August 20, 2020
THE WEEK’S BIG 3
An FBI Twitter account tweeted out a link to a PDF containing the antisemitic “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” as well as FBI documents related to it, with no other context. President Trump on Wednesday offered encouragement to proponents of QAnon, a viral and dangerous conspiracy theory. According to a new study, Facebook “actively promotes further Holocaust-denial content to that user” and “has been unwilling to recognize Holocaust denial as a form of hate speech against Jews.”
Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.
1) FBI Criticized for Tweeting Link to Antisemitic ‘Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion’
“For more than a century, the fabricated text ‘The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion’ has advanced a persistent anti-Semitic trope: that Jews are plotting to take over the world. From Hitler to Henry Ford, rabid anti-Semites have long shared the notorious text.” The Washington Post: READ MORE
+ ADL Resource: The FBI “Shared” Antisemitic Protocols on Twitter
+ ADL Resource: A Hoax of Hate: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion
2) President Trump Fails to Condemn QAnon Conspiracy Theory When Asked by Presa
“QAnon is a larger and many-tentacled version of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton was operating a child sex-trafficking ring out of the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant. In December 2016, a man who said he was on the hunt for proof of child abuse was arrested after firing a rifle inside the restaurant.” The New York Times: FULL STORY
+ ADL Resource: QAnon Conspiracies on Facebook Could Prompt Real-World Violence
3) Report: Facebook Doesn’t ‘Recognize Holocaust Denial’ As Anti-Jewish Hate Speech
“The findings show that not only is Holocaust-denial content available on Facebook, but the social-media network actively lists it through the site’s algorithm. Through a ‘snowball’ method that allows content that starts out with little visibility to become viral, ‘when a user follows public pages containing Holocaust-denial content, Facebook actively promotes further Holocaust-denial content to that user.’” JNS.org: FULL STORY
+ ADL Resource: Facebook Has a Holocaust Denial Problem
+ NEW ADL Resource: Extremists are Using a Range of Techniques to Exploit TikTok
KEY ADL SOCIAL STATEMENTS
- Reddit’s detailed study on hate is a step in the right direction…
- 100 years since the #19thAmendment was ratified and women won the right to vote. It’s important to understand the history behind the amendment and the obstacles so many still face today to exercising this constitutional right…
- It is unacceptable that Muslim detainees in ICE custody are being fed pork and told, ‘It Is What It Is’…
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Arkansas governor, lawmakers unveil hate crimes proposal (Associated Press)
- ADL Los Angeles Announces New Regional Director (Jewish Journal)
- Anti-Semitic messages scrawled on sign outside of synagogue in Old City (FOX Philadelphia – Shira Goodman interviewed)
ADL IN THE NEWS
- Muslim Americans Alarmed as Trump Backs GOP Candidate Who Describes Herself as a 'Proud Islamophobe' (Newsweek)
- ADL calls for Walmart to remove books promoting Holocaust revisionism and blaming Jews for image as ‘shifty liars’ (The Jewish Chronicle, UK)
- TikTok removed more than 380,000 US videos this year for hate speech (CNET)