Statements

This page includes statements from some of those who reported the hate as part of this campaign. Further statements are currently being added. Most pictures are of the people doing the reporting for this campaign on their computers or phones and may be used in reporting on the campaign for the media and social media.

“Numerous recent anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate and terrorist crimes in real life were related to online hatred on social media, as for instance in the case of the stabbing of Aboubakar Cissé or the shooting of Hichem Miraoui. Perpetrators also radicalize online.  Today, we are united against hate to raise awareness about the scourge of online hatred.”

KATHARINA VON SCHNURBEIN (Europe)

European Commission Coordinator for combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life

“Antisemitism is more widespread online than ever before and can lead to radicalisation and physical attacks. That is why fighting it is a priority in the European Commission’s EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. We need to stand together against antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and all other forms of hate.”

AFTAB MALIK (Australia)

Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia

“There has been an alarming rise in online hate in the past few years. While social media platforms provide a wealth of information and resources to people around the globe, and allow people to connect and communicate wherever they are, they are also awash with material that incites hatred and violence against Muslims, dehumanises them, and views them as a predatory, cultural threat. I urge social media platforms to act upon the complaints that they receive about such material, and that the recommendations made in the Online Safety Act Review will be considered and actioned by the Government, thus making the online space safe for everyone. Spreading hatred and the mistrust of Australian Muslims and of Islam encourages people to act on fear instead of fact, and legitimises prejudice and dehumanisation.”

ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER (Canada)

Member of Parliament for Mount Royal

“In 2020 I was part of a group of legislators that formed the InterParliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism because we saw a disturbing increase in hate online.  For several years we made progress in convincing social media platforms to enforce their own rules but today we see that trend reversing.  Hate online leads to hate in the streets and social media platforms have an absolute obligation to respect their own standards.”

Bishop Edson Dos Santos (USA)

Superintendent, Latin District – Assemblies of God

“We do not tolerate antisemitism on social media. Protest is a right, but canceling people is not the answer. There’s a difference between dissent and dehumanization — and many have already crossed that line… when hatred against the Jewish people is normalized, no one is truly safe.”

NAZHATH FAHEEMA (Singapore)

Interfaith Dialogue Practitioner

“We have a shared responsibility to care for one another and shield our communities from the harm of online hate. Left unchallenged, it wounds identities, fractures trust, and polarises society. By reporting harmful content, we begin to shift the algorithm and disrupt the digital trails that normalise hate—creating space instead for empathy, truth, and dignity.”

The following additional quote was provided after see the results of the campaign:

“It was meaningful to contribute to the effort for #InternationalDayForCounteringHateSpeech. Yet I must admit — the experience of reviewing antisemitic and anti-Muslim content, though sadly not new to me through years of interfaith dialogue work, felt especially heavy this time. The hatred directed at both Jewish and Muslim communities was overwhelming — dark, deliberate, and deeply unsettling.

What’s even more frustrating is how often social media platforms respond that such content does not violate their community guidelines. The posts I reviewed included portrayals of Muslims as terrorists, glorification of Nazi ideology, mockery of the Holocaust, and open admiration for Hitler.

And this is just from reviewing content targeting two communities.

It left me deeply unsettled: What does the world even consider hate today? Is there any shared understanding left? Or have memes, videos, and viral ‘jokes’ so thoroughly blurred the lines between free speech, comedy, and the real harm done to people’s identities?

I believe we urgently need an honest dialogue — not just about hate speech itself, but about the standards we’re using. What or whose “community guidelines” are we relying on to define hate? And are those guidelines truly equipped to protect the dignity of all?”

BENDETTO ZACCHIROLI (Italy)

President of ECCAR (European Coalition of Cities Against Racism)

“As ECCAR, we believe that combating online hate speech—whether antisemitic or anti-Muslim—is both a moral imperative and a civic duty. The digital world has rules: platforms have community guidelines, and it’s our responsibility to use reporting mechanisms when boundaries are crossed. Cities are crucial in this fight because local governments can send a powerful message that hate has no place in our societies—offline or online. This is why ECCAR supports sustainable campaigns against digital hate and encourages more cities to participate, creating safer digital spaces that reflect our inclusive values.”

DR. LINDA HYÖKKI (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

ECCAR (European Coalition of Cities Against Racism)

“The antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred I encountered during this campaign on Instagram, YouTube, and X is a chilling reminder that online spaces are fertile ground for bigotry.  Some of the content is explicit and violent. At the same time, other posts masquerade as political commentary, but they are often rooted in conspiracy theories and dangerous stereotypes about Jews and Muslims. These narratives don’t just misinform — they incite fear, division, and hatred. Reporting such content must be a simple, clear process — accessible to everyone, including those unfamiliar with the legal language and technical details. Social media platforms require us, for instance, to classify whether a post is incitement, stereotyping, or a call to violence. This is not always straightforward, as one post might include several types of hate speech. In any case, reporting these posts is not just an act of resistance—it’s a call to tech companies and society to confront hate speech before it turns into real-world harm.”

KARIM RIDWAN (Belgium)

The Collective for Countering Islamophobia in Europe

“Violent acts of racism do not occur in a vacuum; they are the culmination of a long process of indoctrination, where hate speech draws legitimacy from conspiracy theories masquerading as facts. In countries such as France and Austria, this rhetoric has increasingly entered the mainstream, co-opted by political parties that have helped institutionalize structural racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism.”

Responding the data on removal rates Karim stated:

“The recent data clearly indicates that hate speech targeting Muslims and Jews has become increasingly normalized on social media platforms, which continue to dodge their responsibility in addressing online hate. This normalization is not without consequence since it paves the way for verbal abuse and, ultimately, physical violence. In France, a chilling example underscores the real-world dangers of such inaction: a recent case involving 16 members of a far-right group who conspired to assassinate imams and poison halal food reveals the long-term effects of tolerating hate speech online. It also exposes the alarming complacency of social media executives who allow such toxic rhetoric to spread unchecked.”

REV. JULIO ESCOTTO (USA)

President, Latino Fraternity of Pastors – Paterson, NJ

“There’s no more important time to combat hatred and lies than when they’re going viral. I’m grateful to join a global movement dedicated to confronting the hate directed at our Jewish and Muslim communities.”

KRISTA LEWIE-CEPERO (USA)

Virginia State Executive Director, Latinos United for Conservative Action (LUCA)

“It is an honor, a privilege, and a duty to stand against hate as it continues to spread across social media platforms. In this pivotal moment, it is essential that people of all backgrounds unite to uphold and defend the dignity and humanity of every individual in our society.”