Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Requests Information From The Department Of Homeland Security On Surge In Antisemitic Online Content In Wake Of Twitter Moderation Changes And The Mainstream Exposure Of Antisemitic Ideology Through Public Figures
WASHINGTON – On Friday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas requesting information on the apparent recent surge in antisemitic online content and rhetoric, even after the Anti-Defamation League's annual review for 2021 reported the highest number of antisemitic incidents in a single year since the organization began tracking them. Citing additional research charting increasing antisemitic activity on the platform in the wake of Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, due to reduced content moderation and allowing harmful extremist organizations back on the platform, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested information on the Department of Homeland Security's own tracking of such hateful online activity as well as its correlation to violent crimes. Furthermore, the Congressman, noted the potential mainstreaming impact of the public attention drawn to related ideologies by the widely reported dinner former President Trump hosted at his Mar-a-Lago estate with West and noted white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
In response to the recent surge in antisemitism and related news coverage, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested the following information from the Department of Homeland Security by December 23rd:
- What measures currently exist at DHS to monitor the prevalence of online and media hate speech based on religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other target categories?
- Has DHS observed any increase in such activities since October, when Ye West began making his antisemitic public declarations and Elon Musk began to change Twitter's account and content policies?
- Has DHS discerned any shifts in recent years in the connections between online antisemitism, extremism, and hate speech, preceding violent crimes?
- Has DHS identified any distinct causes for surges in online antisemitism, vandalism, and assault reported by the ADL over the last several years?
A full copy of Congressman Krishnamoorthi's letter is available here.