#dogwhistles
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The thing with dogwhistles is that they are extremely effective at both communicating to the intended audience of bigots and at driving those outside of the audience utterly up the wall. It's like an inversion of gaslighting and sealioning combined.
See, if some musician comes out and says, point blank, "I like Hitler", there's no ambiguity. There's no shield of deniability. His defenders have to stretch to try to ascribe his actions to his mental state or other issues, because there's no defending those words.
But an effective dogwhistle? So long as there's the barest veneer of ambiguity, it's completely deniable and dismissable to anyone who is looking for a reason.
Trump-era ICE posts a 14 word mission statement and gives statistics in counts of 88? Oh, they're not Nazis, you're just being paranoid!
Someone goes on a tear about "Reptilians running our government" isn't being antisemitic, no! They're just dehumanizing the elites out of frustration, stop being paranoid and seeing things where they aren't!
A major streaming service puts a movie poster with a Jewish character with horns behind his head? Oh, that's just the bull from Wall Street, they're not making an allusion to an ancient and famous piece of antisemitic belief! You're just seeing things!
"Reject modernity, embrace tradition" is just a meme, it's not a fascist slogan! Stop trying to ruin people's fun and police their language! You're just looking for things to be offended by!
That stage was just arranged that way by accident, and the resemblance to a Nazi rune is just a coincidence. Trump has done enough bad shit that you don't need to go grasping at straws to try to make him look worse.
...and so forth. And if you know how white supremacists, fascists, and other authoritarians communicate to each other, with that sort of coded language, if you know that they do this on purpose... it is enough to drive you to tears out of frustration at how people don't care, and don't want to listen.
But they use them because if they were open about their beliefs, like Kanye, they would get the same response.
And that gives them a hell of an incentive to hide it, don't you think?
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Some antisemitic dog whistles to watch out for
Because overtly hostile antisemitism is difficult to sell to people, and because it often gets people banned from media platforms, conspiracy theorists rely on other terms to get their ideas across.
Note that people will sometimes use these terms without understanding their connections to far right conspiracy theories, and some of them have legitimate uses outside of far right conspiracy theories. Don't assume that everyone who uses them is a secret Nazi or something. However, do pay close attention to what else they're saying and who they're getting their info from.
Banker/International banker: references the conspiracy theory that Jews control the banks.
Cabal/Kabbalists: references the belief that the Jewish conspirators are into Kabbalah (which is sometimes claimed to be satanic).
Globalists: references the conspiracy theory that Jews are working to create a one world order.
Talmudists: Literally just means Jews.
Marxists/Cultural Marxists: references the conspiracy theory that Jews created communism.
Leftists: references the conspiracy theory that progressive/leftist politics are a Jewish conspiracy.
The elite/elite bloodlines: references the conspiracy theory that most wealthy/ruling families have Jewish blood.
Khazars/Khazarian mafia: references a debunked hypothesis-turned-conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi Jews are descended from a group of Khazars who converted to Judaism. (Conspiracy theorists often claim that this means Ashkenazi Jews aren't "real" Jews - which is nonsense from every angle because Judaism does not measure Jewishness through genetics.)
Generational Satanists: references the 13 Illuminati bloodlines conspiracy theory, which is basically a knockoff of the material in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion combined with blood libel and the anti-Catholic conspiracy theories of Alexander Hislop. Conspiracy theorists often claim that it isn't about Jews, it's about powerful families who sometimes just happen to be Jews, but like... c'mon, it's an obvious Protocols/blood libel knockoff that also happens to demonize a few more people. You're not slick.
Lizard people: references David Icke's assertion that the world is under the control of blood-drinking reptilian aliens who created Judaism to enslave humanity. Some people literally believe in Icke's lizard aliens; some just use the term as a dog whistle for regular Jews.
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Couldn’t help but notice this reblog in a certain recent “queer is a slur” discourse post.
Beyond being ahistorical, it is significant in its third paragraph, which is almost entirely made up with TERF and alt right dog whistles. For anyone who has even a basic idea of what to look for, this blogger has just outright shown their hand.
Let’s start from the beginning of the text I’ve marked in blue:
“a pedophilia and incest apologist”
This is a very handy tactic especially prevalent in alt-right rhetoric these days. It stigmatises anything it is attached to, in this case the person who coined the term “queer theory.” Topics like pedophilia and incest are extremely taboo and emotionally laden, and attaching them to a subject will cause many people to automatically distance themselves from that term out of a semi-instinctive desire to not associate themselves with such things. Spread this attachment widely enough, and you can push entire groups into abandoning terminology, praxis, and people.
For the record, I’m not sure of the source for this claim. The woman who coined the term “queer theory” was Teresa de Laurentis, and I’ve never seen anything by her which tries to excuse pedophilia or incest. She certainly wrote about the gendered nature of incest, but this was in no way laudatory. This may also be a reference to the work of Gloria Anzaldua, who helped further popularize the term. She spoke frankly and openly about her sexual fantasies, many of them of a taboo nature, because of her firm belief in de-stigmatizing discussions about human sexual behaviour. Not only are such fantasies extremely common, they are in no way apologetics for real life abuse, nor do they predict real life behaviour.
“a straight woman with a fetish for gay men”
We’ve gotten to the transphobic dogwhistle now. This is an accusation frequently used against trans men and nonbinary AFAB people, especially those who pursue relationships with men. With the current surge in transphobic public rhetoric, it has received a new breath of life, and trans mlm are currently facing a slew of accusations of being straight women/girls who have just fetishized gay men to the point that they’re trying to “become” gay men/boys themselves (CW: link leads to transphobic hate site genderhq.org). These accusations are even being used in queer circles--including by trans people--to gatekeep who “gets” to write fiction about mlm. Just a week ago, for example, queer writer Alex Marraccini accused indie trans mlm author Ana Mardoll of fetishizing mlm, claiming that Ana’s “fetishistic” writing isn’t nearly as groundbreaking or liberating as the work of real cis gay men.
I’m not sure who the blogger is referring to here as there’s no real consensus on who first used the term “queer studies.” However, I think they may be referring to Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, who was most certainly not a straight woman. She was queer and came out as a trans man, though as far as I know continued to publicly prefer she/her pronouns (hence my own pronoun use here).
“use intentionally over academic language”
Ah, good old anti-intellectualism. If I can’t understand you, you must be using over-academic language just to confuse me on purpose. This dogwhistle not only gives people an excuse to dismiss anything they don’t understand straight away, it pushes the conspiracy theory that we academics are part of an ivory tower conspiracy to Queer Everything for...reasons (see below).
“to obfuscate that their founding texts and members are Marxists”
Aaaand here we are, the full show of the hand. This blogger is either alt-right or well down the pipeline to becoming one. The old chestnut that These Academics We Disagree With are all secret Marxists is one that is, you guessed it, strongly tied into antisemitism and Nazi conspiracies that push the belief that Karl Marx, Marxism, and Marxists are part of a global Jewish conspiracy that seeks to destroy the West.
And of course we have one more “incest and pedophilia” whistle to round things off, just to doubly ensure that people understandably disgusted by those things attach them to queer theorists.
Anyway, once again I beg the good people of Tumblr to please pay close attention to TERF rhetoric, where it comes from, how it’s used, and the other movements that it is tied to. I am not being a paranoid conspiracist when I say that “queer is a slur” discoursers and “pedophilia and incest” scaremongers and their ilk (including anti-kink discoursers) are tied to TERF rhetoric, which is itself allied increasingly with the alt right. They are telling you this for themselves. Listen to them when they tell you who they are.
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Antisemitism Education
As antisemitism is rising globally. And as a result, it is swelling online. It is a duty for not just the Jewish community, but for the people who claim to be our allies, to know this information. It is important to know who you are following, to analyze their information for credibility, and to be a defender against white supremacy. Therefore, we have provided a description and short breakdown of several tropes, terms, dog whistles, and conspiracy theories. Further research is recommended and encouraged. This is a living document and by no means complete guide to antisemitism.
This has been specifically tailored to the Internet experience, focusing on how you may see it in online spaces so as to report it and prevent yourself and others from sliding down the alt-right pipeline.
This includes information like:
Antisemitism not Anti-semitism
What is a Dog Whistle?
Context Matters
More than “Online Trolls”
Slurs
Dog Whistles
Conspiracy Theories
Hate Symbols & Images
#jewish#judaism#jumblr#antisemitism#jewitch#jewitches#education#dogwhistles#conspiracy#conspiracy theories
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Where do I even start. This person has been harassing Jewish tags for a while now, but I want to specifically point out the “Jewish supremacy” tag. Interesting how they keep bringing up Jews on posts that should be about Israel…
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I strongly, deeply, desperately need leftwing people to stop trying to throw the far right’s “logic” & language in their face, given how many of them are just straight up antisemitic dogwhistles.
I get it. It feels good to make awful people eat their own words. They talk so much about “owning the libs”; it’s satisfying to get to “own” them right back. But when you try to dunk on conservative Christians by comparing them to how the Pharisees are depicted in the Christian gospels, or you call billionaires & politicians “elites” or rightwing conspirators a “cabal”, you are not doing what you think you are doing. These are antisemitic tropes & dogwhistles; it is not possible to co-opt or weaponize them against the right without continuing to do harm to Jewish people. 
At best, you are providing cover for antisemites by handing them the plausible deniability they need to make these dogwhistles work on a silver platter—all without accomplishing anything of any real value beyond the little dopamine hit of “owning the cons”. More worryingly, you are allowing yourself to participate in antisemitic rhetoric in a way that solidifies the antisemitic undertones of that rhetoric on the left, making it easier for leftwing antisemites to co-opt criticism of capitalism & power into economic antisemitism—or, worse, engaging in it yourself.
In any case, the end result is a world—and a left—that is that much less hospitable & more dangerous for Jews. So, please, stop.
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Introduction
In April 2023, a concerning trend emerged on TikTok called “gnome hunting.” While at face value, the trend depicted users harmlessly pretending to hunt for gnomes, the trend was steeped in antisemitism. In this context, gnomes served as coded references to Jewish people, and gnome hunting referred to hunting for Jews. Gnome hunting followed other contemporary trends of online antisemitic dog whistles such as #thenoticing and the echo. The coded meaning of gnome hunting allowed for its rapid growth, due to participation from TikTok users who were unaware of its violent, antisemitic connotations. We identified gnome hunting TikToks with over 1.7 million views, indicating that this hateful trend reached an audience far beyond niche extremist communities.
It is not unusual for TikTok users to collectively participate in an absurdist meme of the month. Millions of users partook in the “Woodchuck Revolution” trend in 2021, which manifested complicated plotlines and even accompanying musical compositions. In late 2022, the app was inundated with memes describing a made-up economic system using a currency called “doubloons.” Given this context, it is unsurprising that TikTok users jumped at the chance to participate in the gnome hunting meme without understanding its hateful message. Some creators have since removed their original gnome hunting videos and apologised for unwittingly participating in a hateful trend.
This Insight will explain how far-right groups adopt dog whistles to avoid content moderation efforts and obscure harmful meanings to both moderators and wider users. TikTok’s gnome hunting trend will serve as a case study for this tactic while demonstrating how seemingly benign trends may be based on virulently antisemitic and extremist ideologies.
Dog Whistles and Violent Extremist Content
A dog whistle is coded or suggestive language that is understood by a particular in-group while its meaning(s) remain opaque to the out-group. Dog whistles often build on or reference pre-existing ideological tenets that individuals in the in-group would understand. In October 2022, 4chan users utilised and popularised the #thenoticing hashtag, an antisemitic dog whistle, on Twitter. “The noticing” refers to the instance in which individuals allegedly “notice” the presence of a machiavellian Jewish conspiracy. Similarly, in 2014, online antisemites began using the “echo” or parentheses around Jewish names, for example “(((George Soros)))),” as a way to subtly whisper their antisemitic beliefs to other antisemites.
While dog whistles are useful for extremist attempts to evade content moderation efforts, with time, their true meaning often becomes known, as was the case with the echo parentheses, the noticing, and gnome hunting. As a result, different dog whistles and other examples of coded language are in a constant state of fluctuation online.
The Rise of TikTok’s Gnome Hunting
Although some instances of TikTok gnome hunting acted as coded antisemitic dog whistles, other gnome hunting content was overtly neo-Nazi and antisemitic in nature. Additionally, gnome hunting is a continuation of recent references to gnomes in extremist spaces on Telegram and TikTok. Prior manifestations of this gnome fascination include the “gnomecore” and “gnomepill” trends which utilise gnomes as coded references to extremist narratives that wish to return to or embrace tradition. Although this content originally emphasised a desire to “find the gnomes,” portrayed as benevolent creatures and symbols of pre-modern Europe, the current gnome hunting trend shows that gnomes have since been reconfigured as adversarial actors—specifically Jewish people. In this section, we will provide an overview of the most prominent antisemitic indicators identified in this trend, including the phrase “millions wear the hats,” far-right insignia, and antisemitic and neo-Nazi hashtags.
“Millions wear the hats”
The most prominent of these indicators is the frequent use of the phrase “millions wear the hats,” displayed either in the TikTok video or its caption. This phrase serves as a coded reference to yarmulkes traditionally worn by some Jewish people by highlighting the pointy caps most often donned by garden gnome statues. “Millions” refers to the global Jewish population and the perception of a global Jewish conspiracy of world domination involving millions of people. Other captions expand on the consequences of this conspiracy, stating “billions deny, trillions will suffer” and “billions must die,” conveying that genocidal violence will be levelled toward Jewish people as retribution for the conspiracy.
Neo-Nazi Insignia
Figure 1. TikToks showing users wearing Sonnenrads, skull masks, and two emoji lightning bolts, or the double Sig/Sowilo rune, communicating sympathies towards the Nazi SS
Other extremist indicators demonstrated by both gnome hunting focused TikToks and participating users include Sonnenrads, skull masks, and two emoji lightning bolts, or the double Sig/Sowilo rune, communicating sympathies towards the Nazi SS (Fig. 1). These symbols frequently appear in neo-fascist, eco-fascist, and militant accelerationist milieus to convey adherence to extremist ideologies while evading content moderation efforts. Similarly, the presence of pine tree emojis, often used to convey an allegiance to violent eco-fascist ideology, further illustrates the conflation of the gnome hunting meme with extremist trends.
Hashtags
Numerous gnome hunting TikToks were posted alongside overtly antisemitic and neo-Nazi hashtags, such as rhetoric about an “Aryan” race, nods to Adolf Hitler as an “artist,” or the names of other notable members of the Nazi party. The videos also featured notable Nazi villains from popular culture such as Hans Landa, the fictional SS officer in the film Inglorious Basterds and Karl Ruprect Kroenen, the fictional supervillain from the Hellboy comic series (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Tiktok videos showing Nazi villains from popular culture such as Hans Landa, the fictional SS officer in the film Inglorious Basterds and Karl Ruprect Kroenen, the fictional supervillain from the Hellboy comic series.
Audio
The audios layered underneath gnome hunting videos on TikTok further demonstrate the trend’s antisemitic nature. We discovered TikToks set to recordings of Adolf Hitler’s speeches and containing imagery of Nazi Germany, such as German athletes lighting the Olympic Torch at the 1936 Olympics (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. The above TikTok screenshot shows Nazi imagery, and gnome hunting phrases. The audio paired with this footage was from a speech given by Adolf Hitler.
Other gnome hunting TikToks are overlaid with original songs created by overtly fascist users, identifiable through the use of double lightning bolts emojis or terms in their usernames (Fig. 4), and with titles such as “Third Strike.” Notably, a prior title for the song was “Third Rike,” reflecting other patterns in content moderation evasion tactics. The song is now not available to use on the platform.
Figure 4. User-created sound frequently used in gnome hunting TikToks, created by an overtly fascist user.
Schizowave
Gnome hunting has ties to other extremist social media trends on TikTok, including the “schizowave” aesthetic. In addition to antisemitic hashtags, gnome hunting TikToks were frequently posted alongside references to schizowave and schizoposting, a defined trend on social media whereby users hyperbolically or ironically assert that they are “insane” or “hearing voices.” The schizowave aesthetic is based on a false depiction of schizophrenia as a mood disorder that inherently valorises and leads to violence. As a result, schizoposting and schizowave content depicts an imagined experience of disconnecting from reality. On TikTok, this content typically features strobe lights, rapid cuts, and techno music. It is designed to convey chaos and incomprehensibility while being gripping and shareable. This aesthetic has been tied to previous instances of mass violence, including the July 2022 Highland Park shooting. While not all schizo-related content is violent or extremist in nature, its popularity on TikTok is still notable. The hashtag “schizoposting” alone has over 1 billion views. These hashtags signal a convergence of the two trends and the communities that utilise them.
Conclusion
The gnome hunting meme is a pertinent example of how subtle dog whistles can lead to widespread participation in hateful messaging, regardless of the participant’s intent. The gnome hunting trend is associated with overt hate symbols, such as SS bolts and skull masks, and should never have been allowed to spread as far as it has. Social media companies like TikTok should be aware of emerging trends in violent rhetoric on their platforms and prioritise the mitigation of these trends before they become mainstream.
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*note: I’ve seen many people who actually have schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, mainly on more left-leaning sites like Tumblr, use “schizoposting” as a hashtag to discuss their experience with their disorder or to advocate against saneism. Context matters; avoid assuming that it’s always appropriative or a bigoted dogwhistle unless that’s what’s actually going on.
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this is one of those times it’s worth reading all the options
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So normally I don't get into like controversial topics here lol like because this blog is new. but I didn't feel comfortable putting this on Fandomshatewomen or fhpoc because generally I haven't discussed this issue with my co mods.
Like I don't generally identify myself as an anti or a proshipper but this is the kind of shit that really drives me nuts. like there's a reason fans of color talking about fandom racism gets assigned to anti shipping. but ofc no one calls it that. like go ahead and use the old fandom terms if you want idgaf but please know that you're just showing you absolutely don't care about fans of color and whether or not fandom is safe for us when you call us antis.
"bring the healthy fun back to fandom" is no more than a dogwhistle now.
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every time you see someone posting about some sort of conspiracy theory you have to ask them what their thoughts on jews are because 9 times out of 10 they'll go into an absolutely deranged rant about lizard people turning kids trans to take down trump and that's why you can't trust the average conspiracy nut
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Hey, I'm interested in joining the Norse Pagan religion, and as far as I can see it's not a closed religion but just to make sure I wanted to ask you what should I check for
Norse paganism/heathenry is where you really gotta be on the lookout for Nazis. You gotta get real good at spotting dogwhistles and Nazi symbols. Here's some links:
Some antisemitic dog whistles to watch out for
Alt-right glossary
These are the new symbols of hate
Esoteric insignia of the Schutzstaffel
Nazi symbolism
I also recommend reading Is the spiritual person a conspiracy theorist? A list of red flags.
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#greenblatt#jonathon greenblatt#adl#tiktok#tiktok problem#free speech#free palestine#free gaza#jewish supremacy#dogwhistles#genocide#israel
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Neo-Nazis in bodybuilding
I should have made this post five years ago, since I’ve known for that long, but I was afraid of getting harassment over it. But this blog is dead now anyway, so I’m no longer afraid of backlash.
Bodybuilder Illia Golem Yefimchyk has a Nazi eagle and a 5% tattooed on his chest, and a Swastika on his left forearm.
Look at the feather patterns, they’re identical. The eagle even has a wreath in its talons, although the wreath has been changed to hide the eagle’s identity. In addition, “5%” and “3%” are both Neo-Nazi dogwhistles that refers to the idea that pure-blooded Aryans make up five (or three) percent of the world’s population, while “9%” is a dogwhistle that refers to the idea that White people make up 9% of the world’s population. Below is the Swastika on his forearm. It has been dressed up to make it less obvious, but it’s still clear what it is.
Illia Yefimchyk runs a brand called “5%”, which of course he gives some bullshit explanation for the name. Although he’s tatted up like a thug he’s actually a savvy businessman who typically wears suits. This is a man who has made a brand out of Neo-Nazism right under people’s noses. It amazes and disgusts me that no one has realized this before.
#I have over 10.000 followers on this account so hopefully this'll see some traction#bodybuilder#bodybuilding#neo nazis#dogwhistles#racism#Illia Golem Yefimchyk#Illia Yefimchyk
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with peace and love and respect and compassion, some of you are getting dangerously close to "Jews control the media", please think about the implications of what you say. with peace and love and respect and compassion and kindness and sympathy, please dont repeat alex jones infowars conspiracy theorist type rhetoric. with peace and love and respect and compassion and kindness and sympathy and gentleness and harmlessness and niceness, please evaluate whether your activism comes from a place of love or hatred.
#antisemitism#dogwhistles#be aware of how your speech affects others#antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise here in the west please for the love of god learn to recognize harmful rhetoric
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so apparently conspiracy theorists have started using the watermelon emoji 🍉 in place of the flag (presumably due to the shared color-scheme) as a way to “get around” supposed censorship of pro-palestine content
nevermind that pro-palestine & anti-israel content has been trending & at the top of the feed on pretty much every social media site I’m on, and threads is even trying to promote itself on my insta feed using anti-Zionist posts
nevermind the cited cases of people being “censored” for their “pro-palestine views” were instances of people calling for a “black day for jews”, denying that jews are oppressed, claiming zionist jews control the media, posting images of hang gliders & bulldozers from the october 7th massacre, or some similarly & obviously antisemitic nonsense—not simply “being pro-palestine”
the entire reasoning behind swapping 🇵🇸 & 🍉is based on a transparently false conspiracy theory, and one that implicitly relies on believing a cabal of zionists have a stranglehold on all social media companies, so like… thanks I guess? like I would never block someone for having 🇵🇸 in their posts/username bc solidarity with palestine isn’t antisemitic, but I definitely am blocking people the second I see them use 🍉 in reference to palestine. so I guess it’s helpful that some conspiracy theorists are using 🍉 to differentiate themselves
edit:
i stand corrected.
the original version of this post about the way that some antisemitic conspiracy theorists have adopted the 🍉 emoji to “circumvent” imagined media censorship was missing the crucial context that the watermelon as a symbol for palestine is not exclusive to them, and in fact has much older origins in very real censorship where israel banned the palestinian flag between 1967-1993. this makes its use on social media a much less cut-and-dry indicator of conspiracist beliefs in-and-of-itself than I initially presented it in the original post.
the fact remains that the contexts in which I have run into the use of the 🍉 emoji specifically in place of the 🇵🇸 emoji online on social media has almost exclusively been people claiming it as a way to get around an alleged zionist conspiracy to leverage “The Media™️” to silence any pro-palestinian content globally. I would feel remiss to either pretend like it isn’t being used as a dogwhistle this way by some people or on the flipside to paint the watermelon as a symbol of palestine with a broad brush that renders it somehow inherently problematic or suspect.
I may take another swing at expressing this with the proper nuance & context in another post but for now I’m just locking reblogs & adding this note so as not to accidentally spread what amounts to misinformation.
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in light of recent events (assholes in my notes) I want to remind y'all if I see from the river to the sea in your blog title or bio or whatever it's block on sight
#won't name names#but that phrase does not mean what you think it means#and if you are aware of it's meaning and think israelis should die boy do i have news for you#leftist antisemitism#dogwhistles#lukas rants#hila has spoken
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