Antisemitism online has been around since the onset of social media and remains a prominent issue today, with 67% of American Jews reporting seeing antisemitic content online and 60% seeing it more than once, according to a 2024 survey from the American Jewish Committee, “The State of Antisemitism in America.”
Tali Cohen, the Anti-Defamation League’s regional director for Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia, said that over the past 10 years, antisemitic incidents nationwide have increased almost 900%. She said that according to the ADL’s own 2024 report on antisemitism, Maryland had the sixth highest rate of incidents in the nation.
“There were 356 incidents last year in Maryland,” she said. “Specific to Baltimore County, 94 incidents. … Seventy-seven of those were in Baltimore County, and 17 of those were in Baltimore City.” In July, the ADL filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Baltimore City Public School System, saying the district had failed to address numerous antisemitic incidents like Nazi salutes directed at Jewish students and swastika graffiti.
“I think the problem is twofold,” Cohen said. “One is the rising cyber bullying and online harassment that Jewish tweens and teens are experiencing, and the other concerning piece is the radicalization of our kids that’s happening online.”
One of the largest challenges in dealing with antisemitism online is identifying and reporting the offending content, especially for young Jews getting their first experience with the internet and social media.
“We know that online sites are where we’re seeing this radicalization take place now when it comes to the online harassment and the cyber bullying,” Cohen said. “The problem with that is it is 24/7, so our kids are able to be exposed to hate all hours of the day with little to no adult supervision.”
Dog Whistles and Workarounds
Over the years, antisemites and white supremacists have created online shorthand and co-opted seemingly innocuous content so they can more widely share derogatory ideas, conspiracy theories and stereotypes about Jews and other minorities. This “dog whistle” approach makes it harder for moderators on social media platforms to spot the content and remove it.
Some examples include the specific use of 271 or 271k, which is a reference to the conspiracy theory that only 271,000 Jews were killed in the Holocaust instead of 6 million. Another is the phrase “6 million cookies,” referencing the Jews killed in the Holocaust and the crematorium ovens used by the Nazis.
In online comment sections, people may use the phrase “every single time,” “well, well, well,” or a variation referencing the previous two such as “what do we say 3 times.” These phrases convey an antisemite’s or white supremacist’s belief that anyone they find problematic is always revealed to be Jewish, or in some cases, a different targeted minority group.
The word “juice,” or the juice box emoji is also sometimes used in place of “Jews” or “Jewish” to make antisemitic statements on social media apps while skirting content moderation.
Another large trend is “noticing,” which became a popular way for antisemites to point out a “pattern” of Jews being in a position of power and influence. A person may write that it’s “impossible not to notice” or “noticing will continue.” It’s meant to capture the belief of Jewish control and spread the idea without making an overt reference.
“The [online] access is starting younger and younger, and we know that the hate is increasing,” said Cohen. “The concerns that we have are organizations, specifically Meta and X, are rolling back their content moderation. So, as we’re seeing this increase, partially as a result of the content moderation dropping, our kids are finding their way to the internet more and more and to online gaming sites and social media sites.”
Cohen said the ADL has been working with social media companies to identify ways they can improve and enforce their policies against hate.
“Companies have to start pushing online hate out of the mainstream by enacting and enforcing strong policies against hate and harassment,” she said. “I say ‘enforcement’ purposefully because in some instances, they have policies, but they are not enforcing them.”
Cohen also talked about how companies need to be doing more in “break the glass moments” — instances when there is higher antisemitic activity online, such as in the months after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel or after the deadly May 2025 shooting in front of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
“They need to up their enforcement to ensure that their trust and safety teams are catching, effectively, misinformation and hate on their platforms,” she said.
The Best Response
Cohen said that the most important thing for a person to do when they see antisemitism online or in person is to be an “upstander.”
“If you see something in your everyday life and you feel safe enough to respond, do so. [The] same thing online. If you see something, report it and stand with our Jewish community in the fight against antisemitism,” she said.
“We found that almost 80% of survey respondents believe that these social media companies should be doing more so they don’t want to see hate online,” Cohen added. “I think that really indicates a desire, universally, for us to be protecting our kids and ensuring that the hate has no home in our everyday lives and online.”
