History Under Attack: Holocaust Denial and Distortion on Social Media

A new United Nations and UNESCO study together with the support of the World Jewish Congress investigates Holocaust denial and distortion on social media, measuring their extent and nature on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter and TikTok, at a time when the memory and fundamental facts of the Holocaust are under threat from lies, smears and the spread of violent ideologies. It provides recommendations that governments, online platforms, educators and researchers can implement to counter denial and distortion, prevent antisemitism and uphold human rights.

This report aims to provide a wide-ranging assessment of the extent to which Holocaust-related content on social media and online platforms denies its factual basis or distorts the Holocaust by minimizing or misrepresenting its history. The report seeks to identify content that has evaded content moderation (on platforms that seek to remove content which denies and distorts the Holocaust). Perhaps more importantly, it also aims to provide an understanding of how denial and distortion about the Holocaust are communicated by people on online platforms.