More action needed to stop antisemitism spreading on social media, Labour MP says

A Labour MP has called for more strident action to tackle antisemitic disinformation and conspiracy on social media.

Speaking at a LabourList Labour conference event brought in partnership with the National Holocaust Centre & Museum, Joani Reid MP warned about the spread of antisemitic content of social media and how it is impacting on young people.

Reid, who is chair of the APPG on Antisemitism, said: “My real concern is that antisemitic conspiracy theories are being subjected to millions of people, disseminated very quickly, and young people get the brunt of it.”

The panel discussed the susceptibility of many parts of the left towards antisemitism and conspiracy theories.

Mark Rusling, director of learning at the National Holocaust Museum, said: “If you look a lot of the conspiracy theories, particularly involving Jews online, particularly involving Covid, you can’t quite tell whether they’re on the left or the right.”

All members of the panel agreed that the left can be equally prone to conspiracies as the far-right, with Adam Langleben, Progressive Britain executive director, saying “populist movements on the left on the right are also both prone to this.”

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Langleben added that the fear was “very, very real” among the Jewish community in Britain in the wake of October 7, and said antisemitism is often not taken as seriously as other forms of racism.

The Community Security Trust found that antisemitic incidents in the first half of a year had reached another record high in 2024.

Mike Katz, Jewish Labour Movement chair, said the reaction to October 7 showed there was still work to be done in tackling antisemitism.

He said: “Ultimately, there’s a reason why antisemitism is called the socialism of fools.”

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