This Is What Holocaust Denial Looks Like in 2025

Thursday, 24 April 2025 | A wave of unprecedented antisemitism has flooded social media since the October 7 Hamas attacks, with a new report from the watchdog organization CyberWell exposing a disturbing trend: growing denial of the massacre itself, using tactics that closely resemble classic Holocaust denial.

According to the report, almost half of the denialist posts claim that Israel orchestrated the attack, and platforms are struggling to cope with the phenomenon.

Published ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025, the report by the CyberWell organization, which works to monitor and combat antisemitism online, reveals a dramatic spike in antisemitic content online since the October 7 massacre. Within the three weeks following the attacks, antisemitic posts surged by 86% compared to the previous 25 days. Over the subsequent 11 months, antisemitic content remained up by an average of 36%. At the same time, violent extremism also increased: the report  found that explicit calls for violence against Jews more than doubled, now accounting for 13.3% of antisemitic posts—up from 5.1% the previous year.

Nearly half (47%) of posts denying the massacre claim Israel staged or orchestrated the October 7 attack as a "false flag." These claims have been spread on many social networks since then, with another 33% denying Hamas's role in the atrocities, including sexual violence, while 10% suggest Israel "benefited" from the attacks—twice the rate seen in January 2024.

Patterns of Denial

The report warns that denial narratives are becoming increasingly sophisticated, mirroring established Holocaust denial methods. These include the use of conspiracy theories (such as false claims that the IDF was responsible for most of the Israeli casualties during the massacre), collective demonization of Jews and Israelis, and erasure of Jewish suffering. Like Holocaust denial, the goal is to delegitimize and incite further violence.

Alongside this there are some positive developments—such as TikTok becoming the first platform to officially categorize denial of the October 7 massacre and rapes as prohibited content, and Meta recognizing the attack as an act of terrorism. However, CyberWell found major gaps between stated policy and actual enforcement. While social media platforms have relatively high takedown rates for Holocaust denial (92% on TikTok, 74.8% on Meta, 68.3% on X), no equivalent standard exists for October 7 denial, leading to far lower removal rates, especially for content in Arabic.

Moreover, CyberWell warns that algorithms themselves are fueling the spread of hate. Denial content is not only left unchecked but is often amplified, making it harder for users to discern its falsehood and reinforcing antisemitic narratives. 

This is not a new phenomenon. For over a decade, coordinated misinformation campaigns—often politically motivated—have been planted on social media by interested parties, including for political reasons. These campaigns are strategically designed to exploit platform algorithms and target specific audiences. One recent example cited is Meta’s German branch of Facebook approving antisemitic ads.

“We call on all social media platforms to unequivocally recognize the October 7 attacks as an event that must be included in violent event denial policies,” said CyberWell CEO and founder Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. "Denial is a historical tool for erasing Jewish suffering and strengthening antisemitism. We expect all platforms to take strong measures against expressions of incitement, hatred and antisemitism in a systematic and comprehensive manner."

She added: “In this new digital reality, denial of October 7 must be addressed with the same seriousness as Holocaust denial—with recognition, clear definitions and firm enforcement—before lies become normalized and online incitement spills into the streets.”