Almost nine million view antisemitic conspiracy lies about Trump shooting
Centre for Countering Digital Hate warns social media platforms need to address hatred online
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Millions of people have viewed conspiracy theories regarding the failed assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump — and 8.8 million viewed posts with antisemitic conspiracy at their core.
New figures have been collated by the Washington-based Centre for Countering Digital Hate, which notes that 95 per cent of the posts on Twitter/X failed to show any fact check to refute the claims.
Five posts which received more than 8.8 million views “falsely promoted Jewish involvement in the assassination attempt by alleging that a secret service sniper present at the time was wearing a red string on their wrist, associated with Kabbalah”. One post accused the sniper of being a Mossad agent.
One person “Resist_05”, wrote: “Okay, this is weird. This close-up of the counters-sniper shows something else. He clearly already had the sniper in his sight. For whatever reason, they waited for him to take the shot before taking him down. Also, what’s with the red Kabbalah string on his hand?”
Imran Khan, chief executive and founder of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said: “In the marketplace of disinformation, which is effectively what a lot of social media platforms have been reduced to, a marketplace for lies, extreme content is your currency.”
He said that legislation was “urgently needed” to compel social media companies to change their business model and “enforce their own community standards to stop fanning the flames of the conspiracy theory wildfires raging on their platforms”.
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.
