“The disturbing problem with posting antisemitic content on LinkedIn is that those posting it present themselves with academic degrees and other professional accolades,” said a monitor for an antisemitism watchdog group.
By Pesach Benson, United with Israel
LinkedIn has failed to remove antisemitic content from its platform, according to a study by the antisemitism watchdog, Fighting Antisemitism Online (FOA), which was published on Wednesday.
During a three-month period, FOA, an Israel-based non-profit, identified 100 posts which included antisemitic content. Such posts included calls for violence against Israelis or Jews. Other posts compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
Unfortunately, when FOA notified LinkedIn about the antisemitic material, very little of the content was actually removed — only one in four posts.
“The disturbing problem with posting antisemitic content on LinkedIn is that those posting it present themselves with academic degrees and other professional accolades,” FOA monitor Barak Aharon told Ynet.
“LinkedIn, like other social networks, claims to fight such phenomenon, but sadly, our survey shows a reality much different than what we had been promised,” he said.
FOA said it applied the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism to assess the posts. The IHRA’s definition has been adopted by 38 countries, including the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, the European Union Council, and numerous state and local institutions.
Jewish organizations have called on social media platforms to adopt IHRA’s definition, but efforts have mostly concentrated on Facebook and Twitter.
Ynet quoted a LinkedIn response insisting that there is no room for antisemitism, hatred or violence on its platform or online communities.
“We are committed to a high standard and a safe conversation on our platforms and will take all necessary action in response to content and behavior that is contrary to our community’s professional policy. It is important that we continue to develop features and tools to keep our platform safe,” the statement said.
The California-based LinkedIn has more than 774 million users around the world. The platform is geared to help business professionals connect.