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X briefly allows anti-Leo Frank ‘community note’ as antisemitism flares on the platform
(JTA) — A “community note” saying falsely that Leo Frank, the victim of an antisemitic lynching in 1915, was guilty of raping and murdering a young girl appeared and disappeared several times over the weekend on X, the platform known until recently as Twitter.
Community notes, which allow users to contribute additional context about tweets, were expanded in late 2022 as new owner Elon Musk’s favored tool for battling misinformation on the platform. But the community note about Frank offers the latest indication that the technology can be misused.
The note was appended to tweets by the Anti-Defamation League and its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, marking the anniversary of Frank’s lynching. The Jewish civil rights group was founded in the wake of the case.
“Readers added context: He raped and murdered a 13 year old white girl and tried to frame the illiterate black janitor,” the note said. “His pardon, 73 years after his death, does not clear him of the accused crime and was likely politically-motivated.” The note then offered two links, both to white supremacist websites, purporting to offer evidence.
There is in fact a widespread consensus that Frank was innocent of the crime and that his arrest and prosecution were driven by antisemitism. Frank has long been a hobbyhorse for neo-Nazis who reject that consensus and see the advocacy on his behalf as evidence of Jewish control of the media, a longstanding antisemitic trope.
Frank’s profile — and the simmering neo-Nazi preoccupation with him — grew this year with the success of “Parade,” the Broadway musical that tells Frank’s story. Neo-Nazis rallied outside the show on its opening night.
The note was deleted then added back several times on multiple accounts before finally disappearing permanently, as X’s moderation team played a game of whack-a-mole with neo-Nazi trolls.
The note was one of several instances in recent days when X’s new features seemed to reward antisemites. Last week, Media Matters reported that X was placing advertising on an account that was openly pro-Nazi; CNN later verified the reporting. The account was suspended after the report and several of the brands that had their ads placed there said they would no long pay for advertising on the platform. Some said they had not paid for the ads in the first place.
Additionally, the platform just issued its first payments to users whose content generates high engagement, an initiative that Musk announced. Among those touting their dividends in recent days was Lucas Gage, a white nationalist formerly known as Angelo John Gage, whose posts consist largely of anti-Jewish content. “Finally got paid for dropping red pills and triggering people,” he tweeted when sharing a screenshot of what he said was a receipt for his $165 payment.
In the days since, Gage posted more than half a dozen times about Leo Frank, including once with a video that he titled “Unhinged Ultra Rant: the ADL and Leo Frank cover up.” In several instances, he mentioned the appearance and disappearance of the community note.
The ADL has been highly critical of Twitter and Musk, urging an advertising boycott of the platform when the new owner began restoring accounts suspended over antisemitism and other forms of hate. More recently, the organization began buying ads again.
Several accounts associated with the ADL, including Greenblatt’s, also pay the $8-a-month fee that Musk introduced to unlock special features.
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The post X briefly allows anti-Leo Frank ‘community note’ as antisemitism flares on the platform appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.