Israeli influencers to combat antisemitism, anti-Zionism on social media

With a combined following of 30 million viewers, the TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook stars will become part of the “war against the delegitimization of Israel on social media.”

By World Israel News staff

Israeli influencers will be trained to respond to anti-Zionism and antisemitism on social media platforms, as part of a diplomacy campaign created by the Foreign Ministry, Hebrew language media reported.

The training will commence over the next week, and will teach the selected group of young influencers – who have a combined following of 30 million – how to respond to anti-Zionist and antisemitic comments, in addition to dehumanization and delegitimization efforts made against Israel on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

“Using their natural talent for storytelling, along with training by the Foreign Ministry, they will become an integral part of our war against the delegitimization of Israel on social media,” said Idan Roll, organizer of the campaign and deputy foreign minister.

In addition to training, the influencers will be in constant contact with the Foreign Ministry both on a routine basis and in case of emergency. They will also appear in international campaigns from time to time.

Influencers include Or Elkayam, Alex Korotaev, Orin Julie and Stephane Legar.

“Some might think TikTok is irrelevant, but the truth is that profound, engrossing conversations are being held on the platform with people from all across the globe,” Elkayam, who has a following of six million, told Hebrew language media Ynet.

He said that Operation Guardian of the Walls in May is what caused him to join the campaign.

“During the operation, I was under constant attacks on my social media accounts after making a video defending Israel on TikTok, which received over half a million views,” Elkayam said.

Korotaev said that as someone “with hundreds of thousands of followers that other young people watch on a daily basis,” he feels he has a duty as a teenager himself to be there for his followers and for Israel.