The Republican National Convention had to shut down its live YouTube stream after it was inundated with antisemitic comments.
The Former Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, who comes from a Jewish background and is active in the Republican Jewish Coalition, gave a speech comparing Republican and Democrat policy on various issues, including domestic issues, security and attitudes towards Israel.
The Convention was streamed live on YouTube. As she spoke, the comments section became flooded with antisemitism, with comments such as ‘Ban Jews’, ‘F**k the Kikes’, ‘Press H for Hitler’ and ‘Oy Gevalt’.
Other comments included ‘The Goyim know’ and ‘Shut it down’, an antisemitic internet meme based on the conspiracy theory of Jewish control. Another mocked the Holocaust, writing ‘Don’t forget the 6 gorillian’.
The commenters have been identified as belonging to the “alt-right”, an ambiguously-defined movement which defines itself in opposition to mainstream contemporary conservatism, and whose members have often expressed antisemitic sentiments.