The Instagram bots of Indonesia and the antisemitism game making Jews feel unsafe online - opinion
Reports indicate that Instagram bots originating from Indonesia are being used to spread antisemitic content, contributing to a hostile online environment for Jewish users. The coordinated attacks aim to intimidate Jewish individuals, particularly youth, into concealing their identity online. Rather than encouraging withdrawal, the recommended response is greater awareness and resistance to such digital harassment.
- ▪Automated accounts on Instagram, traced to Indonesia, are spreading antisemitic messages.
- ▪These bots target Jewish users, especially young people, to make them feel unsafe expressing their identity online.
- ▪The intent appears to be psychological intimidation rather than mere spam or misinformation.
- ▪Experts suggest combating the abuse by understanding the tactics and refusing to be silenced.
- ▪The phenomenon highlights broader concerns about online hate and the vulnerability of social media platforms to coordinated abuse.
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The Instagram bots of Indonesia and the antisemitism game making Jews feel unsafe online - opinionThe goal of these attacks is to make Jewish kids feel unsafe being openly Jewish online. The counter to that isn’t hiding. It’s understanding the game and refusing to play.An illustrative image of a shadowed figure on a smartphone.(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.