CyberWell, an independent nonprofit that works with major social platforms on reporting online Jew-hatred, said it is seeing an increase in coded antisemitic content using emojis and euphemisms that can slip past moderators.
The Tel Aviv-based group said that it submitted public comment to Meta’s oversight board and sent alerts to platforms, as the board reviews a case involving coded language and emojis used to target other communities.
It said similar tactics are being used against Jews across English and Arabic content, including the use of “juice” and “tiny hat,” along with emojis of juice boxes, noses, pigs, mice, monkeys and devils to “dehumanize Jews” online.
“This content represents a troubling, sophisticated evolution of digital antisemitism and evasion tactics,” stated Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, founder and CEO of the nonprofit.
CyberWell said that it found 64 TikTok accounts “using ‘Jill Kews’ as code for ‘Kill Jews,’” and that after it alerted the platform through a trusted partner channel, TikTok removed and banned the large majority of the accounts.
“Antisemitic actors have learned to weaponize tools meant for communication,” Cohen Montemayor said. “Emojis now function as coded cues that allow users to signal bigoted beliefs and harass Jews without explicitly naming them.”
