

Social Spotlights

@ADL

Hundreds of protesters led by the radical anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) showed up at the @newscorp building in midtown Manhattan to denounce both candidates in the #2024Election. Protestors can be seen waiving Hezbollah flags, wearing Hamas headbands, and burning an Israeli flag. Newsflash: Showing outright support for terror is neither civil nor democratic. But it is disgraceful. News Link.

@ADL

This weekend, the @FBI thankfully thwarted a massive attack on a Nashville energy facility by an individual who allegedly hoped to further the white supremacist ideology known as “accelerationism.” Learn more about accelerationism in this ADL analysis.

@JGreenblattADL

Following an antisemitic incident last week in an Oakland cafe, hardened antisemite Mohammed El-Kurd predictably chimed in with his characteristic toxicity. El-Kurd likened the central symbol of Judaism and the Jewish people to a swastika. He referred to wearing the Star of David as a “provocation.” It’s hateful, but it’s par for the course for him. Check out our backgrounder and you’ll see why El-Kurd’s prejudice is predictable and pathetic.

@ADL

After feeling threatened as a Jewish college student, Marley turned to an ADL summer internship to learn strategies to counter antisemitism. Back on campus, she feels empowered and finds strength in community. Read her story.

@ADL’s Incident Tracker

The @ADL_tracker feed of news and developments in antisemitism activities.

This attack on a visibly Jewish child is reprehensible, and we are in touch with law enforcement, @ShomrimCH, and community leaders to learn more. Everyone — and especially children — should feel safe on the streets of Brooklyn. More info.

— November 6, 2024 Read the full post

NY Jewish man requires 18 stitches after being slashed in face in ‘vicious’ antisemitic hate crime. News link.

— November 5, 2024 Read the full post

Several Jewish businesses awoke to vandalism in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood this morning. ADL Los Angeles Regional Director @jeffreyabrams addresses the incident. “We are aware that several businesses in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood have been vandalized. As of now, it appears the majority of the businesses are Jewish-owned. ADL is in contact with LAPD. Any victims should contact LAPD directly or call 911 in the event of an emergency. ADL will be monitoring the situation and publicly sharing information throughout the day.”

— November 6, 2024 Read the full post

See more from ADL’s Incident Tracker.