In May 2019, on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, a disruptive digital initiative named @Eva.Stories was launched on Instagram, attempting to bridge the gap between today’s teenagers and the distant memory of the Holocaust. For 24 hours, a series of 60-second segments unfolded on Instagram Stories, depicting – firsthand – a young Hungarian girl’s experience in the early 1940s, based on her pre-death diary entries. The campaign’s slogan, “What if a girl had Instagram during the Holocaust?” aimed to captivate the attention of a new generation glued to their screens. A story that started pleasantly took a grim turn and chronicled Eva’s horrific nightmare all the way to the end. @Eva.Stories amassed a million followers virtually overnight, marking a significant milestone in educational outreach.
A critical observation emerges when delving into the content: Eva was the sole character in all of the scenes, with a smartphone and access to Instagram. The absence of this technology in the broader context of the Holocaust era prompts a chilling question – what if everyone, including the father of Nazi propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, had access to Instagram and other social media platforms during those turbulent years? How much faster would the Nazi movement’s aspirations have been realized? How many more millions of innocent lives would have been lost like Eva’s?
The events of October 7, 2023, and more specifically their on and offline aftermath, present a frightening preview of the answer to those questions. One of the materials discovered in the strongholds of Hamas is a copy in Arabic of Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, and we know from other data collected that these terrorists consider the Nazi movement an inspiration in light of their shared desire for a “Final Solution.”
The parallels drawn between the mass communication tactics of Hamas and the Nazis raise ominous questions about the potential impact of social media if wielded by genocidal forces.
The latest update to the Harvard/Harris Caps Poll in the United States reflects the devastating impact social media platforms are having on America’s Gen Z (18-24 year olds) and offers invaluable insight into the power of technology to radicalize entire generations. Unregulated and out of control, Instagram, TikTok, and X are where most of the conversation about the Israel-Hamas War is taking place. And the results are alarming.
WE MUST premise the following paragraphs with an important reminder to the pro-Israel community: At this time, almost three months since October 7, all the polls confirm that most Americans are still supportive of Israel in its war against Hamas, as well as in favor of the provision of aid by the Biden administration to Israel to wage this war. This is important to remember, as in the short term, we must keep an eye on the ball and not let our concerns about the younger cohorts take over our judgement of what needs to be done right now. This article is written with a focus on the future – where we need to turn our attention to next.
The December update of the aforementioned poll reveals that most young Americans appear to agree with their older counterparts that Hamas is a terrorist organization, that the October 7 attack was genocidal against Jews, and that Hamas uses human shields and rape as warfare. But at the same time, a full 60% of 18-24 year olds deviate strongly from the older generations and believe that the October 7 attack can be justified by the grievances of the Palestinians (marking an increase from 56% in November). This aligns with a troubling surge in support that this cohort has voiced for Hamas – a terror organization outlawed in the US and most countries around the world – rising from 45% last month to 50% in December.
This substantial increase in outright support for a terrorist organization should raise a red flag for all Americans, transcending concerns for Jews and Israel alone. Islamist terrorists view all non-believers as “infidels” who are ripe for eradication. It is only a matter of the order in which we come up.
Further adding to the confusion, while 70% of 18-24 year olds believe that calling for the genocide of Jews on campus constitutes hate speech and harassment, and 71% believe university presidents who dismiss calls for genocide as non-harassment should resign, 53% simultaneously argue that students should be free to make such calls and not have to face actions for violating university rules. This apparent contradiction reflects a binary understanding of life among the younger generation, struggling to reconcile two basic rights enshrined in the nation’s formative documents: the right to free speech and the right to protection against harassment and hate speech.
Labeling these individuals – half of America’s future decision-makers – as antisemitic oversimplifies the issue and brings in ulterior motives that may not be present in their young, underdeveloped minds. Their behavior is cult-like, there is clearly “group-think” and “virtue signaling” at play on social media (just like in the high school changing room). It represents a marked inability to unpack complicated notions, all resting on a predisposition to cancel culture, wokeness, and entitlement that they might not even be aware of.
What the findings of this and other similar polls underscore is the urgent need for a comprehensive overhaul of the American educational system to address conflicting perspectives and to counteract binary thinking. This isn’t just about the Jews and/or Israel, which is why October 7 is a wake-up call for all Americans, and indeed, other citizens of liberal democracies.
The Titanic of Gen Z radicalization in America has already set sail; now its leadership must decide what to do and how best to navigate the ship away from the inevitable crash into the iceberg of a second Holocaust – this time in the form of useful idiots taking it a step further by ushering in an Islamic caliphate. Suggestions for how to do so have been offered widely, and well before October 7.
Time to speak name to the truth
THE CALL for self-regulation of leading media platforms by their owners is not new – but time has run out for humanity to place the responsibility for saving itself on Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, or the Chinese government (the latter, of course, being part of the problem and very much encouraging it). If America doesn’t want its Gen Z to mimic Nazi Youth and usher in a dark new era, it must act now before it is too late. Social media platforms should be recognized for what they are: media and advertising platforms. As such, they must be regulated by the government.
Another suggestion, proposed by the founder of The Free Press, Bari Weiss, is to do away with the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) movement that has entrenched itself in academia and the workplace. Ms. Weiss recently shared her thoughts on the matter in this recording, highlighting the impact and perils of the misuse of what are ostensibly good intentions.
Special care and attention should also be given to the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technology that is becoming a staple in society as we enter 2024. This is yet another tool that, if unregulated by government, has the power to turn us into idle pawns in a game played by evil actors with aspirations none of us want to even imagine. Hamas is already using tens of thousands of bots online to do their advocacy and brainwashing for them; the Titanic is well on its way.
There are, of course, many more urgently treacherous threats to our existence as liberal democracies. The time for decisive action is now.
The world cannot allow 21st-century Goebbels-wannabes to exploit the power of social media and technological advancement for nefarious ends. Leaders of Western democracies must take responsibility for steering the ship of Gen Z away from the perilous waters of radicalization, by curtailing the radicalizers’ access and control of these platforms and technologies.
The legacy of the Holocaust demands nothing less.
The writer is a country branding expert, public speaker, and best-selling author. joannalandau.com