Digital Library
#Twittertakeover How the Musk Acquisition Became a Launchpad for Gen-Z Neo-Nazis, Ye, and Widespread Antisemitism
Topic:
Antisemitism & Antizionism
Principal Investigators:
InvestigatorsJoel Finkelstein, Ph.D., Jack Donohue, Alex Goldenberg, Lee Jussim, Ph.D., Alexander Reid Ross, Ph.D., Collin Vasko, Cristian Ramos, Tayler Glover, Anisha Jagdeep
Study Date:
2023
Source:
Combat Antisemitism Movement,Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI)
Key Findings:
Twitter’s prominence as a key platform for early innovation and a staging ground for a new cultural wave of antisemitism raises a number of pressing research questions:
- Did fringe, supremacist elements interpret the Musk acquisition as an opportunity to spread hate with free reign on Twitter?
- How has West’s antisemitism impacted Twitter and how does it intersect with fringe supremacist elements?
- Can we characterize any changes or growth in the overall culture/nature of antisemitism on Twitter brought about by the Musk-Twitter saga or West’s activities?
- Since the Musk-Twitter saga began, does Twitter activity react to, forecast, or correlate with real world antisemitic activity in the United States?
In the wake of Kanye West’s recent antisemitic tirade, there has been a disturbing surge in antisemitic conspiracy on social media platforms coinciding with an uptick in real-world antisemitic incidents. Extremist elements have viewed Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter as an opportunity to rejoin Twitter en masse, responding to a number of signals including Twitter’s recent decision to reinstate the accounts of white supremacists such as Andrew Anglin and Anthime Gionet (Baked Alaska).
The Groypers, an online Gen-Z Neo-Nazi group affiliated with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, joined Twitter at a rapid rate, with account creation increasing over 1000% immediately after the announcement of the acceptance of Musk’s offer. These groups depict Musk as an ally who will permit them to freely spread their hateful ideology, joining in large numbers again after Musk’s successful acquisition of Twitter.
Kanye West’s antisemitic activities were well received by an array of extremist elements, especially the Groypers, who quickly joined West as a vanguard to galvanize and spread hatred, often showcasing his presidential hashtag #Ye24, in their Twitter bios. West’s antisemitic “death con” remarks triggered a significant increase of over 130% in toxic comments, threats, identity attacks, and insults in tweets pertaining to Jews. West’s follower growth rate nearly doubled moments after the tweet.
Since Twitter accepted Musk’s offer in April, monthly references to tropes about “Soros” and “Globalists,” which are often antisemitic, have nearly doubled. Since the offer, but not before, these terms have become correlated with real world antisemitic events and the use of these terms on Twitter now forecast real world antisemitism.
Methodology:
NCRI/CAM performed a large-scale data analysis to assess the origins, magnitude, and spread of the recent eruption of antisemitic conspiracy from Twitter across several web communities. Using machine learning, natural language processing, open-source investigation of social media content, graph and time series analysis, and econometric techniques, the researchers examined whether and how an antisemitic transformation has taken shape on Twitter and how these changes might relate to physical-world, antisemitic incidents.