For the past months, we’ve shined a spotlight on the white supremacist and antisemitic threats that metastasize on online platforms like Gab. We’ve looked into how these platforms affect our politics, which is a heightened concern, as elected officials like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) embrace these platforms to raise money and grow their political power.

American Jewish Congress Poll: Voters Reject Politicians Using Gab

We then conducted a poll, showing that 44% of Republicans, 86% of Democrats, 52% of Independents, 62% of other & 20% of undecided voters would refuse to vote for a candidate from their party if they used Gab.

After we asked our supporters to take this poll to express their views about whether it’s okay for elected officials to use Gab, its founder Andrew Torba called on his followers to swarm our survey to block your voices from being heard.

More than 10,000 Gab users bombarded our website and social media channels with hundreds of hate filled messages. This was a highly coordinated response, intended to intimidate voices that shine a light on the hate-filled antisemitic speech that permeates Gab. And instead of proving us – and you – wrong, Gab’s actions only reinforced our point.

Gab Skews the American Jewish Congress’s Poll Results

After the manipulation of our poll, Torba’s followers biased the poll to deceptively show that 95% of its voters supported the use of Gab by politicians. Clearly this wasn’t a true indicator of public sentiment. Instead, it was a true reflection of Gab followers’ concern about having the spotlight shone their way.

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Despite these manipulations, we will continue to make it clear that when political candidates and elected officials leverage platforms filled with hate speech and antisemitism for their own political power, they will be called out. 

Our nation’s democracy, institutions, and values depend on it. 

© 2020 American Jewish Congress.