Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Researchers in Sweden who analyzed over 2 million postings about Jews on four different social media channels found that more than 30 percent of the messages were antisemitic, a new report disclosed this week.

The report — compiled by the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) — examined approximately 2.5 million posts about Jews or Judaism on the digital platforms 4chan/pol, Gab, Reddit and Twitter over a six-month period in 2019.

The researchers’ analysis showed that almost 25 percent of the posts contained antisemitic stereotypes, while another nine percent did not contain a stereotype but still expressed hostility toward Jews.

“Stereotypes about Jews’ power and dishonesty are the most prevalent. These stereotypes can be seen in several of the conspiracy theories circulating on the internet and in social media”, said Katie Cohen, researcher at FOI, in a statement accompanying the report’s publication.

The study forms part of a Swedish-government funded project to research antisemitism in online environments.

The report observed that the “vast majority of stereotypical and hostile posts about Jews” appeared on Gab and 4chan/pol.

“Both 4chan and Gab have very limited moderation and user rules that allow most things (within the framework of US law),” the report stated. “On 4chan you can also be completely anonymous, which means that no one can be held responsible for the comments and pictures that are published.”

According to the report, “Gab is the social media platform that many suspended Twitter users turn to.”