Celebs on TikTok: ‘The biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis’

A group of Jewish celebrities and influencers have met with execs of the video app TikTok to voice their concerns.

More than 30 people joined the 90-minute video call, including actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Debra Messing and Amy Schumer, at the invitation of TikTok. The group is alarmed by an apparent surge of antisemitic content and misinformation on app, following the 7 October Hamas attack.

The meeting was first reported by the New York Times.

“What is happening at TikTok is, it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis. Shame on you,” Cohen told the execs, according to audio of the meeting. “If you think back to Oct. 7, the reason why Hamas were able to behead young people and rape women was they were fed images from when they were small kids that led them to hate.”

Messing questioned why TikTok isn’t blocking the phrase “from the river to the sea” — which many interpret as a dog whistle calling for the extermination of Israel — from the app.

In a statement in response, TikTok said: “We recognise this is an incredibly difficult and fearful time for millions of people around the world and in our TikTok community.”

The statement continued: “Our leadership has been meeting with creators, civil society, human rights experts and stakeholders to listen to their experiences and feedback on how TikTok can remain a place for community, discovery and sharing authentically.”

TikTok has bolstered its efforts to remove fake accounts and engagement. According to the company, since the 7 October attack by Hamas against Israel, the company has removed more than 24 million fake accounts globally and more than 500,000 “bot comments” on content under hashtags related to the conflict.

Elsewhere, according to the** Anti-Defamation League**, antisemitic content has increased by more than 919 per cent on X, and 28 per cent on Facebook since the 7 October attack.

Additional sources • New York Times, Variety