ADL-Boundless study finds simple messaging aids American in identifying online antisemitism

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center for Antisemitism Research and Boundless educational group have released a study revealing a brief message encouraging young Americans that hatred of Jews is widely rejected can significantly improve their skill to identify and report online antisemitism. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt noted that young people encounter antisemitism online daily, but often fail to recognize it.

The study, titled "Bridging the Gap: What Young Americans Miss About Online Antisemitism," surveyed 7,499 Americans aged 18 to 44, including Gen Z and Millennials, to examine their reactions to hateful online content and test effective educational approaches. Participants read one of six messages about antisemitism, ranging from factual definitions to personal stories, before evaluating real social media posts.

The findings show that many young adults struggle to identify overt antisemitic content, with 22-29% of the control group disagreeing that classical antisemitic posts were antisemitic. However, the social norming message, which highlighted that 82% of Americans want online antisemitic hate speech removed, led to significant improvements in recognizing and reporting offensive material.

Young adults who read the intervention were 6.1% more likely to recognize contemporary nonpartisan antisemitic posts and 5.6% more likely to report them. The study also highlighted generational differences, with Gen Z respondents more likely to report antisemitism than Millennials. The report recommends prioritizing recognition of antisemitism and calls for further research on how younger users view reporting toxic content.