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Viral gym trend revives antisemitic stereotypes online, NGO CyberWell's report shows

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A report by the NGO CyberWell highlights a new online trend where fitness influencers use harmful stereotypes of Jewish people in humorous content.
  • The trend involves associating Jews with greed, dishonesty, and money obsession, often using symbols like rope attachments to mimic religious sidelocks.
  • CyberWell's founder states social media platforms have failed to adequately moderate AI-generated content disguised as jokes, allowing antisemitism to spread.

A new online trend is weaponizing fitness culture to spread antisemitic stereotypes, according to a report by the research NGO CyberWell. The organization raised concerns last week about content where fitness influencers depict Jewish people as "greedy, dishonest, aggressive, and 'money-obsessed.'"

The trend, often presented as humorous, involves users placing rope attachments around their heads to symbolize the sidelocks worn by some Jewish men. These images are frequently paired with antisemitic captions, such as "Promised 3,000 Years Ago," which falsely asserts that Jews claim ownership of property, including gym equipment.

This new trend in open gym antisemitism is a direct result of social media platforms’ failure to apply their content moderation policies to AI-generated content packaged as jokes.

— Tal-Or Cohen MontemayorCyberWell Founder and CEO commenting on the platforms' responsibility.

CyberWell's report details how online commenters amplify these harmful stereotypes, sometimes mocking the Holocaust and using coded language to express prejudice. The NGO suggests these "echo-chamber" comment sections normalize antisemitism within online communities.

The gym has become another public setting where Jews may feel less safe and less welcome due to an online climate that rewards open hostility toward Jews. Platforms must address antisemitism that is disguised as humor and coded cultural references that turn longstanding prejudice into widely shared content.

— Tal-Or Cohen MontemayorHighlighting the impact of online trends on real-world safety and the need for platform action.

"This new trend in open gym antisemitism is a direct result of social media platforms' failure to apply their content moderation policies to AI-generated content packaged as jokes," said CyberWell Founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor. She added that platforms must address antisemitism disguised as humor, as it allows long-standing prejudice to evolve into widely shared content.

While CyberWell notes an improvement in content removal since initial failures by social media companies, the report emphasizes the danger of online rhetoric migrating to real-world settings like gyms. Cohen Montemayor stressed that "the normalization phase, when harmful content is dismissed as comedy, is when early intervention matters most."

The normalization phase, when harmful content is dismissed as comedy, is when early intervention matters most.

— Tal-Or Cohen MontemayorEmphasizing the critical window for intervention when harmful content is framed as humor.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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