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Algorithms of the Big Tech Reich: The Evolution of Online Antisemitism Since October 7
Social media applications, showing Twitter before it was changed to ‘X.’ Photo: Public Domain.
In the face of the current wave of hatred against them, Jewish communities all across the world share a fundamental and timeless desire: to be seen and treated as human beings.
Antisemitism, however, has historically sought to strip away the perception of Jews as human from the fabric of religions, societies, and international forums.
Today, the assault on the perception of “the Jew” as a human is being executed through supercharged algorithms at an unprecedented scale.
In the year following the October 7 Hamas massacre, data from the major social media platforms revealed a troubling escalation in online antisemitism.
Trending anti-Jewish narratives online have moved beyond classic tropes like disdainful jokes or conspiracy theories about Jewish control, and have morphed into overt hostility, calls for violence, and a dehumanization of Jews as inherently evil. This is not merely an extension of past trends; it represents a perilous escalation in anti-Jewish rhetoric.
To effectively prevent purposeful widespread violence against Jews and safeguard national security in any Western democracy, social media reform and legislation requiring algorithmic transparency is crucial.
Recognizing the need for proactive solutions until the legal impasse on social media accountability was breached, I founded CyberWell, a nonprofit organization that launched the first open database of online antisemitism in 2022. Our efforts provide a unique multilingual analysis of online Jew-hatred, following the guidelines of major social media platforms. Today, we are official Trusted Partners of both Meta and TikTok, and share real-time alerts and digital policy compliance analysis on online Jew-hate in both English and Arabic, with additional platforms we monitor. Our goal is to increase the enforcement and drive the improvement of content moderation policies across the digital space. Our most recent report unpacks the evolution of online antisemitism in the year since October 7.
October 7 marked an unprecedented hijacking of mainstream social media by Hamas, who fashioned engagement algorithms into tools of psychological warfare. Unlike the slow drip of information surrounding the genocide of Jews that was committed during the Holocaust, the screams and gore of the hunt for Jews and perceived “collaborators” in Israel were broadcast at a massive scale, even to the personal Facebook feeds of those families slain within their own homes.
In the year since these attacks, CyberWell’s monitoring technology detected a 36.6 percent rise in content likely to be antisemitic across social media platforms. Most notably, there was an 86 percent spike in anti-Jewish content within the first three weeks after October 7. This flood of antisemitic content contributed to a significant increase in calls for violence against Jews — rising from 5 percent in the 11 months before the attacks to 13 percent of verified anti-Jewish content post-attack. Alarmingly, 61 percent of verified antisemitic content in Arabic in the weeks following October 7 justified or supported violence against Jews.
A pattern reminiscent of post-Holocaust denial also emerged immediately after October 7. This time, however, denial narratives were propelled into mainstream discourse through social media algorithms. Our October 7 deep dive report found that a mere 300 verified examples of denial content reached 25 million accounts within just over a month, with X (formerly Twitter) showing the highest engagement rates for such narratives. Not is no wonder, then, that even Susan Sarandon denies that women were raped on October 7.
On the anniversary of the attacks, the same cell of anti-Israel influencers identified in CyberWell’s report amplified 10/7 denial that started spreading 10/7 denial narratives as early as October 8, 2023, released a 45-minute documentary further perpetuating this disinformation in violation of YouTube’s policies against violent event denial.
Initially, the most widespread narrative focused on denying the exploitation of sexual violence and rape during the attack; now, it has shifted to claiming that the Israeli state orchestrated the massacre. To date, only TikTok has directly recognized October 7 denial as prohibited content according to its community guidelines.
CyberWell’s data indicates a significant shift in trending antisemitic narratives. Before October 7, the most popular antisemitic theme was the trope of Jews controlling the world or seeking world domination. Post-attack, narratives predominantly cast Jews as the enemy (29.2 percent of verified content) or as inherently evil (21.5 percent). These narratives echo historical prejudices that have justified violence against Jews for centuries—from the Crusades to the Inquisition, to the religious oppression of Jews in Arab lands, and through the horrors of the Holocaust.
Today, algorithms, rather than prophets, religious institutions, or state-controlled media, are the primary amplifiers of this toxicity. The platforms showcase brutal acts against Jews while simultaneously facilitating a denial campaign aimed at dehumanizing them and shifting the blame onto their first line of defense. In this environment, Jews are increasingly viewed as less than human, rendering their suffering unworthy of sympathy and their right to defend themselves irrelevant, if not outrageous.
We Jews are patient zero for social media’s darker impulses. Campaigns against our humanity have long been effective and popular messaging for various overlords throughout history. Now, under the current regime of big tech and in light of the US-elections, we must urgently call for legislative reforms that enhance online safety and demand transparency in algorithms. Our lives depend on it.
Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor is the founder and executive director of CyberWell, an independent tech nonprofit working with social media platforms to monitor and catalog antisemitic rhetoric while improving enforcement and enhancement efforts through community standards and hate speech policies.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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