Modern hate
Watchdog Warns of Surge in Emoji Antisemitism Across Social Media
Social media nonprofit CyberWell releases report detailing how antisemites use emojis and "algospeak" to avoid detection. Internet speak, often dismissed as trivial, is hiding depths of hate that are going unaddressed.
A leading antisemitism-monitoring organization is sounding the alarm over a sharp rise in coded hate speech targeting Jews on major social media platforms. CyberWell, a nonprofit that works directly with Meta, TikTok and YouTube, says antisemitic users are increasingly hiding behind emojis and slang designed to evade detection by moderation systems.
The warning comes as Meta’s Oversight Board reviews a broader case involving racist emoji use against Black athletes. CyberWell submitted testimony to the Board arguing that similar “algospeak” tactics have been weaponized against Jewish users on a massive scale.
According to CyberWell’s research, antisemitic actors are now using emojis and coded words such as “juice,” “tiny hat” and 🧃 to spread conspiracy theories and dehumanizing tropes without triggering automated flags. Other common emojis include 👃, 🤑, 🐷, 🐀, 🐒, 😈, 👿 and 👹.
“Even if these posts feature dumbed-down algospeak, this content represents a troubling, sophisticated evolution of digital antisemitism,” said Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, CyberWell’s founder and CEO. She noted that extremists have learned to use emojis as covert signals, allowing hateful content to proliferate in memes, reels and comment sections.
CyberWell says that these coded posts tend to fall into four archetypes: animals (pigs, rats or monkeys), devils, proxies such as “juice” or “tiny hat,” and classic antisemitic myths. Many of the examples identified by the group clearly violate platform rules but evade enforcement because they rely on emojis rather than explicit text.
On TikTok, researchers recently found 64 accounts using the phrase “Jill Kews” as a code for “Kill Jews.” After CyberWell alerted the company, most of the accounts were removed.
The organization also warns that generative AI tools have accelerated the trend, enabling extremists to package antisemitism and Holocaust distortion in polished, cartoon-style images that spread quickly.
CyberWell is urging platforms to strengthen detection systems, flag high-risk emoji combinations, improve multilingual enforcement and train moderators to recognize evasive content.
“Emoji-based hate is often dismissed because it can look humorous or vague,” Cohen Montemayor said. “But it leaves a deep impact on Jewish users and helps normalize antisemitism across the digital space.”
Credit: Yeshiva World News