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In the age of the Internet, anti-Semitic remarks and Holocaust denial speech no longer circulate only in marginal hate groups but are exposed to everyone on social networks.\u00a0High-profile figures like Ye \u2013 formerly known as\u00a0Kayne West<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 or NBA player\u00a0Kyrie Irving<\/a>\u00a0have echoed anti-Semitic ideas on their online accounts recently.<\/p>\n Beyond\u00a0these media figures<\/a>\u00a0, worrying survey results also show that anti-Semitism is increasingly widespread.\u00a0In 2021, using the most recent data available in the United States, the Anti-Defamation League reported that anti-\u00a0Semitic incidents<\/a>\u00a0in the United States reached an all-time high.\u00a0According to\u00a0another ADL survey<\/a>\u00a0, 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope, and about 20% believe six or more tropes \u2014 a big increase from just four years ago.<\/p>\n In 2021, a survey published by the Action and Protection League (APL), a partner organization of the European Jewish Association (EJA), and conducted over two years, estimated that\u00a020% of Europeans hold anti-Semitic views<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n This all adds up to a\u00a0general lack of knowledge about the Holocaust<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0As\u00a0International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks<\/a>\u00a0January 27 \u2013 the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau \u2013 it is important to rethink how designed courses dealing with anti-Semitism and how the Holocaust is taught.<\/p>\n Beyond its study as a historical event, one should question its links with past and present anti-Semitism, which implies adapting to the current modes of information and life around the digital.<\/p>\n The digital ecosystem in which current anti-Semitism thrives is a\u00a0Wild West of information and disinformation<\/a>\u00a0posted by anyone and distributed in real time.\u00a0Messages distributed on social networks and in news feeds are regularly\u00a0filtered by algorithms<\/a>\u00a0that target the content users receive based on their profile, which can reinforce pre-existing beliefs.<\/p>\n Mainstream platforms like TikTok, which are growing rapidly among young people, can be used\u00a0to promote anti-Semitism<\/a>\u00a0, as can lesser-known apps like\u00a0Telegram<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n The digital ecosystem is a Wild West where information and misinformation intersect. Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n According to a\u00a02022 report by the United Nations<\/a>\u00a0, 17% of public TikTok content regarding the Holocaust denied it or misrepresented the story.\u00a0The same goes for almost one in five Twitter messages on the subject and 49% of the content on Telegram.<\/p>\n If it can offer new educational resources, artificial intelligence also poses the threat of easily disseminated and unchecked disinformation.\u00a0For example,\u00a0character AI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Historical Figures Chat<\/a>\u00a0let you\u00a0chat with historical figures<\/a>\u00a0, including Holocaust victims like\u00a0Anne Frank<\/a>\u00a0or perpetrators of crimes like\u00a0Joseph Goebbels<\/a>\u00a0, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister.<\/p>\n These sites come with warnings that the characters’ answers may be made up and that users should verify their historical accuracy, but it’s easy to imagine how Internet users can be misled by these dialogues.<\/p>\n Deepfake videos are another potential danger to AI.\u00a0Media experts warn of the risk of destabilization represented by this\u00a0“degradation of the truth”<\/a>\u00a0, that is to say this lack of distinction between true and false, as this type of artificial content spreads .\u00a0Holocaust scholars are gearing up to fight\u00a0deepfakes<\/a>\u00a0‘ manipulation of historical sources and educational materials.\u00a0There are particular concerns that\u00a0deepfakes are being used to rework and downplay survivor testimonies<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n Much of my research focuses on contemporary approaches to Holocaust education \u2013 for example, the need to\u00a0rethink the transmission of history<\/a>\u00a0as the number of survivors still able to testify is rapidly declining.\u00a0Tackling a toxic information landscape is another fundamental challenge that requires innovative solutions.<\/p>\n As a first step, educators can promote\u00a0media literacy<\/a>\u00a0, that is, the knowledge and skills needed to navigate and among and evaluate information online.\u00a0It’s about teaching them to ask themselves who is the originator of a particular piece of information, what evidence is provided, and to investigate the authors of an unknown source by consulting what reputable websites say about it.\u00a0This involves questioning the purpose of the source and reflecting on one’s own point of view.\u00a0Finally, it is important to go back\u00a0to the source or the original context of<\/a>\u00a0the quotations.<\/p>\n Applying these skills in a course on the Holocaust<\/a>\u00a0could focus on identifying the implicit\u00a0stereotypes<\/a>\u00a0and misinformation that online sources rely on, and paying attention to the identity of these sources and their purpose.\u00a0Courses may also analyze how social media\u00a0enables<\/a>\u00a0Holocaust\u00a0denial<\/a>\u00a0and study common formats of online antisemitism, such as\u00a0deepfake videos<\/a>\u00a0, memes, and troll attacks.<\/p>\n Holocaust scholars<\/a>\u00a0can also take advantage of new technologies, instead of just lamenting their pitfalls.\u00a0For example, long after the death of survivors, they would make it possible to \u201cconverse\u201d with them in museums and classrooms using\u00a0specially recorded testimonies<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0language technologies<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0These programs can match a visitor’s questions with relevant parts of pre-recorded interviews.<\/p>\nA toxic information landscape<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Media education<\/h4>\n
Learning in the digital age<\/strong><\/h4>\n