Twitter sparks fury with its ‘inept response to anti-Semitism’ after locking Jewish users’ accounts with Star of David profile images
- Jewish Twitter users complained their accounts which had the Star of David as a profile picture were locked due to showing ‘hateful imagery’
- The social media platform claims it had been working to rid the site of the ‘yellow star’ which has reportedly been used to target and attack Jews
- Campaign Against Anti-Semitism told the MailOnline in a statement that the platform’s response was ‘inept’
Twitter has been accused of an ‘inept response to anti-Semitism’ after they locked accounts belonging to Jewish users which had the Star of David as their profile picture.
Twitter locked accounts which displayed the Jewish Star of David, telling the users they had breached its rules for having ‘hateful images’ in their profile pictures.
Among the blocked accounts, one showed a series of yellow stars, while others showed a Star of David next to Batman character Harley Quinn and the star on a cream background in a graffiti style.
In a statement, Twitter said they did not consider the Star of David a hateful image and they were trying to take down images of the ‘yellow star’, which has allegedly been used to target Jewish users.
Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, who received complaints from Twitter users after their profiles were shut down, told the MailOnline in a statement that the platform’s response to anti-Semitism was ‘inept’.
Pictured: The accounts blocked by Twitter. Among the blocked accounts, only one showed the ‘yellow star’, while others showed a Star of David next to Batman character Harley Quinn or the star on a cream background in a graffiti style
Twitter’s statement read: ‘We want to clarify some questions about hateful imagery on Twitter. We categorically do not consider the Star of David a hateful symbol or hateful image. We have for some time seen the ‘yellow star’ or ‘yellow badge’ symbol being used by those seeking to target Jewish people.’
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at the Jewish anti-Semitism campaign group said: ‘Only one of the accounts locked featured a yellow star, and it very clearly did so as a means of reclaiming the yellow stars used by the Nazis.
‘This is precisely the kind of inept response to antisemitism that we have come to expect from Twitter, which just last week tried to convince us that the viral antisemitic #JewishPrivilege hashtag was legitimate.
‘We would happily help Twitter, but they largely ignore us when we approach them. It seems that Twitter prefers to go after Jewish users who proudly display their identity but not after antisemitic users who unabashedly promote anti-Jewish vitriol.’
According to the Jerusalem Post, the users received messages saying: ‘We have determined that this account violated the Twitter Rules.
‘Specifically for: Violating our rules against posting hateful imagery.
Pictured: One of the accounts blocked by Twitter. The social media platform said they are working to stamp out the ‘yellow star’ profiles, which have allegedly been used to target Jews
‘You may not use hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header.
‘As a result, we have locked your account.’
Just last week Twitter was accused of failing to combat anti-Semitism after the #JewishPrivilege hashtag began trending on its platform.
The hashtag was used to promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, such as Jews being in control of the slave trade and running the world order.
Jews on Twitter began to use the hashtag to detail the discrimination, hardship and anti-Semitism they, and their families, had encountered.