Holocaust denial online has been around for a long time. A more recent phenomenon is the mockery and distortion of the Holocaust. For the first time, a new study by the UNO and UNESCO sheds light on how this happens on social media platforms. The results are alarming, says historian Heather Mann, who coordinated the study.
SRF: What did you find particularly striking about the study?
Heather Mann: I find it shocking how many posts on Telegram deny and distort the Holocaust. Almost 50 percent overall and 80 percent for German content. This is alarming.
Why is this investigation important?
The study responds to the many instances of Holocaust denial and distortion on social media that we have encountered at UNESCO and the UN.
At Telegram, an internet subculture full of hate is emerging.
We are launching the study with the World Jewish Congress to examine this more closely. Unfortunately, Holocaust denial is not a new phenomenon, it has been with us for decades.
But the distortion of the Holocaust is a much more complex issue. Some forms are immediately recognizable as anti-Semitic, while others are more difficult. That requires expertise.
Why is distortion harder to see?
Because there are so many different forms of it. During the pandemic, we have seen many people use the Holocaust to protest politics. They compared something incomparable to complain.
Other forms are glorification and mockery. So people don’t say the Holocaust didn’t happen, they use it as a joke. I find that disturbing.
Such forms attract followers and radicalize. The dangerous thing is that anti-Semitic prejudices are spread faster and more widely through jokes.
Can you also say something about the motives of the people who post such content?
Not directly. But the many old anti-Semitic prejudices were striking. At Telegram they were particularly extreme and hateful.
At Telegram, these forms of hate speech stand alongside misogyny, racism, Islamophobia and other extremist content. There is an internet subculture full of hatred.
The study attributes this to the fact that Telegram has no strategy for regulating such content.
Out of all five platforms we examined, Telegram is the only one that doesn’t have it at all. All others have banned Holocaust denial. That’s why Telegram becomes a safe haven for people who want to deny or distort the Holocaust.
In the case of the German-language Telegram content, it was even 80 percent that denied or distorted the Holocaust. Why is that?
The study could not understand from which German-speaking country the posts came. Nevertheless, it became clear that many German posts had a connection to history, to Nazi Germany.
Strong counter-campaigns are needed.
They taught about the Holocaust. What do you conclude from this?
It is the responsibility of all of us to remember history correctly in historical terms. But countries that have such difficult heritages have an additional responsibility to face history. That is why we formulate so many recommendations for action for governments, platforms and for those responsible for education.
For example?
Strong counter-campaigns are needed. For example, Facebook and TikTok redirect people to an education site that UNESCO helped build – with facts about the Holocaust.
Dorothee Adrian conducted the interview.