ADL Poll: Almost Half World's Adults Exhibit Antisemitism

Close to half of the adults across the world deny the historical facts of the Holocaust and harbor antisemitic beliefs, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The largest global study of anti-Jewish attitudes surveyed more than 58,000 adults from 103 countries that represent 94% of the world's adult population found that 46% displayed antisemitic attitudes. The poll found that 20% of the respondents never heard of the Holocaust and another 21% believed the death figures have been exaggerated, or it never happened.

"The fact that nearly half of the global population has elevated antisemitic sentiments tells us we are in nothing short of a global emergency," said ADL Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt in a news release. "This is a virus that has spread, it is accelerating and intensifying."

The pollsters asked 11 questions that measured general acceptance of various negative Jewish stereotypes. Respondents who said least six statements are "probably true" or "definitely true" are considered to harbor elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes.

Antisemitic tropes such, "Jews have too much power in the business world" and "Jews have too much control over the media," are believed by 76% of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa; 51% in Asia; 49% in Eastern Europe; and 45% in sub-Saharan Africa. The Americas and Western Europe had lower levels of antisemitism at 24% and 17%, respectively, and Sweden had the lowest at 5%.

"Social media is a superspreader of hate that allows antisemites to export their views to the masses," Greenblatt said. "A younger audience that consumes their news on TikTok and Instagram has a less informed view of the world, with information provided by influencers not based on expertise, but based on the appeal of their memes."

The poll was conducted via telephone, face-to-face, and online between July 23 and Nov. 14, with a margin of error of +/- 4.4% for countries with a sample size of 500 and +/- 3.2% for countries with a sample size of 1,000.

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