Ohio college students Zoombombed with antisemitic images

Students at Miami University in Ohio were Zoombombed with offensive antisemitic and racist images during an online careers fair.

Students from the Global and Inter-cultural Studies Department of the college based in Oxford, Ohio were bombarded with anti-Jewish, anti-Black and pornographic images during a panel discussion. 

Student Emily Garforth reported seeing pornographic images followed by pictures of Adolf Hitler and an audio loop of racial slurs. Another student, Carlos Rodriguez, said that he had heard of similar incidents but said that this one was “really offensive”.

An event at the college, during the previous term, was also attacked with racist and antisemitic messages. 

The college department responsible for technical issues said that it had removed all the Zoombombers and the event had continued. The department was unable to comment further as the incident is currently under investigation.

An associate professor noted that, while the benefits of online technology were clear, this incident showed the disadvantages.“This is really an unfortunate event which we condemn,” she said. It did not represent what Miami stands for, she added.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on the phenomenon of ‘Zoom bombing’ and has urged communal institutions to take precautions to safeguard against antisemitic disruption of online events.

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