TikTok infested with far-right antisemitism and Holocaust denial, according to new report published just weeks after CAA called attention to the problem

The social media platform TikTok is infested with far-right antisemitism and Holocaust denial, according to a new report.

The report comes just weeks after Campaign Against Antisemitism called attention to the problem of mockery of the Holocaust on the popular platform.

The findings are particularly worrisome given that Ofcom has also just reported that the COVID-19 lockdown has meant that teenagers are spending record amounts of time on the platform.

The report by the Institute for Counter Terrorism at the University of Haifa, titled “Spreading Hate on TikTok”, scanned the platform from February to May 2020 and found numerous antisemitic posts, including Adolf Hitler speeches, postings of the ‘Sieg heil’ salute, neo-Nazi inspired violence, white supremacist symbols and Holocaust denial.

TikTok has 1.5 billion users, 41 percent of whom are between the ages of 16 and 24. Although its terms of service prohibit users under the age of thirteen, it is believed, based on their videos, that many users are below the minimum age.

The CST also recently published a report into far-right activity on alternative social media platforms such as Bitchute, Telegram, Gab and 4chan, where it found thousands of “easily accessible, extreme and violent” videos, memes and posts.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.