Well informed investigative personnel have uncovered a coordinated and well-funded tactic employed by anti-Semites and anti-Israel activists. Recent reports and legal cases have highlighted instances of paid and coordinated Islamist propaganda campaigns on social media aimed at spreading antisemitism and besmirching Jews and Israel. Although it is not a new tactic, lately it has metastasized, metaphorically speaking, into something as dangerous as stage 4 cancer.

This is how it works. Groups whose antipathy toward Jews and Israel are legend, routinely pay anti-Semites, radical Islamist, progressive-woke, and folks out to make a quick buck, to infiltrate Jewish friendly and Israel supportive Facebook pages in a concerted effort to slander, denigrate and defame Israelis and Jews. Unsurprisingly, those morally challenged individuals often resort to invoking the most vulgar and crude language they can spew.

More specifically, a social media analytics firm uncovered hundreds of fake profiles which paid operatives use to interact with content from Al Jazeera Plus (AJ+), a U.S.-based arm of the network, to promote antisemitic propaganda.

There are some Islamic imams, besides regularly inciting violence against Zionists and Jews during a Khutbah (sermon), also encourage their adherents to post inciting, racist and antisemitic canards on social media platforms such as Facebook, Rumble, and Instagram.

The unfortunate outcome of the tactics employed by those whose antipathy toward Jews and Israel is palpable, is that their vicious and mendacious rhetoric clogs the pro-Israel social media sites with lies, fabrications, and slanders. It places the legitimate members of the sites in the unenviable position of having to play Whac-A-Mole.

Fighting antisemitism on social media requires collective efforts aimed at reducing the visibility of hate speech, by reporting violations, and providing accurate information, while avoiding direct engagement with malevolent trolls. Granted, it is  a constant battle to delete the content of those cruel operatives, as well to unfriend or block the hordes of paid and volunteer anti-Semites, but a necessary undertaking if we are to significantly reduce the effects of their smear campaigns.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)