A number of Jewish celebrities have made a private call to TikTok bosses, insisting the platform are 'creating the biggest anti-Semitic movement since the Nazis' amid war in Gaza.
- Nov 18, 2023
AceShowbiz - Sacha Baron Cohen slams TikTok for allegedly "creating the biggest anti-Semitic movement since the Nazis." "The Dictator" actor, 52, joins a string of Jewish celebrities who hit out at the platform in a private call as it battles allegations it has allowed a torrent of pro-Hamas videos and hatred against Jews.
"Shame on you," Sacha told bosses as he said TikTok was feeding images to youngsters encouraging hate.
His comments were made in a video call between Jewish celebrities and TikTok executives, set up by the video app in an effort to defuse a growing anti-Semitism row.
According to The New York Times, he added, "If you think back to October 7, the reason why Hamas were able to behead young people and rape women was they were fed images from when they were small kids that led them to hate. What is happening at TikTok is it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis."
The call was set up after Jewish celebrities and influencers signed an open letter last week saying that the app "is not safe for Jewish users."
Criticism has also erupted after TikTok users began posting a letter written by Osama Bin Laden 21 years ago under the hashtag #lettertoamerica.
The letter, published by The Observer last year, explains the rationale behind the 9/11 attacks and argues that the oppression of the Palestinian territories must be "revenged" in an assault against "Americans and Jews."
The Guardian, which hosted the letter online, deleted the anti-Semitic letter this week after it began being "widely shared on social media without full context."
TikTok has been fighting claims the note went viral on its platform and it said clips featuring the #lettertoamerica hashtag had been seen 13 million times on its platform - only a fraction of popular topics such as #travel, #skincare and #film. A TikTok spokesman said, "This is not a trend," but it said it had removed the #lettertoamerica hashtag.
