Canadian poll suggests social media 'normalizing prejudice'
A new poll has found young Canadians are the most likely to have heard antisemitic and Islamophobic comments, and one researcher suggests social media may risk 'normalizing prejudice.'
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The Leger survey, which was conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies, found that over a third (39 per cent) of Canadians between 18 and 24 heard an antisemitic remark and nearly half (46 per cent) reported hearing an Islamophobic comment since Hamas's invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Jack Jedwab, the association's chief executive, told National Post in an email that the high exposure of young Canadians to antisemitism and Islamophobia 'was the biggest surprise' for him when reviewing the data. He said the data suggests social media played a role in exposing young Canadians to such rhetoric.
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The poll found a 'big spike' in antisemitism, with a marked convergence of exposure rates to antisemitism and Islamophobia for all Canadians, Jedwab said.
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'If you look back at surveys prior to October 2023, Canadians were far more likely to say they were far more exposed to prejudice directed towards Muslims than they were to other groups, including Jews,' he wrote. 'The fact that exposure is now relatively similar testifies to a big spike in exposure to antisemitism.' (Only about one per cent of Canada's population is Jewish, while 4.9 per cent identified as Muslim, as of 2021.)
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Increased exposure to intolerant views, 'risks normalizing prejudice,' Jedwab said. It is 'something that badly needs to be addressed.' He pointed to a recent report showing alarming levels of Jew hatred in Ontario public schools as an urgent call to action.
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'It needs to be stated very clearly by persons in positions of authority that it is not acceptable to stigmatize individuals wearing a Star of David or a hijab. Regrettably, there is too much equivocation on this and other manifestations of prejudice.'
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The poll found that a respondent's perception of hearing a discriminatory comment heavily shaped how they viewed media coverage of the Hamas-Israel war.
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Among those who heard antisemitic comments only, over a third (35.5 per cent) thought mainstream media was more favourable to the Palestinians, while roughly a quarter (25.1 per cent) believed Israel was portrayed better. Conversely, respondents who said they heard only Islamophobic comments thought Israel received better media coverage (35.8 per cent), while over a quarter (27 per cent) saw the Palestinians getting more sympathetic coverage.
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