TikTok removes collection of anti-Semitic videos its own algorithm promoted
An anti-Semitic video flourished on TikTok for days before the app removed it. Image by iStock
Video-sharing app TikTok has deleted an anti-Semitic video mocking Auschwitz victims — but only after it was viewed 6.5 million times.
Appearing on Sunday, the video includes a song containing the lyrics “We’re going on a trip to a place called Auschwitz, it’s shower time,” evidently referring to gas chambers in the death camp which were disguised as showers.
As the video gained traction, some TikTok users employed the song in anti-Semitic videos of their own. Some included clips of movies about the Holocaust, while others showed footage of violent video games.
Clips from movies about the Holocaust appeared in some videos. Image by BBC
The BBC reported that TikTok’s own algorithm promoted the video and allowed it to be viewed millions of times in just a few days.
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement for the U.K. organization Campaign Against Antisemitism, told the BBC that the video was “sickening” and said that “TikTok has a particular obligation to tackle this content fast because it specialises in delivering viral videos to children and young adults when they are most impressionable.”
Some videos included footage from video games. Image by BBC
“Our research has shown that TikTok has become one of the fastest vectors for transmission of memes mocking the Holocaust,” he added.
Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected].
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Fast Forward Is the Passover Seder Zionist?
-
Fast Forward David Sassoon, the Jewish royal designer who dressed Princess Diana, dies at 92
-
Fast Forward For a second straight Passover, Jews mark Festival of Freedom while hostages remain in Gaza
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
Opinion Trump’s Israel tariffs are a BDS dream come true — can Netanyahu make him rethink them?
- 3
Opinion I co-wrote Biden’s antisemitism strategy. Trump is making the threat worse
- 4
Film & TV How Marlene Dietrich saved me — or maybe my twin sister — and helped inspire me to become a lifelong activist
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Opinion This Passover, let’s retire the word ‘Zionist’ once and for all
-
Opinion Passover teaches us why Jews should stand with Mahmoud Khalil
-
Culture At a seder by and for trans Jews, guests define liberation for themselves
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.