Report: ‘Pandemic conspiracy theories leading people to Holocaust denial’
The Hope not Hate report also found Instagram has become a favoured recruiting ground for neo-Nazis
The proliferation of pandemic conspiracy theories on social media is leading people to Holocaust denial, a report has warned.
Around one in five Brits believe the ‘Q-Anon’ theory that ‘elites’ in the media and politics are involved in child abuse, reveals the poll from anti-racism charity, Hope not Hate.
The prevalence of ‘vast’ conspiracy theories about the pandemic or elites such as these can then lend themselves into antisemitism and Shoah denial, found the report.
“Once one has internalised the existence of vast conspiracies, any historical fact is open to question, and over the past year we have witnessed dozens of individuals encountering Holocaust denial, often via (ostensibly) unrelated conspiracy theory Facebook groups, and appearing to accept it with little pushback,” it states.
Researchers found that Instagram had become a recruiting ground of choice for neo-Nazis, with young people especially at risk.
Nick Lowles, Hope not Hate chief executive, said: “Though we continue to warn about niche platforms like Telegram, a fertile recruitment ground for young neo-Nazis has been Instagram – its inadequate moderation and worrying algorithm recommendations are child protection issues that demand urgent action from the platform.”
The group has identified two far-right groups active in the UK – The British Hand and the National Partisan Movement – who have used Instagram to recruit members.
Three alleged members of The British Hand, who are all teenage boys, are facing trial on terrorism charges.
A spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, responded: “We do not want hate on our platform and we removed a number of accounts belonging to The British Hand and National Partisan Movement before this report was published.”
Community Security Trust, a charity which monitors antisemitism, said the research highlighted the “conspiracy theories that have proliferated in recent years and that now fuel so much extremism.”
It added: “As we saw with the riot at the U.S Capitol in January in this country with the growing number of young people in this country drawn into violent neo-Nazism, online extremism regularly accompanies hateful behaviour offline.”
Its poll also found that 20 percent of people believe there is some truth that coronavirus is a bio-weapon spread by the Chinese state, while a fifth also accepted there was some truth it had been released as part of a ‘depopulation’ plan by the New World Order.
Meanwhile, when asked about mainstream politics, 34% of respondents said that they agreed that “the Labour Party has a problem with antisemitism”, compared to 22% who disagreed.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
