Hate pays: Anti-Semitic content dominates social media's viral economy
A report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement suggests creators increasingly post anti-Semitic material because it attracts clicks, not necessarily because they hold extremist views.
Anti-Semitic videos on social media platforms are nearly seven times more likely to go viral than other videos, according to a research report released by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
The findings suggest that the high virality of such content creates a powerful incentive for influencers and content creators to produce and share anti-Semitic material, regardless of their personal views about Jews.
“For years, we have understood online anti-Semitism through coordinated campaigns and bad actors,” said Oliver Marks, a research fellow at CAM’s Institute for the Study of Antisemitism. “However, our new research suggests that this model alone is not enough. A growing share of online anti-Semitism is not the product of genuine belief, but rather a byproduct of an attention economy that rewards what performs well. When anti-Semitic content reliably gets views and shares, people tend to post it, not because they believe it, but because it works.”
The study examined short clips extracted from longer livestreams by popular creators on platforms including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. These clips are edited and reposted by third-party social media accounts.
Researchers analyzed clips posted between June 14 and July 14 on five major Instagram accounts that regularly repost content from top streamers including Sneako, Myron Gaines and Adin Ross. Only clips with at least 5,000 views were included, resulting in a sample of 1,960 videos, each classified as either anti-Semitic or non-anti-Semitic.
Viral clips were defined as the 15 most-viewed videos on each of the five accounts during the study period, for a total of 75 viral clips.
Overall, 4.7% of the clips analyzed were classified as anti-Semitic. However, among the 75 viral videos, 32% were coded as anti-Semitic, nearly 6.8 times the share found in the overall sample.
“Anti-Semitic content is created and repurposed because it performs well,” the report said. “The accounts themselves often do not express an ideological stance, making standard detection methods largely ineffective. In an ecosystem where clicks are worth money, anti-Semitism has become a reliable investment.”
According to the report, the popularity of anti-Semitic clips is driven by three main factors.
The first is ease of production. Creating the clips requires little more than selecting a potentially viral moment from an existing livestream, editing it, and reposting it.
The second is displaced accountability. Because the anti-Semitic remarks are made by the original streamer rather than the account reposting the clip, public criticism is generally directed at the creator of the original content rather than the account profiting from its redistribution.
The third is reduced personal responsibility.
“The anti-Semitic views are expressed by the streamer, not by the redistributor,” the report states. “This creates a psychological distance between the person who profits from the content and the content itself, making it easier to publish hateful material while still viewing oneself as merely a bystander.
“Together, these three factors reduce both the technical and moral barriers. Producing the content requires little skill, and publishing it often carries limited reputational risk.”
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said the findings demonstrate how social media platforms can financially reward hateful content.
“The dramatic findings show that hate on social media has become a business model,” Roytman said. “Tech giants are effectively incentivizing the spread of anti-Semitic content because their algorithms prioritize material that drives engagement. We call on these companies to take responsibility, change their recommendation algorithms, and stop creating financial incentives for the spread of hate online.”
