To be a Jew on social media is to be seated near the back by the toilets. There is a smell in the air and the door opens regularly, and occasionally the plumbing gets backed up which means you must spend some time wading grimly through shit. Like now, when ex-presidents and pop stars, people with more followers than there are Jews in the world, are posting that Jews had better start showing Trump some gratitude “before it is too late”, or that they’re planning to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” All caps all Kanye’s.
I’ve been reading and listening to a lot of stories about conspiracy theories recently. It’s hard to avoid them, maybe, but still, it feels necessary. The past few years, of pandemic and protests and poverty, have led to a rise in people trying to make sense of chaos, some of them leaning into mis- or disinformation. And by campaigning against Covid vaccines and public health measures, many have unknowingly attached themselves to conspiracy theories, some of them clear reincarnations of an ancient blood libel.
