Vast majority of antisemitic online content flagged by Jewish users stays online, EU Jews say
The overall removal rate hovered near 19% for content that was formally flagged, compared to roughly 18% for content left unflagged.
A new audit from the World Jewish Congress reveals that the majority of antisemitic content reported by European Jews remains online, highlighting significant gaps in platform moderation and accountability. The study, titled "Flagged and Failed: Platform Responses to Antisemitic Content Reported by Jewish Communities," examined data collected between February 2025 and April 2026 as part of the WJC Hate Online: Preparedness and Empowerment project, funded by the European Union.
It was the first systematic, community-sourced dataset of online antisemitism gathered across the EU.
The research used a dedicated reporting tool that allowed Jewish community members to document antisemitic URLs, categorize them using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition, and indicate whether they had flagged the posts. After filtering out invalid entries, the study analyzed 754 distinct reports across six major social media platforms. Researchers conducted a liveness check in May 2026 to see if the reported content was still accessible online.
The findings showed that 81.3% of reported antisemitic posts remained available, totaling 613 out of 754. Reporting content through built-in mechanisms made little difference in removal rates, with a removal rate of 19% for formally flagged content compared to 18% for unflagged content. Facebook had the highest volume of submissions at 34.4%, followed by Instagram and X/Twitter at 26% each, and TikTok at 9.7%. However, TikTok was the only platform where a majority of audited antisemitic posts were removed.
Certain types of hate speech, such as content comparing Israeli policy to Nazism, showed no removal across all 28 documented reports. Explicit incitement to violence had the highest removal rate at nearly 35%, but dangerous material like terrorist propaganda still frequently appeared online. The legal assessment estimated that about 6% of all submissions met the criteria for criminal examination under European law.
The World Jewish Congress concluded that self-regulatory reporting mechanisms are failing everyday users and urged social media companies to audit their content moderation policies, demonstrate the efficacy of their reporting channels, and address blind spots regarding conflict-related hate speech. Regulatory bodies were also directed to use enforcement powers under instruments like the Digital Services Act to scrutinize risk-mitigation practices, while law enforcement agencies needed to establish clear referral pathways for illegal online incitement.
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