Social media is blamed for surging anti-Semitism in France, as Jewish groups warn racists 'now have a much bigger audience'

[Mark-x]

Heil Hitler' and 'Filthy Jews' crept into comments on a video report on a desecrated Jewish cemetery, pushing French authorities to raise pressure on social media to banish hate-based content.

Virulent anti-semitism has become commonplace on forums like Facebook and Twitter. Yet, efforts to cull the loathing have struggled to make headway.

President Emmanuel Macron visited a desecrated Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, eastern France last week. A regional television channel covering the event was forced to cut the report from its Facebook page as result of dozens of scathing comments.
Jewish graves in Quatzenheim were desecrated the day of nationwide marches against a rise in anti-Semitic attacksFrench President Emmanuel Macron looks at a grave vandalised with a swastika during a visit at the Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, on February 19, 2019, on the day of a nationwide marches against a rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Around 80 graves had been vandalised

In early January, French Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa, who condemns the growing anti-Semitism, said that she had received thousands of insults, notably 'Jewish whore'.

The internet and social media give anti-Semites a stage that widens their audience, and tools to organise networks, says Sacha Ghozlan, head of the French Jewish Students Union.

'We have seen in the past 15 years that people who used to just express themselves in dark basements now have a much bigger audience,' Ghozlan told AFP.

And the internet allows such people 'to ally anti-Semites of varied and normally opposite tendencies on shared hatred of Jews,' he added, pointing to groups at the extreme right and left.