Far-right and neo-Nazi group in the United States have increased an intimidating wave of anti-Semitic harassment against Jewish journalists, political candidates and others ahead of next month’s US midterm congressional elections, according to a new report.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization based in New York City, said in a report released Friday that its researchers analyzed over 7.5 million Twitter messages from August 31 to September 17.
The study found that nearly 30 percent of the Twitter accounts that repeatedly posted derogatory terms about Jews appeared to be automated “bots.”
But accounts controlled by real-life humans often mount the most “worrisome and harmful” anti-Semitic attacks, sometimes organized by leaders of extremist or white nationalist groups, ADL researchers said.
“Both anonymity and automation have been used in online propaganda offensives against the Jewish community during the 2018 midterms,”…