This is the Forward’s coverage of social media platforms and their role in Jewish life.
Social Media
The Latest
-
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…
-
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….
-
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…
-
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…
-
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
-
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,…
-
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 —…
-
The Schmooze Caroline Calloway says Harry Potter taught her anti-Semitic stereotypes
Caroline Calloway, the only person on the internet who can’t be cancelled (so it seems), is at it again with an curious explanation of latent anti-Semitism in her unstoppable social media presence. For the uninitiated, Calloway is an influencer making a name from her somewhat hate-able and extremely watchable online behavior. She’s gained (and embraced)…
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Books How Yiddish authors made a new world writing for children
-
Yiddish „זאָלן מיר גיין אויף דעם דאָזיקן וועג, אויף דעם ווײַסן וועג“‘Let us go on this path, on the white path’
דער טאַטע פֿון אַוואַד דאַראַושע, וועמען כאַמאַס האָט דערהרגעט דעם 7טן אָקטאָבער, רעדט וועגן זײַן זון
-
Opinion The hostages are home. The fight for their future is far from over
-
Fast Forward Israelis are comparing Trump to Cyrus the Great – again
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism