Hate and anti-Semitic speech by public figures and the spread of it on social media has prompted US President Joe Biden to strongly condemn anti-Semitism on Friday, experts said.
“Silence is complicity,” Biden launched on Twitter.
“The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a diabolical figure. And instead of giving him a platform, our politicians should condemn and reject anti-Semitism,” he said.
The Democratic president spoke a day after he expressed his “love” for Nazis on hip hop and fashion mogul Kanye West’s podcast and 10 days after former President Donald Trump dined with West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes. , a fact that was harshly criticized by the White House and part of his own Republican Party.
Twitter suspended West’s account on Friday after he posted an image showing a swastika and the Star of David.
“I love Hitler,” West has said on several occasions, sparking anger on social media.
Experts say these controversies highlight the uphill battle against a new generation of memes and conspiracy theories, such as those about the QAnon community, Jews, or Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
“When you have celebrities promoting classic anti-Semitism like Kanye West, who has more followers on Twitter than Jews on planet Earth, it’s going to make him part of the public discourse,” said Oren Segal, of the ADL. An organization that condemns hatred and antisemitism.
“This normalization isn’t something that just started when Kanye lost his mind. It’s something we’ve seen in public opinion, frankly, for a long time,” he recalled.
AFP
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