Natalia Chi
A report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which scores social media platforms based on the spread of hate speech, found that mainstream sites such as TikTok and Twitter performed slightly better than much smaller platforms such as Telegram favored by far-right groups. I was just there.
“If you have TikTok in your home, you should get rid of it,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Global Social Action Director at the Wiesenthal Center. “We list TikTok at number one not because it has a lot of problematic material, but because it is very popular with young people. prize.”
The Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights organization, announced this year that Cook County United Again, which was formed last year to raise awareness of racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and other forms of hatred. Published this report in collaboration with Sto Hate.
The organization surveyed 24 media platforms to find out how content and media companies responded to posts of concern. Fringe sites 8kun, AnonUp, and Telegram received an ‘F’ rating, TikTok received a ‘D’ rating, and Twitter received a ‘D-minus’ rating.
The report said Telegram was “the platform of choice for the most dangerous elements of the far-right movement,” but said the widespread exposure of TikTok raised similar concerns.
But the report also found an increase in hate speech on Twitter since Elon Musk bought the company late last year.
“The platform has returned from having the strongest hate speech policies and moderation practices to a favored place for mainstreaming hate,” the report notes.
The highest scores were Google/YouTube (B minus), Reddit (B) and Roblox (B plus).
The findings reflect the widely reported rise in hate speech and crime in recent years. Hate crimes nearly doubled last year compared to the previous year, according to Chicago police data.of The FBI recently announced In 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, reported hate crime incidents increased by 11.6%.
The White House recently issued a request calling for the removal of TikTok from federal deviceThe administration has also taken steps to alter TikTok’s presence in the United States, threatening to ban the app if its Chinese owners don’t sell their U.S. stake in the company, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. These moves are less about the prevalence of hate speech in apps and more about long-standing concerns that foreign countries control user data.
The Wiesenthal Center’s relationship with Cook County United Against Hate was shaped by Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton’s personal experience with anti-Semitism.
“About a year ago, I received a packet of anti-Semitic documents in my driveway. I’m Catholic.” I wondered what the reaction would have been.”
Cook County Board Chair Toni Prekwinkle referred to her past as a history teacher when discussing her thoughts on some of the reasons hate is on the rise.
“This country doesn’t put a lot of value on learning history,” Prekwinkle said.
Several of the presenters testified about their personal experiences with hate and how it seems to have become more common in recent years.
The Wiesenthal Center presented an example of its findings along with screenshots showing how the app enables the spread of hate. These messages included discussions about glorifying the Holocaust, supporting school shootings, and doing more harm to minority communities.
Britton and Cook County United Against Hate said they will continue to monitor hate on online platforms.
“What we think we’ve been able to do is combine the educational part, which is to remind people that this stuff exists and reject it, but more importantly, the hateful It’s about prosecuting motive-related crimes,” the county said. The board he sits on oversees both the state attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office. “It’s the most important thing we can do.”
hsanders@chicagotribun.com
