Young Americans struggle to recognize antisemitism on social media, whether it involves explicit hate speech or modern rhetoric targeting Israel and Zionism, a new study by the Anti-Defamation League and Boundless shows. At the same time, the study found that reminding participants that most people reject antisemitism successfully nudged them to identify and report the abusive content.

The study, released Thursday, surveyed nearly 7,500 Americans between the ages of 18 and 44. To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, the researchers showed participants real social media posts featuring classical and contemporary antisemitism from the political left, right and no specific affiliation.

Respondents struggled to recognize contemporary antisemitism, often expressed through hatred towards Israel and Zionism, especially compared to classical antisemitic statements, such as a tweet claiming Jesus “called the money grubbing jews the ‘synagogues of Satan,’” which was more easily identified.   

The researchers tested six interventions, including messages offering a Jewish perspective, explaining the personal impact of antisemitism, raising awareness of disinformation and providing neutral information. Most did not significantly improve respondents’ ability to recognize — or willingness to report — antisemitic content.

A short message emphasizing that antisemitism is rejected by most Americans was the only one of six interventions tested to produce improvements in reporting across the broader sample, increasing the likelihood of reporting certain posts by about six percent. 

While the message’s impact was modest, its simplicity and potential to reach millions could make it a powerful tool in combating online antisemitism, according to Matt Williams, vice president of the ADL’s Center for Antisemitism Research. “Moving the needle six percent on recognizing and reporting antisemitic content doesn’t seem like much for a room full of people but think of what a six percent reduction across millions could bring about,” he said. 

The findings also revealed a generational divide in how young Americans respond to antisemitism online. Millennials were somewhat better than Gen Z respondents at recognizing antisemitic content. 

Gen Zers, however, were more likely to report antisemitic content once they identified it as hateful. Among respondents who recognized a post as antisemitic, 77% of Gen Zers said they would report it, compared with 68% of millennials, suggesting that Gen Z faces a greater challenge in recognizing antisemitism while millennials may be less likely to act on it.

The findings come amid other research pointing to generational differences in attitudes toward Jews and Israel. A Yale Youth poll last year, for example, found that younger voters were less likely than older respondents to reject a series of antisemitic statements, including claims that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. and that Jews have too much power.