The HR Canada Charitable Organization (HRCCO) hosted a virtual insider briefing webinar on Monday titled “Taking on the Algorithm: Fighting Antisemitism Online,” bringing together community advocates to examine how hate, disinformation, and conspiracy theories spread across social media platforms.
Moderated by Concordia University student leader Anastasia Zorchinsky, the discussion featured guest speaker Nick Matau, a social media commentator known online as "Nicholas the Zionist."
Matau, a 12-year US Navy veteran and nuclear engineer with hundreds of thousands of followers, shared his unlikely entry into pro-Israel activism, explaining that six years ago he would not even have known who Benjamin Netanyahu was.
His advocacy began in May 2021 amid a surge of anti-Israel sentiment on TikTok, where he made a video calling out virtue signaling that went viral and immediately drew an overwhelming wave of antisemitic hate and death threats from users who assumed he was Jewish.
Realizing the sheer scale of the hostility, Matau immersed himself in studying the history of the conflict from diverse perspectives, ultimately concluding that "the truth and the facts was on Israel's side."
Live debate strategy focuses on influencing the audience, not the opponent
Matau explained why he relies heavily on live debating rather than simply publishing static posts.
He noted that he rarely tries to change the mind of the individual he is actively debating; instead, he focuses on influencing the silent audience listening. Through this public deconstruction of bad-faith arguments, Matau shared that roughly 40 people have reached out to him directly to say they were previously pro-Palestinian or held anti-Israel views but changed their minds after watching him.
He pointed to high-profile examples such as former neo-Nazi Lucas Gage, noting that Gage publicly credited figures like himself and other online debaters for helping shift his worldview away from extremism.
Expanding on the pro-Israel digital space, Matau emphasized the need for a diverse ecosystem of pro-Israel social media influencers, highlighting that creators like Talia, Sahar TV, Jewish Jess, and Mia each bring their own unique styles, tones, and debating approaches that collectively reach different audiences.
Matau: Holocaust education no longer works to fight antisemitism
Addressing the broader challenges of combating online hate, Matau argued that the conventional "90s playbook" of education and simply trying to educate antisemites about the Holocaust no longer works.
He questioned whether such efforts are effective, noting that true ideologues will find the Holocaust meaningless or even welcome it, while others will claim they already know it happened before immediately pivoting to repeat classic antisemitic tropes.
He noted that inflammatory claims and hateful talking points can be “shotgunned” in seconds, whereas dismantling them requires patience and granular deconstruction: "You can shotgun 30 points in 30 seconds, but it's not so easy to break down 30 points in 30 seconds."
To truly fight back, Matau stressed that advocates must focus on taking back the narrative by stepping away from dry statistics and looking audiences in the eye to remind them of the actual human cost of the ideology they are supporting.
For example, by pointing to the tragic fate of the Bibas children, including the redheaded baby Kfir Bibas who loved Batman, Matau emphasized the importance of cutting through sterile political rhetoric to remind people of the extreme brutality perpetrated on October 7.
Breaking down the rhetorical tactics deployed against Jews, Israel, and Zionism, Matau warned that anti-Semitism constantly adapts its outward expression while remaining rooted in the same core hatred, noting that anti-Zionism functions as a modern iteration of this prejudice.
He explained that ordinary people can recognize these tactics by tracing how arguments evolve; when pushed through historical layers, from immediate claims about Gaza back through 1967, 1948, and historical massacres like the 1929 Hebron attack, the rhetoric ultimately converges on a fundamental refusal to see Jews as legitimate people.
No matter the ideological source, whether far-right extremists or left-wing activists, Matau observed that bad-faith actors consistently manipulate narratives by shoehorning Jewish people into whatever societal scapegoat or group they currently despise.
Activists need to adapt to modern algorithmic battles
While acknowledging that traditional Jewish and pro-Israel organizations do a lot of good work behind the scenes, such as funding legal support and lawsuits, Matau criticized them for relying on repetitive, feel-good seminars instead of adapting to modern algorithmic battles.
He emphasized that people today are starving for truth, honesty, and direct feedback without being overly hindered by artificial political correctness.
Furthermore, he highlighted that people no longer get their news from traditional newspapers or radio stations, noting that younger generations rely on TikTok search bars and AI. Stressing that we are "not just in a battle for truth" but also "in a battle for clicks and views," Matau urged organizations to update their tactics to match how information is consumed today by engaging strategically with platforms like TikTok and Meta and leveraging AI.
In his closing message to the audience, Matau reflected on the extraordinary resilience and adaptability demonstrated by the Jewish people over generations of persecution, from Haman and the Nazis to the ongoing fallout of October 7.
He noted that the recurring mistake made by every enemy of the Jewish people has been underestimating them and attempting a quick knockout blow, only for the community to emerge significantly stronger, wiser, and more resilient.
Delivering an encouraging final thought, Matau assured listeners that truth ultimately catches up, and though the struggle is deeply embedded, the community's enduring resilience will prevail.