View of the main gate bearing the slogan Arbeit Macht Frei at the former Auschwitz I on January 27, … [+]
This year marks 80 years since the first liberation of a Nazi death camp during World War II. However, instead of reflecting on all the millions killed in the genocide of the Jewish people, as well as those that have happened since, this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, January 27, could be marred by anti-Semitism on social media as a result of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
It is also likely that anti-Jewish as well as anti-Muslim hate speech will become stronger on social networks.
“As the Israel-Gaza conflict continues to unfold, polarization is at an all-time high. Social media platforms have driven much of the divide,” warned Dr. Julianna Kirschner of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
“These platforms are designed to serve as echo chambers for their users, especially with the noticeable emphasis of user beliefs often found in their feed,” he added. “The constant visibility of one’s own position reflected back to them leads to a common misconception that their view is shared by more of the population than it actually is. This is called false consensus.”
This false consensus will continue to increase polarization regarding Israel and Gaza — but also toward Jews and Muslims. Social media has encouraged many to engage in hate speech.
“There are two things that make it unlikely that we will have unequivocal, shared experiences around events like this,” explained Dr. Cliff Lambe, professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan’s School of Information.
“First, it is true that Internet communication allows people to find others who share their norms such as anti-Semitism more easily than they could before. Second, the personalization of information on the Internet means that people are not presented with the same content view universally, meaning they interpret the same event in very different ways,” Lambe added. “So it would be a very rare event that would lead to a universal reaction at this point.”
More than different views
Social media platforms have made it possible for users to find other like-minded people with similar political views, but in reality it was only after the conflicts in Ukraine and more recently in Gaza that social media was an extension of those conflicts.
In many ways, social media is just another “theater of operations,” albeit one fought with words rather than bullets. Campaigns are not intended to gain ground, but instead to change public opinion. In this case, he allowed anti-Semitism to rise and blame all those of the Jewish faith for the conflict in Gaza – even those in America with no ties to Israel.
“The negativity on social media is likely to increase as the conflict continues, and I don’t expect the polarization to end anytime soon,” Kirchner acknowledged. “Unless and until any kind of resolution occurs in Israel and Gaza, the division will only be magnified on social media. If there can be a peaceful resolution, the likelihood that social media will follow is questionable, even as we remember the Holocaust.”
While there have always been Holocaust deniers, their numbers have increased due to social media access to like-minded people. This problem is likely to increase in frequency, Kirschner warned.
“Anti-Semitism has always made commemorating the Holocaust a challenge, but the current climate may make it less likely that these events, rallies and memorials will take place without interruption,” he continued. “Remembrance of the Holocaust is something we all owe to the victims and survivors of the death camps. However, the modern moment does not paint an optimistic picture for the continuation of this important tradition.”
Holocaust Remembrance Day should be when we come together and call for an end to genocidal conflicts while remembering all the victims of the past. Instead, we are likely to see another day of hate speech on social media.
