Sacha Baron Cohen Accuses TikTok of “Creating the Biggest Antisemitic Movement Since the Nazis”
The post Sacha Baron Cohen Accuses TikTok of “Creating the Biggest Antisemitic Movement Since the Nazis” appeared first on Consequence.
Sacha Baron Cohen, Debra Messing, and Amy Schumer were among more a dozen Jewish celebrities who participated in a private Zoom call with TikTok executives on Wednesday, November 15th, during which Cohen delivered a passionate exchange about the concerns of rising antisemitism on the platform.
According to a recording obtained by the New York Times, Cohen stated on the call that “what is happening at TikTok is it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis.” Cohen reportedly cited violent imagery and misinformation on the app as causes for concern, while others brought up hateful and threatening comments being bypassed by moderators.
TikTok head of operations Adam Presser and global head of user operations Seth Melnick organized the call in response to a recent open letter from TikTok creators criticizing the company’s lack of action.
“This is where we get the feedback, this is where we hear what isn’t working,” Presser stated on the call while admitting a need to “do better” in ensuring the safety of users. In a November 2nd blog post, TikTok claimed to have removed over 925,000 videos “in the conflict region” that were “violating our policies around violence, hate speech, misinformation, and terrorism.” However, Presser added that there is no “magic button” to fix these concerns.
This is not the first time that the platform has been criticized for harboring antisemitic content. However, the specific open letter and meeting appear to be accelerated by reactions to the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza for the past 45 days, which has resulted in over 12,000 Palestinian casualties and counting.
The meeting took place amidst a wave of ongoing accusations that TikTok is promoting antisemitism — as well as alleged disproportionate promotion of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel content by the TikTok algorithm. Many US politicians on the right are even citing such claims in a renewed urgency to ban the app. However, the company has refuted the latter accusations.
It also signals an important moment in larger conversations about social media platforms’ role in the spread of rising antisemitic, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim rhetoric online.
Cohen isn’t the only celebrity to have spoken out in the context of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Sarah Silverman previously shared a post supporting Israel’s decision to withhold resources from Gaza, while Dave Chappelle condemned Israel for “killing innocent women and children.”
Sacha Baron Cohen Accuses TikTok of “Creating the Biggest Antisemitic Movement Since the Nazis”
Emma Carey
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