Holocaust TikTok trend is harmful and offensive, says Auschwitz Memorial

‘Some videos are dangerously close or already beyond the border of trivialisation of history’ it also said

(Credit: BARTOSZ SIEDLIK/AFP via Getty Images)

The Auschwitz Memorial has said that a TikTok trend where people compare themselves to victims of the Holocaust is “harmful and offensive”.

Users put on fake bruises, and wear clothes that Jewish people were made to wear by the Nazis, under the tag #holocaustchallenge.

On Wednesday, the museum tweeted that “some videos are dangerously close or already beyond the border of trivialisation of history”.

“But we should discuss this not to shame & attack young people whose motivation seem very diverse. It's an educational challenge,” it added.

In a longer statement posted with the tweet, it said that “social media is a part of our everyday lives and communication” but that “not every social media activity can commemorate the Holocaust.”

It added that this event should not be used to “shame and attack young people whose motivations seem very diverse” but that it is an “educational challenge.”

It also called out algorithms “promoting antisemitism or the presence of Holocaust denial that is a dangerous and hideous carrier of antisemitism and hatred”.

This month, researchers said that posts and pages spreading Holocaust denial and fascism are being “actively recommended” to Facebook users.

Researchers put a popular search phrase used by Holocaust deniers into Facebook, finding 28 Facebook groups and eight pages which, in total, had nearly 370,000 followers.

“From clicking through to these pages, Facebook’s recommendation algorithm led researchers from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue to further Holocaust denial pages,” the report said.

“Facebook also appears to promote content on the extreme right to those demonstrating an interest in Holocaust denial content."

In a statement to the BBC, TikTok said that the platform's “top priority” is safekeeping their community.

“We preemptively blocked users' ability to search for #holocaustchallenge earlier this week and we are also redirecting any searches for this hashtag to our Community Guidelines to further educate users.”

The company added that TikTok’s policies do “not tolerate hate speech content that targets any individual or group on the basis of protected attributes”.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “We take down any post that celebrates, defends, or attempts to justify the Holocaust.

“The same goes for any content that mocks Holocaust victims, accuses victims of lying, spews hate, or advocates for violence against Jewish people in any way.

“We also remove groups and pages that discuss Holocaust denial from recommendations and references to it in search predictions. While we do not take down content simply for being untruthful, many posts that deny the Holocaust often violate our policies against hate speech and are removed."