Antisemitism research NGO CyberWell raised concerns about a new online trend, where fitness influencers show Jews as “greedy, dishonest, aggressive, and ‘money-obsessed’” under the guise of humorous content in a report published last week.
According to the report, the trend consists of posters placing rope attachments around their heads to symbolize the sidelocks worn by some Jewish men, often accompanied by an antisemitic caption such as a “Promised 3,000 Years Ago” text. Moreover, the trend often portrays Jews as treating others aggressively and obsessing over money, which the report says turns “harmful stereotypes into an acceptable point of attack.”
The “Promised 3,000 Years Ago” trend involves the antisemitic assertion that Jews falsely claim property belonging to others as their own, and in this case, gym equipment.
The report also points out how commenters engage with the antisemitic content, often even amplifying it with messages mocking the Holocaust, showcasing dog whistles, among other forms of prejudice. The report postulates that these anti-Jewish “echo-chamber” comment sections normalize antisemitism in online communities.
Platforms bear 'direct' responsibility, CyberWell founder, CEO says
“This new trend in open gym antisemitism is a direct result of social media platforms’ failure to apply their content moderation policies to AI-generated content packaged as jokes,” CyberWell Founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor said in a statement.
“The gym has become another public setting where Jews may feel less safe and less welcome due to an online climate that rewards open hostility toward Jews. Platforms must address antisemitism that is disguised as humor and coded cultural references that turn longstanding prejudice into widely shared content.”
According to CyberWell, in the past, social media platforms hesitated to delete antisemitic content because the “humorous” packaging of the posts gave undoubtedly racist comments “a layer of plausible deniability.” In turn, the report says, this allowed the trends “to spread in scale and evolve into new iterations.”
CyberWell says enforcement has improved since the initial failures of social media companies, with a larger percentage of flagged content removed than before.
CyberWell’s report argues that the way in which online antisemitism migrates to real-world scenarios, such as gyms, shows just how fast-moving and dangerous online rhetoric can be.
“The normalization phase, when harmful content is dismissed as comedy, is when early intervention matters most,” said Cohen Montemayor.
Founded in Israel in 2022, CyberWell uses internet technology to track antisemitism online and publishes reports detailing its work.