On Wednesday, HonestReporting exposed how a frequent contributor to some of the world’s most well-known media outlets, including, among others, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, has a dark history of posting virulently antisemitic content to social media.
In addition to a detailed article, HonestReporting produced an extensive Twitter thread to detail its findings. In response, Palestinian commentator Mariam Barghouti lashed out instead of apologizing for her blatant antisemitism.
I knew it was a matter of time before I get specifically targeted on social media as an antisemite.#Israel is still an apartheid regime.
Still a settler colonial power.
Still a nuclear power playing victim.
Don’t let weaponizing of Jewish pains be normalized. So sinister. https://t.co/dRu7GSdWLX— مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) August 4, 2021
Ironically, Barghouti claimed she “knew it was a matter of time before I get specifically targeted on social media as an antisemite.” Yet, had she really been aware or repentant, then surely she would have deleted some of her most offensive posts — such as comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.
That she failed to do so indicates a lack of understanding of what constitutes antisemitism; or, alternatively, perhaps she was proud to disseminate explicit Jew-hatred. Instead, Barghouti doubled down instead of backtracking, thereby indicating a total lack of contrition.
HonestReporting quickly drew attention back to the point: Barghouti had repeatedly called Israel and Israeli figures “Nazi.”
We're calling you an antisemite because you repeatedly called Israel and Israeli figures "Nazi."
If you aren't antisemitic, you would apologise for your earlier tweets and publicly retract.
But you're not. Evidently you still think such antisemitic comparisons are legitimate. https://t.co/A69YfZffAH
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 4, 2021
A number of other prominent pro-Israel Twitter users joined the conversation:
You are absolutely right. If you keep spewing the same hatred nazi's did in the 1930s, it's just a matter of time before people start calling you a nazi.
— Bart Schut (@bpschut) August 4, 2021
so basically you are just annoyed you've been found out.
got it.
— David Collier (@mishtal) August 4, 2021
Hi @MariamBarghouti. This was you, right? Asking for 6 million friends … https://t.co/abmWeoIsgg pic.twitter.com/tBn0Rg3RSK
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) August 4, 2021
Oh @MariamBarghouti… You are a trainwreck. Don’t forget, screenshots are forever.
And really? Reductio ad Hitlerum? Even you can do better than that. https://t.co/fnJDfaVJ14 pic.twitter.com/sUcaM0n4Zx
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר (@emilykschrader) August 4, 2021
Among Barghouti’s 74k-strong following on Twitter is a Who’s Who of influential left-wing and right-wing individuals known for their ferocious hostility to Israel and the Jewish people, including Jeremy Corbyn, Linda Sarsour, Rashida Tlaib, Mehdi Hasan and Sarah Jeong.
As Barghouti reacted to HonestReporting’s investigation by pretending to be the victim, many of her followers responded by supporting her. Numerous respondents even attempted to justify her comparisons with Nazis. Clearly, Barghouti has attracted a toxic, deeply antisemitic following.
Yikes. Israeli Ministries have been funding social media experts to belittle and attack Palestinian voices on social media. Nonetheless I’ll take this as an opportunity to ask, why are there not more Palestinian voices that don’t “look” western on mainstream media? https://t.co/hj5wwXKLUO
— مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) August 4, 2021
Notably, Barghouti started her diatribe by baselessly attempting to link HonestReporting with the Israeli government. For the record, HonestReporting is not funded by any government ministry. But Barghouti is right about one thing, though: We do understand social media very well.
We also understand that the traditional media play a vital role in the functioning of a healthy democracy. The platform they provide must not be granted to those who callously throw about Nazi comparisons, spread hatred, and make light of genocide.
So, a message to Barghouti and all other media personalities, journalists and those in the industry who fail to understand the difference between legitimate criticism and hate speech: HonestReporting will continue to call out everyone who crosses this fine line. People who disseminate hate in the media are doing the entire journalism profession and, by extension, the public a grave disservice.
And it shouldn’t be tolerated any longer.
