ANTISEMITISMO 2.0. La propagazione dell’odio online nel web sociale

Antisemitism with its own historical specificity has undergone continuous metamorphosis and evolution over time. The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an increase in anti-Semitic content on social media under the prevailing form of “opportunistic antisemitism”. In the first section, this article outlines a number of premises for the interpretation of hate speech phenomena in the digital world from an “onlife” perspective. It then highlights some aspects that facilitate the process of identification of a target group. This applies in particular to the propagation of stereotypes, prejudices and other forms of anti-Semitic hostility. Finally, the third section of the paper addresses the impact of the “post-truth” discourse on anti-Semitic hate speech. In particular, it is noted that the construction of a Manichean view of political and social conflict, alongside the strong emotional reaction of social media, facilitate the dissemination of anti-Semitic speech. This involves nebulous and unverified information that is spread horizontally with a tendency towards conspiracy theories.