Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of social media platforms and their role in Jewish life.
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Culture Facing corruption charges, Bibi turns to TikTok
Bibi Netanyahu is on TikTok. There are videos of him throwing a snowball into the camera to celebrate Jerusalem’s snowy conditions, or urging Israelis to get vaccinated, though they don’t seem to have caught on too well — while, as an international leader, he has managed to get verified, he only has 217.4K followers, far…
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Culture This 25-year-old Ashkenazi-British-Sudanese comedian is blowing up on TikTok
Lukas Arnold talks about his life all the time; it’s central to the comedy that has earned him 1.1 million followers on TikTok. And yet, the more he talks about himself, the more of an enigma he becomes. The 25-year-old comedian and voice actor’s dad is Ashkenazi, with ancestry in Poland. His mom is half…
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News On Ultra-Orthodox social media, the messiah is almost here.
After an armed insurrection at the Capitol, rampant conspiracy theories about a stolen election and social media blackouts for President Donald Trump, some WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook users in Ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, communities see the present moment as the darkness before the dawn — that is, the golus before the coming of moshiach, the messiah….
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News Is Gab’s leadership as antisemitic as its users?
After the Anti-Defamation League published an open letter asking the federal government to investigate the self-described “free speech” social media platform Gab — which hosted the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter — for its possible role in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, Gab’s response letter included an unusual sign-off. “We will never bend to their demands and…
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Culture Sea shanties have gone viral on TikTok — are niggunim next?
I have been singing a sea shanty all day. All week, really. This one is called the “The Wellerman” and it’s having a moment on TikTok. Yes, the whaling boat’s work songs from 200 years ago have gone viral with the teens. TikTok users are sharing the original audio, sung by a TikToker named Nathan…
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Opinion A TikTok Hanukkah miracle
How my 13-year-old's comment on a video about tiny ice cream led to a lot of learning
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Fast Forward ‘Pray for the wholeness of the nation!’ Orthodox social media groups pray for Trump
An image circulating in Orthodox social media groups is calling on Orthodox Jews to pray for a speedy recovery for President Donald Trump who announced that he and his wife Melania tested positive for COVID-19 in the early hours of Friday morning. “Oh pray for the wholeness of the nation!” says the image in Hebrew,…
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The Schmooze Twitter’s newest meme has Jews sharing their (least) favorite “spots”
Twitter’s newest trend is a twisted travel game for the quarantine era. It’s the “I know a spot” meme: people suggest a “cool” place to go, which turns out to be a destination you don’t want to visit. For example: men be like “i know a spot” & then take you to rock bottom —…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
In Case You Missed It
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Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
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Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews
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