Instagram has removed two anti-Semitic hashtags after a New York Times report showed that the social media site was home to thousands of hateful posts, JTA reported on Thursday.
The Facebook-owned site deleted “#911wasdonebythejews” and “jewsdid911,” both of which promoted the conspiracy that the Jews were responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
On Monday, The New York Times reported that it had found nearly 12,000 posts under the latter hashtag. The newspaper also said it found other anti-Semitic hashtags that referenced Nazi ideology.
Even after the two hashtags were taken down, reporters for The Atlantic and Forbes said they could still easily find anti-Semitic posts on Instagram.
Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, have been facing a concerted campaign by Jewish and pro-Israel activists, calling on them to take action against anti-Semitic incitement.
Facebook said it was looking into the hashtags after it was notified of them by The Times, noted JTA.
Activists and terror victims’ rights campaigners allege the companies are turning a blind eye to the torrent of hate which helps inspire deadly terrorism in Israel.
In 2016, Israel filed 158 requests to remove inciting content on Facebook, and 13 requests to YouTube (owned by Google).
Around 95% of the requested content was removed from Facebook, while YouTube agreed to remove 80% of the content.